Just arrived…

… in Japan. Will take a day or two to settle in, then I should be able to post fairly regularly while I am here.

Good night!

SUPPLEMENTAL: It is strange to be back in Japan. I am staying at a friend’s a few blocks from where I used to live. This morning I took a walk around the old neighbourhood. I checked out my old apartment building and the nearby market where I used to shop for groceries. On a Sunday morning before 10AM things are very quiet. I walked around the familiar streets as if searching for something. It has been a year and a half since I left here, but surprisingly I felt nothing upon coming back. A few years ago, while living in this area, I travelled back to Canada for a month to visit my family. Upon returning to Japan I felt a flutter of excitement, the feeling of returning home. I had felt that feeling numerous times after trips to China, Southeast Asia, Iran and North America. This time though, I felt nothing. Everything was familiar, but I didn’t feel that emotional twinge of nostalgia. Just numbness.

I had been frustrated with Japan when I left to pursue at master’s degree in Canada in 2005. Daily life in Japan was never a problem for me, but working for the Japanese “Man” was. There is a pretty good chance I will be moving back to Japan in a few months, but this time I will be returning on my own terms. I expect things to be much better for both myself and Lady Younghusband under these new circumstances. Living in Canada for the last year and a half has shown me how “vanilla” life in North America really is. But so far, Japan doesn’t seem that flavourful anymore either.

Just some personal thoughts and first impressions from the road. -YH