It has been one week since I arrived back in Tokyo after a 2-week “home” trip to Melbourne. In that time, I have reflected heaps (I mean, having 2x 10 hours flights do give you a whole lot of time to reflect on things). So please bear with me as I rainbow-barf all my thoughts out in this blog… Okay no rainbows, but there’s this pretty pastel-coloured sky I saw the other day in Enoshima.
So, by the end of May, I had already lived in Japan for 3 full months. Three months away from home. Three months in my most favourite city in the world, who woulda thunk. I flew to Melbourne for my friends’ wedding on the first day of June and arrived there just in time for the start of winter (I don’t like cold weather, btw).
You see, in the 3 months that I was away, I didn’t actually feel as homesick as I initially thought I would. I missed my friends, but everything else about Melbourne I was fine without… with the exception of a nice warm bowl of Pho Vietnamese noodles from Mekong maybe. But all that changed when I returned home.
The comfort of home is the one thing that really got me. Being able to speak the language is a huge bonus; I mean, even ordering Maccas was much easier when you could read the menus and communicate your hatred towards onions across. Knowing the roads and not feeling awkward when you’re alone is another. And then there’s the culture, I mean I do love the Japanese culture, but home is comfortable. You know when people talk about going out of your comfort zone? Well, I guess moving to Tokyo was exactly that. And as much as I am still ecstatic about living in Tokyo, Melbourne really is… comfortable.
And pretty too!
After 2 weeks of pigging out and enjoying my time with friends I’ve known for years, I returned to Tokyo. There’s this odd feeling of returning “home”. Yes, I call Tokyo home too. This city is familiar now. I can walk from one station to another without thinking much (I tend to daydream while walking). I’ve also made new friends who are also my housemates, and we get to run around this city like a bunch of mad people together.
So, what makes one place a “home” and another a “home“? Does this even make sense? Who knows… Those were some thoughts that went through my mind as I was admiring the view of Mount Fuji from my Jetstar flight back to Tokyo. (PS: If you look carefully, you can see Mount Fuji somewhere there in the picture below. If you can’t, use your imagination.)
So I have now been back for one full week. Summer has kicked in and I’ve seen my first huge-as cockroach wandering around our share house. This will be my first Japan summer experience ever. I’m excited about the summer festivals, and not so excited about the bugs and insects. But I’m sure this will be another blog post for another day…
After the trip back to Melbourne, I have been doing more thinking, because despite my lack of “thinking look” I actually do think a lot. I’ll share with you some thoughts…
Plane thoughts: things I realised…
- I settled in Tokyo very very quickly. I thought it would’ve taken longer to actually make myself feel at home. But I guess living in a city I totes love does make the adjustment easier. I’m definitely more forgiving of this country’s quirks and flaws, because… I’m in Japan yo!
- Melbourne is rather fun. This trip, I became a tourist in Melbourne. I did food-trips and tried out so many different desserts / ice cream.When you look at everything through the eyes of a traveller, suddenly the world (and Melbourne in this case) becomes a more attractive and interesting place.
- I should really explore more of Tokyo while I’m here. Instead of staying at home when I have my day off, I should really go to new places and try out new things. I might not be in Japan forever, y’know. Plus, what I said above… I shall continue to be a traveller no matter where I am. Especially in this city that’s filled with so many excitements!
- I can make the most of it, no matter where I am. At first I really thought that I’d love Japan so much that I wouldn’t want to go back. That’s probably true (as in my love for Japan is really that great), but I also feel that if I were to return to Melbourne, life will pretty much get back to normal pretty quickly too – and that’s not so bad either!
- Yes, this blogging things needs to be more frequent. I have plenty of things to blog about, and yet sometimes when I get home tired and all, I just want to hang out with my share house mates (it’s hard being an extrovert, tbh). So the blog doesn’t get as many updates as I expected it to… Let’s do better, shall we?
- I can’t believe it, I’m living in Japan! You’d think that this is a given, but sometimes I still pinch myself (figuratively) to make sure that I’m not dreaming. Yes, I am living in Tokyo. Yes, I am walking around casually in Harajuku, without a plan… Yes, I buy food from convenience stores on a regular basis and it’s pretty awesome. Yes, I get to try out different flavoured ice creams and odd seasonal snacks any time I want. Yes, I am definitely living in Tokyo and it’s a dream come true.
It’s also amazing because I have been documenting my day-to-day activity in this book. As the book is getting thicker (and you can hardly close it properly), I realise that my time here in Japan really is something to be grateful about. Not everyone gets to dream of living in Japan and then actually live in Japan.
PS: I have also now lived in my fun share house for exactly 3 months. In another week’s time, it’ll be my 4th month since we moved. Not that I’m counting or anything…
So with all these thoughts in mind, I hope that for the rest of 2016, I will be able to explore more of Japan, blog about my travels, and see this beautiful city as both a traveller and a local. It will be a fun journey, so why don’t you tag along and join me?!
If you love Japan as much as I do, you will want to follow me on Instagram. And then bookmark / subscribe / share this blog for future reference. I promise you, it’ll be fun!