I'm feeling very "I want to move to Japan RIGHT NOW" today. Alas, it cannot be, so I continue my love affair from afar, waiting for the day that I can return to the land where I fell in love. I never thought I would feel so strongly about a place, but I suppose it isn't just the land that caught my fancy. We've already established that I love the food, too :)
People frequently ask me what my fascination is with Japan, and I usually just look at them like they've sprouted a second nose. Why wouldn't I love Japan? But, ah, the truth is that I can't isolate a single reason so easily. I remember several things from my childhood that initially sparked my curiosity, one of which was the viewing of the movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Here's the attack on Pearl Harbor scene; someone has added mood music for effect.
If you haven't seen it, it's a great movie. No ridiculous love interests and a pretty accurate representation of how completely unprepared the American military was. But that wasn't what I liked about the movie when I first saw it. What was interesting to me was Japanese people. I lived in small town Texas and that was really kind of like my first "exposure" to Nihonjin. And I'm glad it was a movie that cast people (group term 'people' not individual term, per se) in a favorable light. No Breakfast at Tiffany's type crap.
Moving right along...a few years later I met a man from Japan (well, he was from Okinawa, but we're not going to quibble on that point right now) with whom I developed a pleasant friendship and we consequently dated off and on for several years. He took me to my first Japanese restaurant in Dallas, Texas, and enjoyed talking to me about Japan, Japanese people and Japanese culture. That was about 25 years ago, and I still wonder at the fact that I just finally visited Japan this year. But life has its own plans and doesn't care much about yours, does it? I'm grateful that I was able to make the trek at last, and that I suffered no let-down or disappointment. Japan was everything I expected, and more.
One day, I'll pack up the kids and move to Japan. I hope Japan will love me, too.
Moving right along...a few years later I met a man from Japan (well, he was from Okinawa, but we're not going to quibble on that point right now) with whom I developed a pleasant friendship and we consequently dated off and on for several years. He took me to my first Japanese restaurant in Dallas, Texas, and enjoyed talking to me about Japan, Japanese people and Japanese culture. That was about 25 years ago, and I still wonder at the fact that I just finally visited Japan this year. But life has its own plans and doesn't care much about yours, does it? I'm grateful that I was able to make the trek at last, and that I suffered no let-down or disappointment. Japan was everything I expected, and more.
One day, I'll pack up the kids and move to Japan. I hope Japan will love me, too.
2 comments:
Great article. Thanks for sharing.
I hear you about the "Breakfast at Tiffanys" stereotyping crap. Haven't seen "Tora! Tora! Tora!" but it is now on my list of movies to see.
I love returning to Japan. It gives a sense of nostalgia as you walk down familiar, crowded, facless streets. Absorb the familiar glow of the flashing neon. Even in the mornings, strolling down the streets watching the familiar black crows trying to peck their way through the familiar blue mesh garbage covers.
Thanks for the comment! I can't wait until I get to return to Japan. Every once in a while, something will trigger a memory of my trip there and I'll feel wistful for a moment. Sometimes it's an uncontrollable yearning for pudding that completely overwhelms me...I miss clear plastic umbrellas, running for the train, and canned coffee, too, though.
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