The Final Hours: A Visit to the Community Garden
The day of departure finally arrived.
Leaving this place after a full five months and saying goodbye to the time I've spent with Julie makes me feel incredibly sad. Outside, my bicycle is already packed tightly into its box, completely ready to go.
Before leaving, Julie took me to a place where she volunteers. It’s a beautiful, botanical garden-like space where she goes twice a week and has been helping out for a long time. I decided to leave the plants and green onions I’d been carrying around on my journey there.
When they were strapped to the back of my bike, I always felt a bit guilty, like I was forcing them into a cramped space just to satisfy my own ego. But here? I figured they could finally live out their "true story"—sprouting vibrantly, growing big, and eventually being eaten by someone.
We spent about 20 to 25 minutes walking around the garden. Seeing such a huge variety of plants growing there made for a really peaceful, pleasant time.
The Travel Instinct Returns
Walking through this place, I felt my old travel instincts slowly creeping back. I found myself looking around and thinking, "If it were me, I’d totally pitch a tent right behind those overgrown trees."
When you're traveling by bicycle, you constantly evaluate the sides of the road, densely wooded areas, or rest stops, thinking, "This looks like a solid spot to camp," and deciding to pull over. It felt like that raw intuition for wild camping suddenly woke back up inside me.
The Wooden Sign & The Last Supper
After getting back to the house, I was torn about what to do with a wooden sign I had that read, "Have a nice day."
It was a precious gift I’d received earlier in my trip, but bringing it back to Japan would require going through strict quarantine declarations. Since it was essentially just a lightly processed piece of natural wood, there was always the risk of insects hiding inside. Unless it’s a certified commercial product, proving it's safe is tough, and there was a high chance it would just get confiscated and destroyed by customs.
Rather than taking it back with that anxiety hanging over me only to lose it, I decided to leave it at Julie's house, where it would be safe.
Then came my final dinner in Australia—a lovely home-cooked meal of meat and veggies. Knowing it was my last supper here brought a wave of sadness, but I savored every single bite.
Gratitude to Julie & The Airport Incident
Looking back, my heart is just full of gratitude for Julie.
Having a complete stranger live in your house for five months is a highly unusual situation, and it’s certainly not something I take for granted. I'm deeply thankful for the incredible opportunity to be welcomed into her life and home like that.
After that, it was finally time to head to the airport. My packed luggage was absolutely massive—taller than me, and I'm over 180 cm (about 6 feet) tall!
When I weighed it at the airport in Australia, it tipped the scales at over 30 kg. Normally, I would have been hit with an insane excess baggage fee of around 70,000 yen, but the airport staff kindly did me a huge favor and knocked it down to just 20,000 yen. Crisis averted! Now, it's finally time to head home.
