Reflections: A Travelers Memories

Here we go.  Final reflection for this epic journey.  This one is entirely self indulgent on my part.  I'm not trying to make any grandiose statements, I'm just looking back at the memories I treasure the most from Japan.  So, without further ado, let's get started.

Top of the list of my favorite memories is my journey to see the UshiTora project.  Theater Om is a tiny little theater that virtually no foreigner has heard of, performing a play that few English speakers would even be able to comprehend.  I loved my trip to watch the play based on Ushio and Tora.  The theater was hard to find and I had to look around, making this more akin to a quest or adventure than anything, but once inside the tiny, unobtrusive theater, I was blown away.  The dedication to the source material, the music, the lights, the costumes and acting, everything was a brilliant tribute to the nerd culture that Ushio and Tora fans love.  This experience is the second most remembered part of my trip to Japan.  It was one not catered for foreigners, it was something I had to go find, some "pure" Japanese culture.  For anyone traveling to Japan, I'd say this.  Sure, go and enjoy the usual tourist sites, Hiroshima, Nara, etc. but go find something esoteric that you love, something purely Japanese, and take a leap.  It will be totally worthwhile.  The experiences not catered to foreigners offer a beautiful taste of Japan undiluted by expectations of pleasing the west.

On a more somber note, the trip to Hiroshima was the most terrifying experience for me in Japan.  More than first arriving, more than being alone and without friends, seeing the destruction my country wrought and hearing someone speak about their own living hell was shocking to my core.  I felt I needed to be there, to see and to hear, but it was an unsettling experience.  I would only recommend it to those who want to be challenged, because the information gathered at the peace museum will challenge your ideas of right, wrong, and patriotism to its core.

On a lighter note, I also have to comment about my first shopping spree in Japan.  This might seem minor, but just getting a chance to immerse myself in the pop culture and see all the curios for sale was fantastic.  Scouring manga stores, a super market full of the strangest food you'll likely see, a mall full of Japanese games and model kits, a nirvana for both the traveler seeking something new and the nerd looking for his holy grail.  It was something I never got used to, as I could always find something to gape at in ANY of the stores in Japan.

Along the same note, the food was unbelievable.  Delicious, but at the same time a shock to my body, it was the healthiest meals I've ever eaten, even the fast food there is miles ahead of the fast food in the states.  The freshness of the food, the exquisite taste, and the restaurants, including my personal favorite, the takoyaki/yakisoba man who I frequented most.  DO NOT go for American food in Japan.  Experiment, because you'll find it matches your palette perfectly, no matter who you are.

One memory I can't shake are all the times I stumbled with the language and all the times I managed to eke out a small victory.  I never realize how weak my language skills were until I had to be immersed in it.  The people speak quickly, in low voices, and it's difficult for me to process, even after almost two years of practice.  It was frustrating.  At the same time, when you managed to remember a phrase you've never used, conjugate it correctly, and be perfectly understood by the Japanese, there is a sense of pride welling up inside you that is hard to forget.  I had this happen a number of times, like when I got lost and had to ask police, in Japanese, to help me find my way.  Likewise, I struggled often with countless renditions of "Mooichido, onegashimasu" or "Wakarimasen."  I need to study more, but I've improved thanks to this trip.

My experiences in a small town with my friend Na-chan were also very precious to me, as I got insight into Japanese home life.  The homes are small, but the space is used to great effect, so that a number of people can share a small home without being too crowded.  And Japanese cooking, done right, by a real Japanese mother, is fantastic.  While not that different from American cooking on some levels, it's healthier by far and just...tasty.  I'm glad I didn't decide to homestay, for reasons I'll talk about later, but I did enjoy meeting a Japanese family and exploring a typical small town.  I would love to live in ANY of the towns I visited in Japan.  Speaking of small towns, I love the atmosphere of Japan.  The mix of rustic and technological, the strange and the familiar, the mixing of nature with industry...it's beautiful.

One memory that's not usual, but which I still love, is the time difference.  In Japan, I was able to live and function like an actual human being.  My internal clock made it easier to just...live.  After coming back to the states and spending sleepless nights awake and tired days napping, I realize how Japan wasn't just good for my physical health, but my mental health.  I slept well there, I was seldom truly tired...it's something I miss.

Of all my memories, the ones I treasure the most are, ironically enough, not those exclusive to Japan at all.  Granted, there are elements of Japan in there, but the memories I treasure the most are finding some real friends and spending time with them.  My personal favorite of these times are my trips to Kyoto and Fushimi Inari, which are great cultural sites in their own right, but spent with my friends, they became something amazing.  Looking through stores, getting lost, tasting the local cuisine, it was just fun being with those who accept you for who you are, and believe me, my first trip to Kyoto was with people who hated me and who I came to be distasteful of.  Going back with people I could have fun with, it was like a totally different experience.  Or, just eating dinner, a Japanese dinner, with people like that was amazingly fun.  I made new friends who I determined to never forget and to keep up with for as long as I could.  And hopefully someday we can go back to Japan together.

There were a lot of other grand memories, but these are the ones that stick out most in my mind.  And honestly, there were lots of memories I wanted to make but couldn't, like visiting Tokyo.  But, despite this, if I died tomorrow...I'd have a ton fewer regrets.  Japan was an experience unlike any other, one that I someday hope to replicate.

It's been a trial at times, but being in Japan was fantastic.  And that's all I have to say on the matter...on this blog, at least.  I'm sure I'll return here eventually, like when I travel to Japan again or to any of the other places I want to visit like Brazil or the UK.  Until then, though, I wish you good fortune, dear viewers.  And encourage you to try an experience like this for yourself.  It's one you will not easily forget.