South Korea, where I indulged in art and gourmet food.
Phuket, with an expanse of deep blue sky and sea.
Kyoto, where I walked under carpet-like fall leaves.
Biei, enveloped in a snowy, silver-white world.

Wherever I go, a friend with whom I travel
Takes flawless photos with his favorite SLR camera.
Thanks to that, I don't need to bother taking out my smartphone.

While my friend looks through the viewfinder with an earnest gaze
And triggers the shutter,
I spread a small notebook nearby
And record the moment in words.

At first, I was just noting down
My travel plans and routes. ​

But somewhere along the way
I started recording all my new experiences, one after another,
like seasonal dishes made with local ingredients,
Charming shops that I discovered by chance,
And foreign words that I had heard for the first time.

Eventually I started writing down unexpected happenings,
And even trivial conversations with my friend.
I sometimes find myself bursting into laughter
When I go back and re-read them after some time has passed.

I do like tracing the path of my memories by looking at photos,
But for me, this notebook is a memory storage of my travels,
To which I entrust my changes of heart and honest feelings.

I even quietly collect
Plane, bus, and train tickets,
Cards from cafes and shops where I bought things,
And receipts from restaurants
In the pockets of the notebook
As fragments of memories.