It is good to make a trip.

The typhoon wasn’t part of my plan.

Everything leading up to my grand tour had been practically prophetic, signs that i was making the right decision to leave my job, friends, and family, and backpack around Asia. My favorite yoga studio closing. “Leaving on a Jetplane” playing in the cafe on my last day of work. Soterios Johnson leaving WNYC! Little whispers saying, “go, go, go.” Until I read about Typhoon Lionrock, scheduled to make landfall in the Tokyo area just about the time I, too, would be making landfall in the Tokyo area.

Uh-oh.

But my luck held out, and after a pretty uneventful and surprisingly comfortable 13-hour flight (thanks ANA!), I touched down at Narita Airport. My host Kazuhiro picked me up and drove me home to a small suburb, where his wife, Cheeko, had run an herbal bath for me and all but ordered me to get in. I soaked my tired bones while the post-typhoon breezes rattled the bamboo shutters above me. I had the thought that I always do after a long flight, but now even more so: I can’t believe I just got on a plane and ended up in…Japan!

The next morning I woke up to a traditional Japanese breakfast. Cheeko prepares this for all her guests on their first morning, but because it happened to be my birthday, it felt extra special. The beautiful, neatly arranged spread consisted of miso mackerel, broad beans, marinated blowfish, lotus root, cucumber and seaweed, omelette, and miso soup with fresh clams. After breakfast, Cheeko served me matcha tea with a pink rice sweet bun. It was all delicious and the perfect way to get started in Tokyo.

I’d expected my first day to be devoted to shaking off jet leg, so I hadn’t planned anything. But I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to head into the city.

Can I take a moment here to congratulate myself on how I’m dominating the Tokyo subway system? I haven’t gotten lost once, and the system map basically looks like what would happen if the NYC subway and Paris metro maps had a terrifying baby.

My first destination was Asakusa, a bustling cultural district famous for housing Senso-ji, a magnificent Buddhist temple. To approach Senso-ji, you walk down a lane of souvenir shops touting Sanrio trinkets, snacks, and Japanese knives. It was loaded with tourists, but most of them Japanese, so it felt authentic to me!

After peeking through the shops, I arrived at a large cauldron of incense and joined the other visitors in wafting it towards myself, for purification. I then peeped into the grand temple, but noticing many devout older ladies fervently praying, I quietly ducked back out. It didn’t feel quite right to be gawking while they were using the temple for a real purpose.

At the foot of Senso-ji, you can buy a fortune for 100 yen (about $1). You drop the coin into a slot, shake a wooden box while making a prayer or hope or dream, then draw out a wooden stick with characters on it. Find the wooden box that matches your characters and draw one out.

Mine: “It is good to make a trip.”

I couldn’t agree more.