Upon returning to Japan, I somewhat abandoned my job and started attending the drum school at Kawai Music School in Umeda, Osaka. I craved the powerful sounds of the snare drum's "pan" and the cymbals' "bash." When I told a senior colleague who played in a band at work about it, he chuckled and said, "That's funky." Meanwhile, I also started playing the guitar in a band led by an Irishman.

Around this time, something amusing happened at work. There was a former leftist professor who frequented the company. He was a consulting genius and an alum of Kyoto University, and coincidentally, there was a senior of mine who also graduated from Kyoto University. He told us in the evening about how he contemplated quitting the club he joined during his university days because he didn't find it interesting. The professor quipped, "Even if you quit, they're not going to kill you, right?" I burst out laughing.

At the same time, I made up my mind to take action on going to America. This was decisively triggered by advice from a university professor, an acquaintance of the company president, who, upon seeing my depressive state, told me, "Do what you want to do now."

However, quitting the company came too late. Maybe I should have gone to the U.S. right after graduating from university. No, I should have dropped out and gone to the U.S. after finishing my trip there during university. I wrote the report up to a suitable point, and the rest was written by my boss. Then, in June, I left the company and returned to my parents' home.

My parents asked me what I planned to do from here on. I told them I was going to Las Vegas to become a tour guide. My father didn't say yes or no, but my mother found it amusing that I was going to America. Her occasional desire to visit America was the reason.

When I told my girlfriend about going to America, she easily broke up with me. We had been together since I was a student, but being of a manic disposition, I thought I could easily find another girl, so I wasn't particularly bothered.

I received a retirement bonus of one million yen from the company. Takahashi advised me to buy a good car because the climate in Las Vegas can be harsh. So, I started working part-time at an automobile manufacturing plant with the goal of saving an additional one million yen.

Simultaneously, I began the process of studying abroad. I chose the Hotel Management Department's Travel and Tourism program at the Community College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas. I saved up one million yen from my part-time job and completed the study abroad application process.

However, I couldn't bring myself to tell my drum teacher, who I had been learning from in group lessons, and Yukiko, the piano teacher for the students, that I was going to Las Vegas. In the end, after our final lesson, we went for drinks in Shin-Umeda's dining district, and I brought it up right before they boarded the train.

The drum teacher was surprised and exclaimed, "So, you're really going!" Yukiko-sensei told me to write her a letter once I arrived there. However, I didn't ask for her address, which turned out to be a problem. Then, shortly after New Year's in 1998, I took off for Las Vegas.