Tokyo, Narita Airport.
"You don't have to see me off any farther."
Koichi waved to his friends behind him.
Traveling abroad alone was a little intimidating, but fortunately, he was bringing his agent along.
He had finished everything he needed to do over the past two weeks.
After arriving in Tokyo yesterday, he had even made a point of meeting with a few people from the Authorities for a chat.
"Make sure you give yourself time to adjust once you get there. No need to rush."
Ryuji Wada and Kenichi Ikezoe had also come especially to see Koichi off.
"It'll be fine. The time difference isn't that big, either. I'll adjust in no time."
Koichi spoke as he pulled his suitcase along.
The food and the racing would probably be harder to get used to.
As for the people at the ranch, he had already said goodbye before leaving Sapporo.
They still had plenty of work to do at the ranch.
"Don't worry, Sasaki. I'll take good care of Epiphaneia and Gold Ship over the next few months."
Kenichi Ikezoe reassured him.
With Koichi Sasaki away, both racehorses would naturally be left in his hands.
After spending some time getting acquainted with Epiphaneia, he now had a general understanding of the horse, but he would have to wait until Gold Ship's vacation ended to do the same with him.
To his mind, taking Gold Ship into a race was clearly going to put him under a lot of pressure.
If he lost, wouldn't that practically prove he wasn't as good as Koichi Sasaki?
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself, either."
Koichi smiled as he spoke.
He had arrived quite early, so there was no harm in chatting for a while.
Then he noticed his agent talking to several people