the journey, literally: June 28 2026

dear nightwalkers and fellow photography enthusiasts,

it has been commonly said that a journey starts with a single step. but does it really? i honestly think that a journey starts from the moment it was conceptualized. in my non-stop doom scrolling one day, this humble daywalker stumbled upon a reel relaying that dopamine peaks at the very last day of the preparation stage: the day immediately before a vacation or a journey. so we might as well include those days as the "start" to even call this journey rewarding.

but then people have also shared that the journey itself is the reward. if that is the case, this humble daywalker captured the rewards of this journey while on a train ride to the far south.

the northeast part of tokyo is a business capital, buildings dominate the land. i wanted to capture the exact moment that street came to view, i snapped earlier. but there is no redo.

we passed through a station, i snapped as many photos inside that darkened area. as the train was moving fast, figures captured were all understandably hazy. this particular one was surprising in the sense that everything was in a blur but the reflection on the glass was "still". photography is wonderous!

here were the other photos inside the station. the closer objects were, the more hazy and "double visioned" they become. the building facade seen through the train windows were focused, but the people were all hazy. can one make out a woman pushing a stroller?

back outside, i snapped every time we approach something interesting. this colossal building with ionic columns were snapped a bit late but i loved the contrast with the colorful doors of the passing train. the 2nd picture had great contrasting colorful windows against the plain walls; still snapped a bit late.

here is one of the best "rewards" of this journey. i particularly loved the geometric shapes formed by the steel frames and the wires, and the contrast it had with the green weeds around it.

the last of the "rewards" when we finally arrived at the end station. it captured the seemingly undecorated raw foundations of whatever fanfare is on top. this looks liked a perfect venue for a zombie apocalypse movie.

as the travelling ended, it was time for the actual reward of this journey. food! thinking back, this daywalker still did some laborious task just to claim these "rewards"; which makes me wonder if these were really "rewards".

allow me to start with the ramen, it was one of the better ones i have tried recently. it is another iekei style ramen; which, gemini defined as

Originating in Yokohama in 1974, this style is a distinct hybrid of Kyushu’s creamy pork broth (Tonkotsu) and Tokyo’s soy sauce ramen (Shoyu). It is intensely savory, fatty, and deeply comforting.

as comforting as it was at the end, the queue at the beginning took almost an eternity.

at dinner was this grilled fish called nishin as the main dish of this set. it was a very sumptuous fish, and yet another eternity was spent taking out the numerous tiny bones of the dish. nishin is pacific herring for the fish enthusiasts.

i suppose the only "authentic" reward this time were these two scoops of ice cream: burgundy cherry on top matched with wonderful caramel pretzel as base. this time i had no difficulties, the perfect reward of the entire journey.

at the end of the day, this daywalker was very satisfied with how the journey went that i recalled what i said at the start. it has been commonly said that a journey starts with a single step. if that were true, then i guess i must have made more that 10 thousand journeys today. what an interesting journey indeed.

as always, AMPING KANUNAY!