We are just a few days into our month-in-Japan adventure and it already feels like forever and ago since we left Santa Fe. Having an incredible time so far, brimming with so much anticipation that we completely forgot to be jetlagged.

Correspondingly, the coffee is surprisingly good here. Green tea is my new friend. Sidewalk hot/cold refreshment vending machines are always within arms-reach across the entire country. As a result, we are making memories with every step, glance and meal. My wife Adisa is having a gas so far - fearlessly curious about everything unfolding around us.

Fall is just unfolding. The Japanese love to orient around the seasons which keeps that autumnal feeling even more top of mind. You see it in their clothing, signage and food menus.

To track nature's subtle shifts, traditional Japanese calendars divide the year into 72 poetic micro-seasons, each lasting about five days (e.g., "First Peach Blossoms" or "Earth Becomes Damp"). Fascinating. And accurate.

Some emerging themes so far. 

There is a wonderful ying + yamg to Japanese culture; a deep respect of history intertwined with well-designed modern experiences. From ancient temples and ubiquitous handmade crafts to robot helmets, fresh-meal vending machines and ultra-modern cars. They are much more sophisticated, and sinewy - almost animal-like. Definitely not the boring looking Toyotas they ship to the USA.

Japan works well because customer service is off-the-charts, even with the considerable language divide. When buying the smallest thing, sales employees walk you to (and thru) the door bowing as you leave. Gas stations are set up like Formula One pit stops with red-suited service teams working on each car. Locals often approach us to offer help as we navigate crowded subway stations during rush hour. And best of all, there is no tipping allowed, so people help out of a willingness vs. expectation. Such a relief.

Every day is an unfolding adventure.

There is just something revitalizing about travel. It stretches you and then rewards your effort. It makes you a better human being for venturing out to navigate the unknown by relying more on your curiosity than your phone. It's all new here, every second keeps you in the moment, staying present to whatever comes your way. I love the physical feeling of my brain intuitively feeling its way around, sensorially navigating, fueled by a sense of wonder as I go.

Somehow, Adisa and I get by on hand signals, broken English and even more broken Japanese. In Japan, all you need to do is stay present, be soft spoken and polite.

Emotional safety is back.

It's been years since we've had this feeling of intuitive trust and safety. Through social media we've learned to be wary. Here, it feels very different. Perhaps it's because there's no media headlines blaring - or at least ones we can read. And so people lock their bikes with a thin stamped metal chain more out of habit than fear. Garages remain wide open all day to complete strangers across the city. In small towns, people smile as they pass us checking to see if we are lost. And Google Maps is next-level here, so we are never lost, no matter where we are. Late night walk after dinner to a local 8th century temple. No problem.

Back alley muse.

Osaka has been a fantastic place to start our adventure - a deep history obliterated by the war, now very modern, with a perfect urban vibe and manageable scale (vs. Tokyo). Osaka is the place tourists often pass over. That works for us. It is the Melbourne of Japan with an Anthony Bourdain-level obsession with street food. Restaurant signage blares and flashes deep into the night. And watch out for that 30 foot animated crab sign just above your head as you walk by. The streets are centuries old yet amazingly clean. Last night, we took a small guided evening back alley food tour where we ended up in a neighborhood called Shinsekai strolling to five different bar restaurants called Izakaya. Each its own wonderful hole-in-the-wall that has been perfecting their one signature dish for decades - still pretty much all they offer. Exquisite yakitori at one spot and orgasmic Onimiyaki in another. Local sake liberally sprinkled across all of them.

Tonight, our backstreet journey of deeper discovery is led by Kevin of Namba Food Tours. He is a warm, gregarious Canadian channeling SNL's Mike Meyers. Kevin's been in Osaka for 5 years, married to a lovely Japanese woman he met in Okinawa. He took us off the typical path to the locals-only neighborhoods which feel more authentic. We never would have found Shinsekai otherwise. Kevin has an uncanny ability to be able to translate Japanese culture into very relatable terms. The only other person on the food tour tonight is a larger-than-life German 'couples intimacy' therapist from Mannheim named Nina Deissler. (Look her up!) She loves to connect, share her insights on the human condition while enjoying her sake.

Night swimming.

During the course of the evening, Kevin teaches us about food, inter-generational family traditions and the unspoken rules of karaoke while drinking. Nina then gets to the heart of the matter and begins asking questions about the rules of engagement in the adjacent redlight district which of course leads to a nocturnal expedition led by Kevin. Sake soothes our nerves as we commence with eyes wide open into the neighborhood night. Adisa and Nina lead while Kevin color commentates, whispering in our ears on the correct pacing, eye contact, decorum, hand/face gestures to signal interest vs. "keep walking" by the ladies of the night we pass.

It is clearly their neighborhood turf. And btw, the turf is immaculate with scrubbed sidewalks, clean signage and perfectly lit like a movie set. Protection looms nearby from the Japanese mafia who loudly weightlift at the local second story gym. Kevin knowingly points to the building as if he hangs with them. We slowly stroll the back streets with converted garages turned into beautifully arranged Welcome Rooms. Most have a simple stairway at the rear of the room if you are deemed worthy of a carnal visit. Kevin reminds us these rooms are centuries old. A tattoo-free woman sits squarely inside each room, perfectly illuminated and looking right out at us as we pass. Its very halting and direct. A few wave enthusiastically as if on a parade float as you move by. Its feels like a fascinating dark video game.

In Japan, the oldest profession is alive and well in Osaka, accepted by the city, its inhabitants and carefully monitored all at the same time. Each woman is paired with a grandmother who plays the vigilant adult, sizing up the prospects (including Adisa and Nina) as we walk by. We later learned the grandmothers use discreet mirrors to do a full reconnaissance of each person way before you even get into their view.

Nina comments: "In life, we first build and then run thru the mazes of our own design"

On to Kyoto….