We had to get up early this morning to check out of the hotel by 7:15am. We caught a taxi to Haneda Airport, and it turned out to be a good chance to use up the remaining balance on one of our Suica cards.

As advanced as Japan is in so many ways, there are a few things that feel surprisingly outdated. For example, you can use your iPhone or a physical Suica card to tap on and off public transport, but if you try to pay for a taxi that costs 1,000 yen and you only have 400 yen on your Suica card, you can’t split the payment between Suica and a credit card. That seems crazy to me, considering the tap system is already in place.

So when the final taxi fare showed, I had to top up my Suica card to that exact amount and then pay the full balance with it. A bit inconvenient, but at least the money didn’t go to waste.

Once we arrived at the airport, we checked in for our flight and dropped off both big suitcases and my carry-on. No reason to lug it around all day. There was a 7-Eleven in the terminal, so we stopped there to use up the rest of Vivi’s Suica balance and grab some snacks for the flight. We also found a small souvenir shop selling Japanese-made items, so we picked up a few last-minute things we hadn’t been able to find earlier in the trip.

When we boarded the ANA flight, we handed a bag of KitKats to the Japanese flight attendants as a small thank-you. They looked completely shocked, and I don’t think they knew what to do. The Japanese aren’t used to tips or little gestures like that, so we never got a response, but it made for an amusing cultural moment.

The flight to Houston was eleven hours. I watched a few movies — Sharp Corner, Hallow Road, and The Surfer — none of which were particularly uplifting or memorable, but they helped pass the time.

We landed in Houston earlier than expected and made our way to the United Lounge, thanks to the passes my mom had given us. It was the perfect place to spend our six-hour layover. We had some food, relaxed, and stayed comfortable before catching our connection to Bogotá.

The United flight to Bogotá was five hours and completely full. The difference in seat size and legroom was very noticeable after coming off a long-haul international flight. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride, but we made it through and landed at 7:11pm — which felt fitting after visiting so many 7-Elevens in Japan.

We breezed through immigration, picked up our three bags, and found Don José waiting for us outside, as always. We got home around 8:30pm. Thomas was already asleep, but my mom was there to greet us with a big hug, which was the perfect welcome home.

We got showered, stayed up until 10pm to start adjusting to the time zone again, and finally went to bed.

This was an incredible trip — one we’ve both been planning in our heads for over a decade — and it truly lived up to every expectation. Now that the number one destination on both of our lists is officially checked off, the only question left is: where do we go next?