July 05, 2004
More Reflections from Abroad
The other day I wrote about the feeling of "expansiveness" that my wife and I felt shortly after returning to the USA in June. This trip to Colorado is huge for me. I'm hoping to create vivid memories to take back with me (to Japan) in August. We'll bring back our backpacks and fly fishing gear to Tokyo, and hopefully I'll get motivated to go out and explore. The place where we live has relatively "easy" access to the mountains (of Okutama and, further, Nagano). I'm also reminded that there is a fly fishing circle (club) that I could probably join.
The pictures above show some girls that I met by the river one day. This is the river that runs near our house in Japan. They were out searching for fish with a net. I asked if they ever saw snakes around there, and they said, "No." So I pointed out the 6 foot snake sitting mid-stream about ten feet behind them. They thought that was neat and moved in for a closer look. So the snake swam to the opposite bank and disappeared into the grass. I left them like that and returned to where my family was having a picnic nearby. But 30 minutes later the girls showed up carrying the snake. Everyone thought that was pretty cool. We took some photos, and then they let the snake go.
As a follow up to my last post, I had planned to write about what I miss from life in Japan. But I'm not inspired. It's too late. My mind is on Colorado now. Anyway, I'll say just one thing. I miss our house, which has become a home. I'm very grateful about that. It took over two years of living in Japan to produce that kind of feeling.
Have you lived in Japan? What do you miss (when you leave)? Leave a comment if something comes to mind.
Posted by jw at July 5, 2004 05:16 PM
I currently live in Japan and August marks 2 years living here. Here's a couple of things that come to mind:
1. Vending machines. In the states, it's just this carbonated beverage versus this carbonated beverage.
2. If you say you're "busy" then you need not explain anything or say anything more. "I'm busy" is a legitimate answer in Japan.
*****
One of the most prominent things that I remember a friend saying when I asked "Do you like living in Japan?" was, "I like it when I'm away".
I half wonder if that's the way most foreigners feel in Japan.
KT
I lived in Nagasaki 15 years ago so most of my thoughts of Japan are just fond memories... I still miss how easy it was to get to everything without a car and that department stores had both clothes and food. Now, life is much different. I have enjoyed reading your blog and seeing your photographs over the last month or so.
Posted by: vicki at July 7, 2004 01:25 PMVery nice these Blog about Japan!
I left Japan 13 years ago and have been back to visit once. A part of me will always miss it. My heart is divided between my two homes; now, and wherever I am, I harbor a longing for the other.
Specifically I miss onsen and the whole bathing culture. I miss the small town feel of Japan and how every town has its own specialty: sake, sembe, bento, omiage. I miss the Mom and Pop shops, the vendor of tofu and sushi and geta and cakes. I miss joku-pan, that sliced bread with no heel. Oh, and I really miss manju. I love the juxtaposition of old and new Japan, east and west, fantasy and reality, seriousness and playfulness.
Mostly I miss the gentle friendliness of my neighbors, colleagues, and students. I miss the wonder and curiousity completely sans cynical posturing.
Certainly I had difficulties, but that is for another post. When I weigh the good against the bad, the good always wins in my memory. A lot of what I loved was disappearing when I revisited in 1996. Even Beppu-shi, which had retained some old-fashioned charm to keep the older tourists coming, was becoming as concrete and grey as neighboring cities. I know the Japan I remember so fondly exists in only in the nostalgic past--and that I can never return to it.
Posted by: M Sinclair Stevens (Texas) at July 10, 2004 03:14 AMThanks for your comments. I really appreciate them, and they remind me of many things that I also like about Japan. I also realize that my own perspective would be different if we were in a more rural part of Japan rather than Tokyo. Not that rural Japan is the perfect place either, but there are no perfect places that I've found yet in this world.
Posted by: Andy at July 13, 2004 02:47 AMI live in a rural area of Mie Prefecture. I've lived in Japan for 18 years now, and have lived in rural areas more often than not. I lived in a rural area of Kumamoto for a while before I moved here. I can't say that I have been especially impressed by the Japanese concern for and love of nature. The place I live now is wonderful, but pretty soon a highway is going to go through pretty close to my home. I look around at the wonderful scenery and wonder how long it will last. So I have to look at it like a Buddhist. Now is the only time. Before doesn't exist. Later doesn't exist. Now it is beautiful.
Posted by: Dan at July 14, 2004 11:48 AMI've been in Japan for close to a year now. So far I don't have many complaints about living here. Although I had spent time in college studying in Japan abroad so it's interesting coming back after an extended amount of time away and observing many changes between then and now.