One nice thing about traveling with someone for so long is that you get a lot better at managing each other’s quirks, needs, and moods. Jason, for example, correctly identified what he called my “powering down.”
“You get quieter, more supportive, and you offer less opinions,” he said. “You just,” he gestured a downward slope with his hands, “power down. It’s like your pioneer habits kick in and you just keep trekking forward. That’s when I know we need to get some food in you.”
He was right. The hike from the Meiji Jingu shrine’s northern exit to the Harajuku neighborhood was longer and hotter than I had expected. I was sweaty and miserable from my cold, but I was still drinking water so I assumed I was okay. More than that, I figured I could keep going as we plunged into the teenage craziness of Takeshite-dori:
(This is me with one bar of battery life left)
It was 3:00 in the afternoon by then, and although I did have water with me, I had forgotten the need for electrolytes. Happily, Jason diagnosed me and immediately stopped seeking out the ideal place to eat and instead steered me into the nearest cafe that didn’t have an all-American menu.
One pink lemonade and ginger prok bowl, and suddenly the world was a happier place.
It’s even better when I can top it off with an ice cream cone for dessert:
Master Class 
I want to go to Japan 🙂
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The pioneer line just made me lol in the doctor's office waiting room.
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