The usj travel morning: packed up, cleaned up, & checked out. We called an uber and a 112-year-old man picked us up. He was definitely not street legal and drove similarly to the now-infamous Chinese Pedal Pumper. Halfway through the drive Nick looked at me and said “I think this man also attended the tap tap school of driving”. Millie turned green and complained of carsickness but luckily we arrived before she spewed.

The streets leading into the airport were lined with flags and journalists to greet the big Busan visitors of the day, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. We flew across the world and still can’t escape American politics.

Our flight was delayed 30 minutes because of the commotion. Millie chose her airport gum reward for good behavior.

The flight was quick. Our Airbnb host bought us a book by Korean author Han Kang, Human Acts. I started it on the plane and was rapt. Excited to finish it up in coming days. It felt good to read a real book instead of the Kindle.

After we landed and went through customs we realized we left Millie’s tiny purse on the plane. Korea has been bad luck for leaving bags behind. Luckily the contents were replaceable (and adorable): two chapsticks, one piece of gum, and a tiny pair of sunglasses. Millie has been so mature lately and didn’t completely break down when we realized.

At the airport we were about to call an Uber but then realized it would be $90, so changed course and decided to take the train. We took it 40 minutes into central Sapporo.

We checked into our comically small hotel room. We have three twin beds with matching pajamas like little orphans.

It was already 7:30. We dropped our stuff and walked out for dinner. Hokkaido is known for ramen and it’s cold here, so we found ramen. We walked a few blocks to a place that was supposed to be good and saw that it had a long line. We have a disease that when food has a line we can’t help but wait in it, even if it’s late and we’re starving and we have a small child with us.

We finally got in at about 9, then waited for our ramen. It was worth it. We ordered two different styles, soy sauce and miso based. The miso was better, but both were excellent.

And, of course, when in Sapporo….

We walked back to the orphanage, I mean hotel, and didn’t get to bed until 10:30. We put on our matching pajamas. Millie said “is this what people in jail wear?”