In Love…With a Time (1/2)
May 13, 2008 – 10:31 pmAt the writing of this, I had just finished viewing a recent Facebook photo album by an American friend of mine whom I met in Japan and who had just come back from a two-week trip visiting the little countryside town where we studied in Japan. Oh yeah, he also visited some of the rest of Japan too, including the three sights.
How can I put this elegantly?
Man, I miss Japan!
But do I?
The spot in Tsuru, Yamanashi, Japan where we went for all our stationery needs.
First, a little background info: Of the three countries where I studied abroad and the one country where I volunteered abroad, Japan is the one with which I have the most ambivalent yet nostalgia-inducing relationship. A big part of the reason is perhaps I spent more time there than anywhere else.
I realize that half a year isn’t really a long time, but it’s just long enough for someone to get attached to a foreign place but not so long that the foreign place becomes mundane. Feel free to argue.
Another part of the reason is most likely my long-term interest in Japan. Yes, I was one of the fanboys that grew up on videogames and anime. While we’re on that note, let me emphasize that there’s a whole lot of people in Japan who don’t care about videogames and anime at all. Some Japanese I’ve met have never even played Mario or seen Naruto. But everyone does know Ayu and Hikki.
The question I pose is, do I actually miss Japan or the time I had in Japan? I ask this because I know for a fact that there are many, many things about Japan that I do not like.
For example, I would never ever work for a Japanese company in Japan. Hell, I’m not sure I’d work for any Japanese company located anywhere. They treat their employees like crap. There are, of course, exceptions, but those are far and few in between. I wouldn’t mind working for a Western company with an office in Japan, though.
Also, I don’t think it’s far-fetched to guess that you’ve heard the Japanese are very hospitable people. Yes, they are. If you’re a customer or a foreigner. To be actual friends with a Japanese person takes a lot more work. Just imagine the American high school in-group/out-group social phenomenon amplified.
Of course, Japan is much more complicated than that, but this should suffice for now. The two above mentioned characteristics of Japan are my two biggest sources of negative sentiment toward it.
Naturally, there are plenty of things I like about Japan as well: convenience stores that are actually convenient, a public transportation system that works, fast food that isn’t too unhealthy for you, hot springs, breath-taking natural landscapes, and friends and memories. Lots of friends and memories.
2 Responses to “In Love…With a Time (1/2)”
The olfactory stimulation of japan is something that really got me.
Everything smelled different there. And not “smelled” as in had an bad odor. Rooms, people, trains, stores…everything.
Nature smelled different too. Whenever I pass by something that smells just like something I remember in Japan, my brain perks up in recognition. I don’t remember exactly what or where it is that I smelled that in Japan, but I remember it as something I smelled when I was there.
And I’m dying to get back to that. When I reached the peak of fujisan, I filled my ziplock bag with a good quart of volcanic soil from the top. It smelled like Mt. Fuji. And for months I could open up that bag and smell my climb up Fujisan. Sadly the smell is gone from that soil…and now it only smells familiar and indistinct.
By Eddy on May 14, 2008