It's thursday here, and when leave (along with the flight crews that also use this hotel) I will be heading straight to the airport. There's a mall attached and that should keep me busy until I want to get through security. Sad to say, this is to be my last real entry. Sometime after I get back I'll go through and put all my photo albums together with captions and that will come up on here, but this is the last time I'll be writing a real post. After all, this is about me in Japan, and tomorrow I won't be in Japan anymore.
I have decided that to summarize my trip, I will tell you the top 10 things I'm going to miss about Japan.
10- The Time Zone
Now, technically, this one is more of a joke than anything else. I won't miss anything about this time zone in particular, as it is intrinsically no different from any other time zone. But I know I will miss it when I'm tired for three days because my clock is wrong. This is also the reason for my title. I've decided that traveling forward in time is easier than traveling back. Because I managed to get a whole day ahead with only using 14 hours last time, but now it will take me 14 hours to go back in time by one hour. Yes, I will leave here at 4pm the 23rd of June and arrive at Dulles around 3 on the 23rd of June. I won't get to Albany, my final destination until 7:15, but that's not time travel.
9- The Beds
My beds here, even in the hotel, are not the typical western-style mattresses, but rather the futon mattresses that Japanese use. Normally they are on the floor, but in western-style rooms they put them on bed frames. I find futon mattresses to be more comfortable and more firm than western spring mattresses, and I even had one once.
8- The Language
I've been studying Japanese for three years, and I finally had a chance to use it practically. Now, I'm going back to a town where not a soul speaks the language, so my ability can stagnate for the rest of the summer and I can come back to Cornell having forgotten things that I learned. As has happened each year since I started learning it.
7- The Trains
For three weeks, I have been able to go wherever I want for free, traveling more miles in a day than I usually cover in a week back home. And the trains are comfortable, far more than any car, and I don't have to drive them so I can sleep if I like, or just look at the scenery. They're also a lot faster than cars, too, at least getting around cities and taking the shinkansen across country, because they can cut a straight line where cars have to turn. I will miss the daily train travel I have been experiencing,
6- The Drinks
The flavor of pretty much every drink is different than what we have in America. Here they have a bit of a sweet tooth for drinks. This isn't to say that they have a lot of sugar, but on average their sodas are sweeter than the common ones in America. This could be because the cola taste reigns supreme in American sodas, but here you find more sweet flavors, like Calpis' original flavor, Ramune flavor, and Mitsuya Cider. I don't know if I can go back to drinking Coke after this. It has never been my favorite, but now I know there's so much better.
5- The People
I kept expecting it to change, but every single Japanese person I have met has been outstandingly nice to me. People have offered to take my picture for a souvenir on multiple occasions, and everyone here is happy to learn about why I've come to Japan and what I'm doing here. They care a whole lot about a stranger tourist and its something I've grown accustomed to. If I even look lost, someone comes to help me before I even ask, even if I am not in fact truly lost. So that's nice. People in America are all jerks compared to the Japanese.
4- The Melon Flavor
This is a Flavor of both food and drink that just isn't popular (or exists, really) in America, and that is a shame. I've had melon flavored rolls, melon-filled rolls, melon flavored shaved ice, melon flavored ice cream bars, and lots of melon flavored soda. I would even say that it is my new favorite flavor, and now I'm going back to a place that doesn't have it and that makes me sad.
3- The Architecture
So, the square brick buildings aren't anything to look at, but I much prefer the traditional Japanese style to the Victorian style on comparable houses in America. The roof tiling is so nice, and I like the gardens. The modern style buildings in Japan are more innovative and interesting to look at than any I've seen in America, too. Also, the green innovations I've seen in Japan have given me a lot to think about.
2- The Food
I have historically been quite picky about my Japanese food. I'll go to a restaurant that claims to be Japanese even if it isn't run by Japanese people or truly cooked in the right way, and I'll enjoy it, but I won't ever call it Japanese food. There are only two restaurants that I've been to that can compare to the food here, and that includes food that is shared between our two countries. Even the burgers taste better here. Now some, like my girlfriend, would say that I only like it more because I'm obsessed with Japan, and that could be true. But I would rather assume that what my friend from New Zealand at the dormitory told me is true: in America, restaurants are obsessed with portions more than with taste, and in Japan, the reverse is true. That's why I think everything, even American food, tastes better in Japan. Also, the snack foods here have America's beaten as well. The rolls and pastries are amazing and I have found no equal for these bakeries. Also, they have delicious red beans in everything, and I've come to be fond of those too.
1- The Adventure
I'm heading back to a village of a few hundred permanent residents that I've lived in all my life to work a 40 hour/ week job. Everything will be familiar, and even though that can be good as well, I know I will miss the daily adventures I've been going on here, learning and exploring and always seeing new things around each corner. There is a lot to be said for a place that has more than once taken my breath away. I can think of at least three times in which I have come around a corner and all I could say was 'wow'. The massive Cemetary in Kyoto, the amazing view of Mount Fuji, and the Daibutsu at Kamakura were all times like this. I won't miss the blisters, but I'll miss the things I did to earn them.
There it is! I can't believe it's over. It feels like I haven't been here very long at all, but I know it was a long time for my friends and family at home. It's good to be going home, but bittersweet.
It has truly been an honor to write to you all every day, and I hope that when I next see you in person you've all been devoted readers with lots of questions for me.
I'll see you on the other side!
Signing off for now,
Cory
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