I went to Chernobyl.

When I was in elementary school, I was attracted to abandoned buildings when a row-house complex in my neighborhood was vacated for reconstruction.
However, even abandoned buildings have owners. If you go inside, you are trespassing. It is scary if you meet someone.
I had to look for pictures on the Internet and just "Maya Kanko Hotel Moe" and "Space Revolving Hot Springs Moe".

I do not remember at all how and when I wanted to visit Chernobyl.
It was before the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.

I checked the Internet and found that to enter the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and surrounding areas, you need permission from the Ukrainian authorities and a guide to accompany you. It seems that it is common to ask a travel agency to make all the arrangements for you.
Many companies charge a fee based on the number of people traveling together. If you go with a large group, you can get a good deal.
Above all, entering an abandoned building in Japan is considered trespassing, but this is a legal way to go.

I approached people I met on the Internet who had the same interests, and although they said they were interested, they didn't go so far as to suggest we go.
I'll go alone! I contacted a travel agency.

Note: This article has been translated from Japanese into English using "DeepL".

Click here to read the original article.

First, go to Istanbul.

On the evening of October 11, 2013, I was waiting for boarding at the gate of Kansai International Airport. Turkish Airlines to Istanbul. Since it was a Japan-bound flight, I saw many Japanese people.
I read back my notes from that time.
"At the gate, across from the bench, a beautiful blonde woman with big breasts.
"Boarding, blonde woman next to me."
It seems that I had a connection with a blonde woman.
Was there nothing else to write about?

After a 13-hour flight, I arrived in Istanbul, Turkey. It is 6:00 in the morning.
It was the time when I usually sleep, so I was very sleepy on the plane, but I could not sleep.
This is the pain of being sleepy but not being able to sleep.

But a destination is a place to be excited about traveling, and no, I think I was also taking "Estarron Mocha," but not so much that I couldn't move.
I posted on social media the promised words, "Flying to Istanbul now".

Head to the gate where you will board a plane to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

Where have all the Japanese who arrived in Istanbul on the same plane gone?

Perhaps it is sightseeing in Turkey.

Of course I was.
I was the only Japanese on the plane to Kiev.

I arrived in Kiev ...... for a pickup?

I slept in a seat sandwiched between two strong foreign men.
I arrived at "Bolujspil International Airport.
After immigration, I waited for my baggage to come out.
Waiting. Waiting for .......
One by one, they were leaving with their luggage in their hands.
Well, what about my baggage ......?
The top of the turntable emptied and stopped.
There was no one around. Noooooo!
What do I say to the airport staff?
Yes, I don't understand English at all.
I regretted that I did not learn it seriously in junior high school and high school.

In my haste, the turntable started moving again.
My baggage came out. Good, I am so glad!

Well, a local guide should be picking me up at the airport ....... Well, ...... where are you?

There is no one who looks like that.
The only people who call out to me are cab drivers.
What should I do?

Let's make a phone call.
...... I don't know how to make a phone call in a foreign country.
Open a notepad. I looked it up before I left. Good!
"Hello!"
English!
I told him my name and that I had arrived at the airport. I heard the guide's English. I did my best.
He seems to be saying, "Wait inside the building." Right?　Right?

My occupation is ......?

I was able to meet up with my guide.
Our guide drove us to Chernobyl.

The guide asked me what my occupation was and I explained it in poor English.

"You are a journalist."

Hmm?
What is he talking about? With my poor English, I tried my best to listen to him.
To enter the Chernobyl exclusion zone, you need permission from the Ukrainian authorities. Permission is not granted for tourist purposes. Permission was granted for the purpose of reporting. So, your profession is journalist.
Is that what you say when you get there?
I came here for the purpose of sightseeing.

I thought that lying was just a convenient way of putting it, but I will come to realize what it means to be a journalist, not a tourist.