A lot of posts today as the computer is unexpectedly free, and I don't expect to have much access, if at all, after this for another week or so...
Very little about Japan should feel familiar to me. One glance marks me as a permanent outsider, not to mention my highly imperfect grasp of the language, my lack of knowledge about the culture, etc, etc. But what's funny about travelling is that way that familiarity quickly becomes a very relative concept.
Arriving in Narita Airport after the long flight felt a lot more like coming home than it really should have, at the start of such a long trip and in a country that I know so little about. But it did - the way the arrivals area is laid out, which ATM I could take money out of, where the convenience store was on the way to the train station...I knew them all, and so felt comfortable and relaxed. Just having been through the airport before made such a difference even if it was already a year ago.
And it's been the same thing over the last few days. Seeing things that I have seen before, revisiting Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa or getting a pon de ringu at Mister Donut (ah, Mister Donut!) gave me these strong feelings of nostalgia, however little sense that makes.
Not that I'm complaining. While I've had my moments of feeling incredibly foreign and hopelessly unable to blend in or even function, I appreciate very much having at least some small sense of belonging to this wonderful city. Riding the Tokyo Metro, usually the only blonde(ish) head in the car, I realised how much I take for granted being able to move around this city already! It's a good feeling.
Very little about Japan should feel familiar to me. One glance marks me as a permanent outsider, not to mention my highly imperfect grasp of the language, my lack of knowledge about the culture, etc, etc. But what's funny about travelling is that way that familiarity quickly becomes a very relative concept.
Arriving in Narita Airport after the long flight felt a lot more like coming home than it really should have, at the start of such a long trip and in a country that I know so little about. But it did - the way the arrivals area is laid out, which ATM I could take money out of, where the convenience store was on the way to the train station...I knew them all, and so felt comfortable and relaxed. Just having been through the airport before made such a difference even if it was already a year ago.
And it's been the same thing over the last few days. Seeing things that I have seen before, revisiting Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa or getting a pon de ringu at Mister Donut (ah, Mister Donut!) gave me these strong feelings of nostalgia, however little sense that makes.
Not that I'm complaining. While I've had my moments of feeling incredibly foreign and hopelessly unable to blend in or even function, I appreciate very much having at least some small sense of belonging to this wonderful city. Riding the Tokyo Metro, usually the only blonde(ish) head in the car, I realised how much I take for granted being able to move around this city already! It's a good feeling.
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