Japan
Japan
 Excited. Nervous. Scared. Elated. These were just some of the emotions running through my head the first time I visited Japan. I was just beginning to become a traveler and Japan was THE place I had always dreamt of being.
The bus ride into Tokyo from Narita was my first real glimpse into a place, a country that I had only imagined before. My first glimpses into Japan were not what I had imagined. They were more. More overwhelming. More exciting. More than I had
It’s quiet in Japan. Even in Tokyo, with the traffic and the trains and the people, it’s quiet. As densely populated as it is, my hotel room is quiet. If this was New York, horns would be blaring and people would be yelling. Not here. My hotel
I know one phrase in Japanese and that is the phrase for thank-you. I had to practice this phrase for a week prior to getting to Japan. This would be funny if it weren’t so sad. Foreign language does not make the connection from my brain to my to
I’m on a train and I’ve just been given a compliment that I don’t really understand, but it’s a compliment nonetheless. My brain freezes in this moment, and the one phrase I thought I knew, becomes the zero phrases I actually know.
I knew this would happen and am prepared. Instead of using my phone to come up with the phrase, I break out my cheat sheet with the phonetic pronunciation of Ari-Gato Gozai-Muss. She laughs. It’s a demure laugh and I’ve made an impression.
If I spoke the language I’m not sure I would have returned to the United States.
The philosopher Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be lived going forward. It can only be understood looking backwards.”
I’ve been visiting Japan since 1994. While that sounds like a long time, it really isn’t. Many of those trips were business trips, and time to experience anything other than meetings was limited. Japan would, at least for me, require a lifetime t
Japan
JapanThe Leica’s and I traveled to Japan for three weeks at the end of 2018. Traveling by plane, boat, bus, train and taxi, we covered portions of Japan I had never seen before. This is a small visual recollection of the trip, a love letter to a country I have long admired. Japan is by far my most favorite place to visit.
Excited. Nervous. Scared. Elated. These were just some of the emotions running through my head the first time I visited Japan. I was just beginning to become a traveler and Japan was THE place I had always dreamt of being.
Excited. Nervous. Scared. Elated. These were just some of the emotions running through my head the first time I visited Japan. I was just beginning to become a traveler and Japan was THE place I had always dreamt of being.
The bus ride into Tokyo from Narita was my first real glimpse into a place, a country that I had only imagined before. My first glimpses into Japan were not what I had imagined. They were more. More overwhelming. More exciting. More than I had
The bus ride into Tokyo from Narita was my first real glimpse into a place, a country that I had only imagined before. My first glimpses into Japan were not what I had imagined. They were more. More overwhelming. More exciting. More than I had expected. That first trip left me longing for more, and at the end of that first trip, I had left a piece of me there. I wouldn’t realize this until years afterwards.
It’s quiet in Japan. Even in Tokyo, with the traffic and the trains and the people, it’s quiet. As densely populated as it is, my hotel room is quiet. If this was New York, horns would be blaring and people would be yelling. Not here. My hotel
It’s quiet in Japan. Even in Tokyo, with the traffic and the trains and the people, it’s quiet. As densely populated as it is, my hotel room is quiet. If this was New York, horns would be blaring and people would be yelling. Not here. My hotel room seems more quiet than my own room at home.
I know one phrase in Japanese and that is the phrase for thank-you. I had to practice this phrase for a week prior to getting to Japan. This would be funny if it weren’t so sad. Foreign language does not make the connection from my brain to my to
I know one phrase in Japanese and that is the phrase for thank-you. I had to practice this phrase for a week prior to getting to Japan. This would be funny if it weren’t so sad. Foreign language does not make the connection from my brain to my tongue.
I’m on a train and I’ve just been given a compliment that I don’t really understand, but it’s a compliment nonetheless. My brain freezes in this moment, and the one phrase I thought I knew, becomes the zero phrases I actually know.
I’m on a train and I’ve just been given a compliment that I don’t really understand, but it’s a compliment nonetheless. My brain freezes in this moment, and the one phrase I thought I knew, becomes the zero phrases I actually know.
I knew this would happen and am prepared. Instead of using my phone to come up with the phrase, I break out my cheat sheet with the phonetic pronunciation of Ari-Gato Gozai-Muss. She laughs. It’s a demure laugh and I’ve made an impression.
I knew this would happen and am prepared. Instead of using my phone to come up with the phrase, I break out my cheat sheet with the phonetic pronunciation of Ari-Gato Gozai-Muss. She laughs. It’s a demure laugh and I’ve made an impression.
If I spoke the language I’m not sure I would have returned to the United States.
If I spoke the language I’m not sure I would have returned to the United States.
The philosopher Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be lived going forward. It can only be understood looking backwards.”
The philosopher Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be lived going forward. It can only be understood looking backwards.”
I’ve been visiting Japan since 1994. While that sounds like a long time, it really isn’t. Many of those trips were business trips, and time to experience anything other than meetings was limited. Japan would, at least for me, require a lifetime t
I’ve been visiting Japan since 1994. While that sounds like a long time, it really isn’t. Many of those trips were business trips, and time to experience anything other than meetings was limited. Japan would, at least for me, require a lifetime to know and something even longer to truly understand. I understand a tiny, tiny fraction of what I experience in Japan, but I love being in Japan.
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