My Trip to Japan

Music:
Orange Sunset – Temphuibis
I Dream of You 私はあなたの夢を見る – Haircuts For Men
Two Feather – Clint Bajakian (Outlaws OST)

Here’s a video compilation I composed of my trip of Japan. Its been an adventuresome two weeks, each day packed with a separate activity, I couldn’t fit it all on here! Some things I didn’t include are all the arcades, pinball machine, pachinko (gambling), and crane game building stores we ventured into. Those places have a habit of grabbing your attention, so I never really think to take some shots or record.

Relative to the States, the overall vibe of Japan is very practical and calm in nature. Its well known that it is one of the most homogenous countries in the world, so while there’s elements of western culture in metro areas like Tokyo and Yokohama through its pop culture, music, and lifestyle, its still a very culturally conservative country. It blends a lot of its past cultural elements with the ‘new age’ we live in. Though I never tried real hard to ‘blend in’, I find the homogeneity to be a part of its charm. They have a very apparent pride in their culture, history, language, restaurants, and hometown. The locals and customer service were very respectful and I never had a bad experience. People were willing to help us even when we never asked.

I liked Osaka quite a bit. I loved the grungy look more so than the ‘polished’ industrial look in business areas like YokoHama (home of Nissan and Sony HQ). There’s a certain charm in the aesthetic like Osaka. I heard some people dunk on it as being dumpy, but I like it. Unfortunately I didn’t get a whole lot of photos of the food markets in Osaka, cause as I mentioned prior, I was more enamored and ‘in the moment’, too distracted to get out my phone.

It was nice visiting, would I voluntarily live here? Most likely not. The cities are very condensed and I just love my privacy too much to give that up. The rural areas (or places outside the metro places) have a very elderly populace that’s even more conservative. Being in a place where I can exercise expressing myself and being myself without being judged? Japan might not be the place long-term. Still, I accepted it for what it was.

When I live a solitary lifestyle and in a place like Livonia or Rochester where I DON’T keep a lot of company around me, it took me quite a while to adjust to places like Tokyo, one of the most populated cities in the world when I come from a town of a few thousand! We revisited Tokyo after Osaka for two nights before leaving, and I was a tad more adjusted to Tokyo on the revisit. I didn’t feel as ‘alien’ as before. Not really a ‘Japan’ issue, but I digress.

Overall, I would say Japan is a very charming country. Its known for things like Samurai, ninjas, shrines, and anime, but to me, those things don’t interest me the most of Japan. A lot of people my age were raised on Japanese entertainment and media, and we were raised with a certain ‘bias’ as to what Japan is based on what the mainstream shows us. Same can be said for all countries and cultures, sure, but what intrigued me that most of Japan were the ‘non-glamorous’ things. The stories of the strict work culture, the dating culture, the strict customs that were firmly rooted ages ago that are still alive today, how foreigners fare in Japan. The things that aren’t widely discussed are the things that intrigue me.

One more thing: Yes, The food was great! That is all.