Tag: japan

Shinkansen

This will probably be my last post from this trip. I’m on a Shinkansen to Tokyo. We visited Osaka Castle and it’s lovely park today. Next visit, I’ll plan to stay in cities for two or three days instead of one. There’s too much to enjoy in one day or afternoon. It’s been like cram school but without a doubt I want to return again. My interest in Japan started with anime but I’m leaving Japan tomorrow knowing there’s peaceful air here. Life seems simpler here. It can be slow but also bustling. You can work hard in Tokyo, play hard in Osaka, and find peace in Nara. 

My knowledge about traveling jumped to an new level in just a week and I’ll remember my experiences in Japan forever. I managed to save all the literature collected over the last few days. Those will help me for next time. Nara and Osaka especially require a solid three days to enjoy at a leisurely pace. I could spend a day in silence at the deer park or spend all night raging in Osaka. It’s an amazing place and the adjective doesn’t describe my affection for the country enough. It’s like music or sex. There’s a unique kind satisfaction I can’t from anything else. I love it here. 

Tonight, Andrew and I will hit Golden Gai in Shinjuku for genteel send off. Seeing him was the other half of the trip. Absolutely Japan gave me more than I ever imagined but seeing him on the other side of the world fulfilled the void of not seeing him for a while. He’s got a great situation teaching English and more importantly he loves it. I’m glad to have seen him and I know our friendship radiates like the temple of Kinkaku-Ji. I wondered for a while if anything could be forever. Our friendship almost ten years later gets only better when we can take the time out of our lives to spend a few days together across an ocean from where we met. This is friendship. 

Kyoto to Osaka


Quick update from Japan. So far we’ve visited Nara, Kyoto, and making our way to Osaka. Nara was honestly one of the most satisfying or fulfilling experiences of my life. It’s the joy or eureka one feels from personal success, redemption, accomplishment, discovery, love, whatever word you want you use. I would almost call it spiritual, somewhat religious. Nara was incredible and I’ll post about it in detail later. 

Right now I’m on a bus to Gion, in Kyoto, to do some shopping. Then if we make good time we’ll rage in Osaka. Hopefully we can have an unforgettable night. Wednesday I’ll head to Shinjuku to hang out and go all fucking out with Andrew at Golden Gai. It’s a famous area in Tokyo known for it’s small micro bars. We’ll break bread one last time before I take off. 

Visiting Japan, breathing, drinking, eating, sleeping, sitting down to smoke a cigarette with my feet up fulfills me. I should really stop smoking lol. I need to get my ass in the gym and bust my fat ass like I was! Anyway we’re getting close to getting off in Gion. See you soon. 

Ebisu-Shibuya

T e n e m e n t

Hello from Japan! Specifically Ebisu Shibuya. I’m at a pretty hip spot called Tenement to take a load off with a cup of coffee. I just had a delicious bowl of pork belly ramen at Kukai Ebisu, a popular local shop. From what I see this area is similar to North Park. There’s a lot of young people here, fashionably dressed, along with young families. There’s one right next to me. They must barely be in their 30’s. They could easily pull in my neighborhood as contemporary couple. It’s a well to do residence load with chic cafes, restaurants, and bars. Here’s more about the area.

I’m enjoying my afternoon here. Tenement would be the coolest cafe in North Park. They’re playing old Japanese records off a record player. You can flip something on if you want but I’m chillin whatever they’re playing. It’s gotta be some 80’s lounge soundtrack. Sounds like it could have been part of non-action scenes in Cowboy Bebop. After I’m done here I’ll probably go back to the room and have some Lucky Strikes. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it when I got to the airport. I had to have them.

Smoking in the Tokyo area is kinda tough. There’s countless signs everywhere warning not to light one up. Even the young hotel keep warning me smoking in Tokyo difficult. I have a small patio so I smoke out there. I’m not really sure if I’m allowed to but fuck it. The nice keep told me not to smoke outside. “Room ok” as he said. Patio is part of the space I’m paying for. See how I can justify things? Honestly though, it’s beneficial you have to smoke in designated areas. The streets are extremely clean. No one is smoking in your face. I respect that.

Maybe later I’ll go exploring past a few blocks. Part of me is scared of getting too lost and unable to get back to my stay. I figured out how to use my train pass but getting a bus to my hotel seemed like quantum physics. Where do I get a ticket? Which bus exactly do I take? Google Maps has been useful but certainly not precise. I saw there was a bus to take but I couldn’t decipher which one of the five was mine. I assumed I could pay for the fair on the bus but I was too socially embarrassed to try.

I walked 21 minutes towards refuge but happy it happened that way. I mingled in the hustle of the city. I feel humbled being a stranger without the language and customs of this space. It’s liberating. No one knows me. I left a lot of personal baggage behind on the other side of the world. There’s nothing I have to worry about. No commitments. No drama. No problems, just spontaneity. Whatever I feel like doing today or tomorrow I’ll just have to figure it out, soon with Andrew coming along. This is my first independent vacation.