GACKT Official blog update. Translation below:

I came to London
to meet a friend who moved here from KL but
they seem to be living in the suburbs.

When I called and asked how I can get there,

『You’ll arrive quickly by riding the train!』

she said.
Mm, I’m screwed.
The train…

It’s a pretty big deal for me, since I have a train phobia but
I suppose it’s nothing to fuss about normally.
Anyhow,
it’s been more than 20 years
that I haven’t taken the subway alone.

Perhaps because, at the same time, this is a train system that I’m not familiar with
so it’s like a double whammy overseas.

Anyway, I walked around the city to have a look,
and I found an entrance that looked like it led to the subway.

I thought that this was something that will not come into my life at all but
anyway, since the opportunity has come,
I’ll just hold onto it as a good thing…

In any case, I went down the stairs.
People hurriedly come and go in the sprawling station.
I wonder where I can buy a ticket.
In the first place, which station should I head to.
I looked at the London metro map…

I don’t know at all…
Is this map useful?
With such a large number of stations, how do you find one?
I really can’t think of this as functional.
I’m done for…

Anyway, when I looked at the address that was given to me,
looks like it’s at a place called Rugby.

It took me 30 minutes to find.
There’s no station on the map called Rugby.
In any case, at this time when I can’t get any reception for my phone,
I thought that the hurdle was already pretty big but
I’ll try searching with a different method.

I found the ticketing machines,
and input Rugby but there were no hits after all.
I’m screwed.
Is the station name different…

Once more,
to restart everything from the top, I went aboveground.
This time, when I tried searching using Google Maps,
it looks like I have to transfer trains.

I’m done for…
The hurdle has grown even bigger.
Despite that I’m already bad at this,
to make things worse, even a transfer is involved…

The thought of going by car came to mind but
giving up here feels like I’m just running away.
I have time…
I decided to try getting to the transfer station without getting flustered first so
I bought a ticket and went into the station.

There were so many lines that I didn’t know which train to take.
I’m screwed…
At such a time, I’ll can only ask.
When I asked the people who were waiting for a train, they said

『It’s not here.
Turn right at the end and walk straight…』

I checked with around 3 people on the way,
and somehow I arrived at the destination line and boarded a train.

After awhile,
I arrived at the transfer station.
It’s ridiculously humongous.

Upon getting here, I was completely blown away.
Even looking at the sign board, I couldn’t really understand.

Humans are strange things,
when they want to ask about something when they’re alone, it feels quite daunting.
However, if it’s a group of 3 or 4 people,
this feeling completely disappears
and in that moment, without hesitation,
they’ll be able to ask anyone passing by.

Well,
putting it nicely, you can say that the nerves disappear.
Putting it negatively, they become brazen.

It’s the same with picking up girls.
If a person is afraid of rejection, they won’t approach a single person but
if they naturally get rejected by more than a hundred people,
their hesitation about approaching people will disappear
and they’ll even be able to take it easy.

Anyway, such feelings are important.
When you connect your thoughts with your ability to take action,
your hesitation will pretty much completely disappear.
Anyway, there is a large number of people
who have hesitation in all kinds of things.
With a small number,
with little experience, not thinking about every single thing
is the best way to get active.

It was an hour’s ride on the express train.
I finally arrived at my destination.

She came to welcome me with a smile.
It’s a happy thing.

Upon arriving at her home,
she started putting on an apron.

『G, do you want to eat something?』

When I told her that I only have meals at night,

『Since you’ve come all the way to England,
you absolutely have to
have an English breakfast, understand?』

she said, and started cooking on her own.
If that’s the case then there was no need to ask me, I thought, but
I admitted defeat to her smile
and had a rather early dinner today.

Food kept getting served one after another
and I thought, this is as good as dinner…
but I spent around 2 hours leisurely enjoying breakfast with her.

That said,
the question of how many years it has been
since I had breakfast like this, crossed my mind.

Be it the subway or the breakfast.
These were things that I thought were not meant for me.
Let’s make these commemorative things for me in England.

After eating, we had tea in the garden
and spent time leisurely.
We made a lot of idle chatter,
and spent around 2 hours like that.

She said

『I’ll show you around the city』

and we got into the car and went around a few places.
The city, was anyway, idyllic
and time passes slowly.

When driving halfway, we saw a flock of sheep and she said

『Don’t you think it’s lovely?』

and she spent sometime watching them,
making me admire how wonderful the freedom in her heart is.

Such a frame of mind is originally necessary but
if you’re in a metropolis, you’ll really forget it.
If you don’t do something,
you’ll find yourself being someone who can’t calm down.
It’s sad.

Halfway, we went into a pub
and leisurely spent time there while drinking the local brew.
The day passed leisurely but
I keenly felt that I still don’t have that freedom in my heart
that allows me to enjoy time while watching the scenery.

I think that’s definitely a precious thing.
It’s been very meaningful for me to visit this place.

Even so,
the local wine is delicious…

Source: GACKT Blog

Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team

Translation © GACKT ITALIA