- Kayoko Okubo "Me and Travel" -

I am the organizer of the family trip.

For the past few years, I've only traveled with my family once or twice a year, as my parents are getting older. We go on New Year's trips as a tradition. It's important to go to a nearby hot spring or somewhere that's not too difficult to get to. If it's about an hour away from my parents' house, I can relax. On those occasions, we went as a group of about 10 people, including my parents, my brother's family, and other relatives. This year, we went with 12 people. We had a dog, so we looked for a place that allowed pets.

I take charge from the moment I make the reservation. That's also a way to show my gratitude to my parents. I do a quick search online, pay with my card, and then just say, "Just come." It's our usual trip to show my gratitude to my parents. It's the ultimate family trip, but sometimes Asako (comedian Asako Ito) comes along too, haha. She's really good at taking care of everyone, so it's easy to go with her.

Even though I'm traveling, I don't make many expensive purchases.

I'm not that interested in brands, so I buy relatively cheap souvenirs. Recently, I bought a sweater for myself for about 15,000 yen. I once bought a pair of branded sandals overseas, caught up in the atmosphere. But even then, I thought they were about 80,000 yen, so I took a chance and bought them lol. I wear them on special occasions because they give me confidence knowing that I'm wearing a branded item. But most of the time, I go to casual general stores and buy things with my usual enthusiasm, saying things like, "Oh, this is nice." If I find some local handmade soap that looks good, I'll buy three of them. I'll use those as souvenirs later. I don't often buy things for myself when I travel.

If I had to mention one failure, it would be my trip to India.

I went to India for the first time when I was 34 years old. I was traveling with my local classmates, K-chan and S-chan, two single women. Actually, K-chan had fallen in love with an Indian guide on a previous trip to India, and we decided to tag along on the trip to meet him.

"Going to India will change my outlook on life," "Maybe I'll find an Indian boyfriend," I thought, full of hope as I went there. I think it was a 10-hour flight. When we arrived at the airport, K-chan's boyfriend was there to greet us. "Yay! Welcome! I'm so happy!" His Japanese was a little hard to understand, so it was a casual welcome lol.
Next to him were two Indian men, his younger brother and his best friend. So, he said he would accompany me on this trip. A triple date style...to be honest, I don't dislike it, so I welcomed it. My partner somehow ended up being his younger brother, Lucky. His name is Lucky. He has dark skin, deep features, and is handsome! I thought, "That's lucky!", but he said, "I'll guide you through all of the next three days. I'll prepare your meals and hotel." He was handsome, but he was in a completely business mode lol.

We went around a lot with them as our guide, but it didn't seem like there was any chance of it developing into love, so my secret wish didn't come true. But thanks to the beer on the last night, I was in high spirits again. Drinking is fun! It felt like an exciting dating game, and the middle-aged ladies were squealing with excitement. The power of the open feeling in foreign countries is really amazing. It was quite different from what I expected, but I was able to fantasize about a handsome Indian man, get cozy with him, and maybe it will become a funny story for later, so in the end it was a good trip.

Make full use of hotel lounges -- the type that doesn't want to miss out --

For the past five years, I've been going abroad once a year for my long vacation. I booked a business class flight and a nice hotel. I think it's called a villa. It's like a small house. This year was probably the most expensive because I went to Australia. It was expensive for that distance on a business class flight, but it was comfortable.

Anyway, going back to the hotel, if you're staying at a villa, don't you get to use the lounge for free? In that hotel. That's the best! Asako and I are both pretty cheap, so we always make the most of it. If you stay until 11pm, you can get free alcohol, nuts, and snacks in the lounge, and you can use it as much as you want, whenever you want. Even if you've been out and about drinking a lot, you still want to go in and drink for free by 11pm. We'd rush in before the lounge closed, haha.

Check your track in the lounge

Even though we're just women, we're getting into the realm of middle-aged ladies, so it's fun to drink while saying, "I can still go for another 10 minutes!" I want to finish off the day with a "free" drink in the lounge, lol. "But this hotel is expensive," I say, "I've already paid for this," and I always seem to be a cheapskate. Even if I'm traveling with a man, I don't think it's fun to be with someone who doesn't go for the "free" thing and act cool. If anything, I'd prefer it if he said, "It's time! Let's run!" together with me.

As a result, I drink alcohol... I'm happy as long as I can drink, so I'm satisfied whether it's free or paid. Good hotel lounges have a decent selection of alcohol, a good atmosphere, and aren't noisy, so if you try that, you're not good.
I also think to myself how amazing it is that I can now use the lounge. I feel like I've become a big shot, and I'm also happy to be able to travel in style. Thinking about it, maybe I'm unconsciously looking back on my past while traveling.