Close friends of mine are probably pretty sick of hearing this, but I miss Japan. Alot. After spending a mere 10 nights at the place, I feel what most likely is homesickness since arriving back in Toronto. The weird thing is, I've never felt homesick in my life and have never missed any one geographic location before. After immigrating from Hong Kong back in the early eighties I haven't felt much for land of birth. After moving out from my old place in which I spent 20 years of my life I never got much urge to go back despite all my memories there. Japan is the first and only physical location I have ever gotten misty eye over.
That's not an exaggeration. I missed Tokyo so much I've shed tears over it. One day, last week, my girlfriend showed me the Dragon Quest Slime coin purse I got her in Akihabara and it was all I can manage to hold back tears. The tears came later on at work. This happened twice, actually. The second time was triggered by a Choro Q figure (basically a cute car, or in this case, a train) of the Narita Express - the train we took from the airport to Tokyo. I saw the toy in the morning and got teary over it after getting to work.
So yes, this is serious stuff. Because both instances happened at work it would seem that I don't actually miss Japan. Rather, I just miss NOT having to go to work. There is merit in the theory, but I think there's more. Giving it some thought, one conclusion stands out. If Tokyo were a person, the personification of the city would be of someone very much like myself. The city is civilized, clean and most importantly, quiet. Not a day goes by in Toronto without some jerk ride by in either a noisy motorbike/car or blasting bass from their car stereos. In Japan, nobody makes any unnecessary noise. The people riding subways are quiet as mice. Speaking of mice, even the cats we saw in the cat cafe neither meow or purr. And the city is steeped in geek culture. Yes, Toronto has it's expos and conventions but in Tokyo, geek districts are around 27/7. The people there aren't ashamed of it too. I've seen men in suits show up at places like Gundam Front.
Leaving Tokyo is like parting with myself. Like splitting apart. While on the jet plane back to Toronto, I'm convinced that a small part of my soul got left behind in room 621 of the Higashi Shinjuku Hotel. Every morning since then, this little spark would visit the places it knows so well. Maybe Yodabashi Camera in Akiba, or the 901 building in Shibuya, or J-World in Sunshine City. At night, it might go to Artnia, or visit the kitties in the cat cafe at Shinjuku. Then it would do that all over again the next day.
Eventually, this little spark would fade and disappear. Perhaps it would find it's way across the ocean where the big soul lives. But this too, would be a sad event because it would mean nothing remains of me in Tokyo and all that's left are fond memories.
P.S. When I first thought of writing this blog, the idea itself was enough to make me sad. Actually writing the blog, thankfully, didn't do much. I think... maybe... finally... I don't miss Japan so much anymore.
I also experienced the same emotions. Before going there, I thought it would be a cool place to go. But when I got there, it was like being in a different planet. Everything was so disciplined, I saw video games and anime all around, people were nice and no one was angry or loud. The culture was something I had never experienced before, and was completely, completely the opposite of HK culture. One reason I recall is walking around was like all the anime and animal crossing combined into one: the cicadas chirping, onigiri. I shed tears too and didn't want to leave and want to go back and live there later on and learn japanese all before 2020, cause that's when the Olympics are!
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