Tokyo + Kyoto. | September 2018

“My first stop was a hole-in-the-wall ramen restaurant outside of Shinjuku Station. I sat at the counter, protectively slid my suitcase between my legs, and pointed to a photo on the laminated menu. Within a few minutes the waitress was eagerly serving me water and a steaming bowl of shio ramen. The smell and the heat were overwhelming, the vaporization adding to the soft sweat that had already begun to form on my brow from the summer heat. I took the hard plastic spoon in my left hand and dipped it into the simple broth before bringing it to my lips. The liquid filled my mouth and lazily slid down my throat. I closed my eyes in utter ecstasy. I followed with long, dangling, heaping strings of noodles that filled my belly too quickly, but I didn't stop. Slices of pork, onions, dried garlic, and a perfect soft-cooked egg followed - spoonful after spoonful - until my bowl was empty of every single drop. I put down my spoon and settled into a satisfaction I hadn't felt since I can't remember when, gathered my bags and braved the endless sea of people on the Shinjuku streets.”

-Tess Thomas, The Laughing Diet; “Ryokō-sha”