…for a place that isn’t home. Still, it’s been two and a half years since I last visited Japan, which is possibly the longest that I’ve ever been away from it. I miss the food, the architecture, the gardens, the tatami mats, the language, the juxtaposition of old and new. I miss the mountains, the paddy fields, the rivers full of turtles, fish, herons, and egrets. I miss the smell of incense sticks and green tea, the steam from a bowl of fresh rice, the softness of my futon. I miss the white gloves of taxi drivers, the pink-numbered bus tickets, the hole in the middle of a 50-yen piece. I miss the nonsensical but optimistic Engrish phrases on stationery (‘Lovely day: every time is happy feeling!’), and the way that serious public health and safety warnings are illustrated with kawaii cartoon figures. I miss the shrines, the bamboo forests, the sliding doors, and (of course) I miss my family.
I want to go back.
I’d never particularly had the desire to visit Japan…but you do make it seem all very appealing! Hope you get a chance to go back there soon :)
Yay, you’re back! And thank you :) I hope that I will be able to go back soon, although I really don’t know when that will be.
It may sound unusual coming from Texas, but I find my perception of the Japanese lifestyle to be extremely appealing, refined and more civilized than a lot of other places. It would be a special place to miss. I’m sorry you can’t visit anytime you wish to.
Take me back with you! ;)
May you get to visit sooner than later.
Absolutely beautiful, all of it. Would love to see some of the places too.