Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow

I haven't been to many places in the twenty years that I've been alive. Other than North America, the Caribbean, and my hometown, Hong Kong, I've been stuck in this tiny bubble of Toronto, Ontario. But this summer, I finally experienced what it means to "travel".

I wouldn't say I went anywhere too exotic or spectacular. I went to the land of ramen, bright lights, and strange street style - Japan. It was one of my favourite trips yet. Not because they have mouth-watering food and pretty clothing (it's a plus though), but because seeing a different lifestyle than my own stirred something inside me.

One of my favourite books by Haruki Murakami is Norwegian Wood. He's a famous Japanese author and the reason why I love his writing so much is because his ability to describe a place, a character, or an object is so extraordinary it's as if you were there experiencing his thoughts with him. Reading his books that were set in Japan always made me feel some sort of way that I couldn't really put into words. Yet magically, when I landed in Japan, I knew exactly why his books made me feel that way.

Japan is a really bizarre place. The single word I could come up with (and I chose this word really carefully) to describe its civilization is "raw". If you were on a 20 story building and looked out the window, you would see small houses, mostly white and grey in colour, with flat roofs, old beaten down staircases, collectively giving off a vibe of innocence and nostalgia. And while the structure of each house looked almost identical, subtle differences such as the graffiti on the walls or the weeds that were trying to grow on the ledge gave each building a different backstory. Everything was just so uniform, old, plain and just full of history, it made me feel nostalgic even though I've never been there before. It's interesting because even though Japan is the centre of technological advancement with places filled with bright lights, crowds of people, and modern architecture, when you take a step into the residential areas, you will always end up feeling that "raw" vibe. If you stand by a large crossroad and look carefully, you would notice that every businessman is wearing the same uniform dress code - white dress shirt, medium length black tie, baggier than normal dress pants, and black dress shoes. While this is your typical business formal attire, you will never come across a blue or grey suit, a patterned tie or funky looking socks.

Onto culture and lifestyle. I don't know how to put this coherently so I will attempt to describe the things I saw everyday as I stepped outside each day of my trip. People in Japan work really late - it was 2 AM and the subway was just starting to fill up with businessmen and their suitcases. Because people in Japan work a ridiculous amount, Japan has set up these small "fast food ramen" restaurants where you order a ramen bowl on a machine outside the restaurant, pick it up inside, and stand at a table and and eat (for those who need a snack on their way home at 10 PM). Sales people are culturally trained to bow and say "welcome to this place" more than 30 times a minute. There are many interesting restaurants aka "cuddle restaurants" "maid restaurants" "restaurants for single people" etc. where you go and pay for someone to basically entertain you (not even for sexual purposes). Makes sense since Japan has a decreasing population where people are not getting married or having kids and are simply living alone. Bidet toilets are the only toilets they know. It is offensive to leave a tip for any type of service. If Americans think Canadians are polite, they have not been to Japan - a lady walked into the elevator, bowed at me and said "sorry" ... wait what? Sorry that you had to stop the elevator to get in? The financial district at night is mainly men drinking with their colleagues - no women are to be found whatsoever. People don't sleep - there was no difference in the number of people on the streets at 12 PM and 2 AM. People really care about their appearance - all women had make up on and you would never just see someone in flip flops and worn out shorts.

There's a lot more but I can't possibly put it all into words. But in general, this trip was eye-opening and made me realize how insignificant I am in this world - a depressing yet enlightening thought. It made me want to learn more about different cultures and what they value and compare it to my own. Thanks for a great trip Japan!

xx