Vibe Check #35 (August 2026)

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the 35th edition of our Vibe Check (the 8th edition for this year), where we talk about anything and everything dealing with anime, Japan, Japanese culture, or anything that's on the top of our heads. In this special edition of our Vibe Check, we're mainly going to talk about the Japan trip. Hope you have a good read!

Check #1: N.O. to JPN

I started the trip to Japan at the Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. It was almost an hour-and-a-half trip from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Since I got to the airport early in the morning (5 am), I had time to take some pictures of the airport and get some New Orleans merch for my friends in Japan (I know airport merch is expensive, but it's last-minute...).

So I boarded the airplane at 6:30 am, and arrived at O'Hare International Airport ar around 9:30 am. 

Surprisingly, it was the first time I'd been anywhere up north in the United States. The furthest up north I've traveled was Grambling, Louisiana, for Grambling State homecoming. 

My first impression of O'Hare International Airport was that it's super beautiful, but also SUPER EXPENSIVE!! I remember buying a personal deep-dish pizza, and it cost around $ 15. It tasted OK, but for $15, it wasn't worth it.

While waiting about 2 hours for my flight, I met a guy named Daniel who was learning Japanese with the Genki 1 book. 

He was working really hard on his kanji, and it was kanji I'd never heard of or seen before. 

He's a really nice dude, and I was surprised and sad that he had only made pit stops in Japan 10 times but had never done a full week there before. 

We talked a lot more until we boarded our flight to Japan. Economy class for 2026 was mediocre, but since everyone was somewhat quiet, I got the chance to catch up on Sakamoto Days and watch Cosmic Princess Kaguya (9/10 movie in my opinion because the art style and the illustration are amazing!!)

After about 17 hours of flight and OK lunch and dinner on the airplane, I arrived at the Haneda International Airport at 3:30 pm. My back and my legs were killing me from sitting in a seat for almost 17 hours. 

It was best for me to go to Haneda International because it's a faster route to Yokohama and a little cheaper than going to Narita International Airport.

The moment I landed in Haneda and cleared security and customs, finding my personal transfer was a 10-20 minute hassle. After I found him, everything else was almost smooth sailing.

Overall, the flight from New Orleans to Tokyo was much more efficient than last year because I didn't fumble or hesitate with parts of the trip, like finding my passport, doing boarding passes for my Samsung phone, and things like that.

Check #2: Summary of Japan

The moment I checked into my hotel in Minatomirai, that's when my official time in Japan started.

In the first couple of days in Japan, I immediately went shopping around Minatomirai for my family and friends. 

While I was in Yokohama, I worked to improve my Japanese so I could speak with Japanese people. Since I became better at it compared to last summer, the Japanese people were touched that I was trying to speak in Japanese (...honestly most of them are... about 75 to 80%.... ^^').

On the third day, my seasonal allergies kicked in when I was in Minatomirai despite doing a lot of shopping and going to Round One in Minatomirai.

Despite being sick, I got the chance to use the Shinkansen for the first time to go to Sendai, Japan, for Tanabata. So I pushed myself enough to get the tickets, even though my seasonal allergies made me feel weak.

It was my first time going outside the Kanto Region and my first time taking the Shinkansen, so I immediately got confused about how the tickets worked. So, I predicted my dialect for Tokyo and Yokohama would probably be a lot more awkward in Sendai.

Thankfully, the Japanese train station workers helped me out right away before I got on the Shinkansen train, and it was a long 2-hour ride to Sendai. I had to stand for the entire ride since I got the tickets at the last minute (and Obon vacation in Japan is hectic).

One thing a lot of foreigners don't know about Japanese trains isn't their punctuality, but the different types of trains. Some trains stop at every single stop (local trains), while others skip some stops (express trains). It's the same with Shinkansen trains, too, and since I was in unreserved seats and the train stopped at every single stop, it was the toughest 2 and a half hours of the entire trip. Trying to stand as much as possible for the entire ride was a real physical hassle.

Going to Sendai for Tanabata was a great experience, and I want to go again. To me, Tanabata in Sendai was the peak time of summertime in Japan.

Plus, surprisingly, Sendai was the first time I got to try McDonald's in Japan. It was my third time going to Japan, and it was the first time I tried American food there, and it was a lot better than McDonald's back in my hometown. I remembered it was a cross-promotion of McDonald's and Pokémon, and it had the Pikachu burger with egg salad in a burger (super good in my opinion).

After Sendai, I went back to Yokohama to do some more shopping and catch up with my Japanese friends.

From getting Shonen Jump magazines to new manga series that are only being sold in Japanese bookstores.

Plus, during the second half of my trip to Japan, I ate at Mos Burger for the first time. Compared to McDonald's and Burger King in America, a burger at Mos Burger was A LOT lighter to lift for every single bite. It was SUPER light for me to eat, and it started to be a borderline addiction for me to eat one to two burgers a day.

From the 13th to the 14th, I got the chance to experience Osaka nightlife in Dotonbori. Let me tell you: Osaka nightlife is a different beast compared to Tokyo nightlife.

I guess I got a little used to nightlife in Yokohama, but going to Osaka is a different kind of beast.

After the quick trip to Osaka, I came back to Yokohama for last-minute shopping for exclusive Japanese snacks, more Japanese manga, and clothes for my friends and family.

Check #3: JPN to Back Home

On my final day in Japan, I made one last stop at Mos Burger and tried their Mos Taco Burger set (Japanese fast food places call it a set rather than a combo), and in the back of my mind I said: "...next year...". 

I packed a good amount of my stuff I bought in Japan into my suitcase before checking out.

Outside of the lobby, I went to my airport transfer back to Haneda International Airport.

After putting the personal hotspot into the JP Post mailbox, I checked in, got my luggage tagged, went to security, and went straight to my gate.

While waiting at my gate, I not only got some stickers from the Pokémon vending machine (the other stuff was sold out), but I also met a guy named James who was in the Air Force. A guy from South Dakota going all the way to Japan was a great story to hear and something I can relate to: two guys from small towns get to go on an adventure to one of the popular tourist countries in the world. 

While I was waiting at the airport, I used my PASMO card to buy some (again) last-minute Japanese souvenirs and snacks. 

Surprisingly, it was my first time using the PASMO card outside of scanning it on ticket gates at the train stations. At the beginning of the trip, I put in about $110 USD on my card because I thought I'd be using the trains more often. When I found out I still had a good amount, I bought a few more souvenirs than usual before boarding my first connecting flight to San Francisco at 3:50 pm Japan Standard Time (JST).

After about 9 to 10 hours, I landed at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). San Francisco International Airport looked basic on the inside. I was saddened to see it because I honestly thought it would have some flair and pizzazz since it's California, but San Francisco looked beautiful from the outside when I looked! I hope I get the chance to take a small visit to San Francisco soon.

After that small stop in San Francisco, I went to Denver International Airport (DEN) for my second connecting flight. Denver was a little less basic than San Francisco, but because of the elevation, delays were super common. So my original flight time went from 5:45 pm to 6:45 pm (a full hour!!).

I didn't land in New Orleans until at least 30 minutes before midnight, and in surprise news, when I landed back home: my luggage was in Houston International (IAH) for some reason. So United Airlines has to ship my luggage from Denver to Houston, then to New Orleans, and then to my home address.

While my trip was unlucky at times, it was a huge improvement compared to summer 2025. The biggest thing I need to change is this: ...I need to get a refurbished iPhone...

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That's all for this month's Vibe Check. I hope you guys love my personal experience on my summer trip to Japan, and tune in next month for September's version of Vibe Check. Have a good day!