Impressions of Japan

Last August I set out on a journey of epic proportions, at least for myself anyway, to the Land of the Rising Sun. While I had moved a lot around the United States as a young child, I had never been out of the country. To say I was anxious would be a terrible understatement.

After a hug and a kiss to the parents and about an hour wait for the plane, I was on my way to Japan. Nearly 20 hours passed before I landed in Tokyo. The first thing I encountered was the Japanese style “toilets”, essentially a hole in the ground. At that moment I thought: “Oh dear God, what have I gotten myself into?”

A lot has changed since that shocking moment. From the breathtaking Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, to the heart wrenching city of Hiroshima, I traveled, experienced, and learned new things. I would have to say that now my biggest impression of Japan is that while it is a country that is exceedingly modern (they have cell phones with a 10 megapixel camera in them), they also still treasure their past... or commercialize it, anyway.

Yesterday in fact, while walking around Nanba, I noticed the most bizarre thing nestled in between two very modern buildings. I don’t know what the building is or its use (past or present), however I do know that it is nothing like the buildings around it. It baffled me how what most people would describe as something entirely “Japanese” could be sitting between two so-called "Western" buildings, and not one person batted an eyelash (except for me, of course). It had not hit me until then that I had seen it several times the previous semester. I would be wandering around Kyoto and see the typical modern things while nearly being taken out by a passing moped, and see temples or shrines and not think much of it. Yesterday was a turning point, as it forced me to think back on my prior experiences and to take note on things that I would have otherwise written off.

Japan just keeps surprising me and I cannot wait to see what else it has in store for me.