The journey that received the Gods' approval

My cycling trip across Japan was one of the most beautiful, enriching, and exhilarating experiences of my life.

I've dreamed my whole life of visiting Japan, but in 2023, there were strict measures to restrict entry because of the pandemic. So I finally chose to visit South Korea, a trip I loved too and which surprised me from a culinary point of view. I crossed it from Seoul to Busan in an adventure I'll surely share with you one day.

But we are here to talk about my journey across Japan, and it was in Busan that I received the Gods' blessing. I say that jokingly, but what happened in Busan is so exceptional and crazy that it launched me on a trajectory that shaped the entire trip. Because it was in Busan that I had the idea to continue my journey in Japan… I hadn’t realized I could do it before arriving in that city. It was in Busan that I discovered there was a ferry going from Busan to Fukuoka, Japan, and that the restrictive measures were much simpler by sea. And so, that it would be possible for me to live my dream of cycling across Japan! I was so excited at the thought. On top of that, it would allow me to build an itinerary where the finale would be Tokyo. I felt like I was living a dream! The only measure in place was to show a negative COVID test result. Easy! So I took my passport and went to the nearest testing lab, 2 km away, except that… Upon arriving at the lab, I realized that… I NO LONGER HAD MY PASSPORT!!!!! I still managed to convince them to do a COVID test in my name without ID. How? I don’t know exactly, but I sometimes succeed… perhaps even often in getting this kind of favor. I think when you smile at the universe and believe that everything will work out, it often does. So, a victory for the COVID test, but I couldn't imagine achieving the same feat of obtaining special permission without a passport at customs. To be 100% honest, I considered it. I built scenarios where it was my father's last wish and I burst into tears. I told myself: you need some heavy-duty storytelling to get past customs without a passport, but I couldn't imagine that it could really work. I mean, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work at a major international airport, but in this specific case… given it was a small maritime customs between Busan and Fukuoka and given how much I wanted this trip, I thought, maybe, there's a small chance? I would have put on a magnificent performance! Hahaha And the story would have been interesting even if it failed, I think! For the record: I have already crossed a border without a passport: it was for my return to Canada after losing it in France, so it’s theoretically possible! Anyway, enough talk about that story that never happened! 😆 Because what did happen is just as fascinating. I was so sad that this incredible opportunity, which seemed straight out of a fairy tale, was slipping through my fingers, that I searched and searched. I looked at the ground the entire way back, then I turned my room upside down.

Nothing to be done. My dream had just gone up in smoke. Disappointed, I walked for the last time the 2 km separating the test lab from my room, almost without hope. Busan is a city of over 3 million inhabitants, so there are dozens of passers-by in the streets all the time. I was using my GPS just like the first time I went there and, as I listened to the instructions, there was a moment where the intersection wasn't conventional and I didn't quite understand the meaning of the instruction. So I stopped… I took my phone out of my pocket to look at the path on the screen and… I spot my passport right there, between my two feet, looking straight into my eyes with a look like: yo! Where have you been?

And then I think: no! Nooo! WTF!!! I mean: did I really, when I did the journey the first time, receive the same instruction from the GPS at the same moment? And I didn't understand it the first time either, so I pulled the phone out of my pocket PRECISELY in the same spot? And my passport probably fell out of my pocket when I took out my phone to look at my path the first time. And that's why it's now between my two feet, ready to resurrect my plan! So there is a rational explanation for this story: I just received the same information twice in the same place and was unable to learn the way the first time... so possibly, there was no divine intervention, strictly speaking. But the emotional journey I experienced is so crazy!!! The appearance of this incredible possibility, the loss of the passport, the panic, then gradually the resignation, the sadness, and the mourning. Then the resurrection of the plan, an explosion of joy and happiness. OMFG The image of this passport, just there, between my two feet, looking nonchalant, but completely transforming my destiny. It put me in a state of enthusiasm, excitement, and inspiration that resonated throughout the rest of the trip and makes it one of the most wonderful stories of my life!