Tickets to Korea

　The year 2002 has come and I vowed that this year we would go abroad. After stopping at Mr. Umeyama’s place in Tokyo, I started my journey south again. I am aiming for Shimonoseki or Fukuoka in Yamaguchi.

In Kyoto I visited Mr. Okamura, whom I had met at Mr. Umeyama’s place. Okamura-san held out a sheet of paper to me and said
“I want to make your trip more interesting”

“What is it?”

I took the paper and read

“Shimonoseki to Busan, 24th March”

It was a ferry ticket from Shimonoseki to Busan, Korea.

I had been able to get to Okinawa by cargo ship, so I thought I would do the same overseas. The ticket was already dated and had already been prepared for me.

“It’s going to be interesting,”

I said, looking at the ticket.

“Are you sure?”

I asked to Mr.Okamura

“It’s on a certain date, so I’ll have to go.

Okamura-san said.

I felt a mixture of sorry and happy.

Thank you very much.

I decided to take the ticket.

I’ll be able to go abroad now.

It had already been a year since I started on the road as a homeless in Shinjuku.