Here's the funny thing about Japan: just like anything else, you get used to it. All the talk we had of culture shock in the weeks leading up to our departure from Canada, didn't really seem to take hold. I think the only real shock was getting used tot the trains, but even then, that was a quick adjustment since trains are the main form of transportation to anywhere.
Having been here for four weeks already (already!) and that I'm going to be here an extra week after, I still feel like I'm going to be missing out on some parts of Tokyo. The city is just so huge, and there's so much to see and so much to do, and so much walking to get where you're going (I think I've actually lost a bit of weight from all of it, to be honest) and I feel like I could be here for months and still not see everything there is.
Everyone in the group has been great, but it's also an entirely different experience going off with maybe one other person or even just by yourself to see what the city has to offer. Taking the train by yourself late at night and being crammed together like sardines because you wanted to see a part of the nightlife in sacrifice for the showers closing before you get back to the dorm; walking into a restaurant and ordering food from the ticket vending machines where there's no English in sight; standing in the midst of a station like the Shinjuku terminal and watch everyone go around you and go about their day - it's in the little things that make the depth of your memories better. Even with the excitement of being in Tokyo, you get used to seeing shrines and vending machines everywhere, or of getting in the habit of looking right and then left when crossing the street.
There's so many things I could say abou Tokyo, or Japan, but they're all overused and I guess have become kind of cliche. Like, "you'll never be able to prepare for the enormity of the city until you're really here", or "the trains are something you get used to, but it's hard to wrap your head around them the first few times you ride them", or "this has been a unique lifetime experience, and I'm so glad I
was able to come." Yes to all of those, but still. I know I'm luckier than most, to have been able to come on this trip. This has been great, having this kind of environment to learn and explore in.
There's been so much to do and so much to see, but in the end I'm just hoping I'll still be able to remember all of the things I did and the stuff I've eaten and the places I've been to and seen with the
same sort of feeling I had when I was there. There's a word in Japanese, that doesn't quite have an
equivalent in English: monoaware. It roughly means "the pathos of things" and is the awareness of the impermanence of all things and the gentle sadness and wistfulness at their passing. That's what I feel like right now, I suppose. I know what it is that I have right now is a passing, fleeting moment that I know I have to savour. And in the end, memories will blur and moments will be forgotten but I am glad that I've been able to come here.
I know I've been kind of wandering a bit, and I don't reall know what to say now. There's one more day to edit and add to the post, so maybe I'll write something more there. I'll make a note of any edits below, I guess. But for now, here's to hoping I can make it back to Japan in the future.
