Happy New Years…
September 11th of last year was the anniversary of my flying out, along with a lot of other great people, to embark on the next chapter of our lives. At this point, Japan is not just a chapter anymore. I have been in Japan for two years plus, so I officially call this portion of my life an arch. Many things have happened last year, my second year (2023), that have allowed me to think of Japan as a more permanent part of my life.
I remember during my first trip to Japan I decided to stay at Hotel Nikko Narita. Because the hotel was so close to the airport, I had to figure out how to get to Tokyo here and there. Sometimes, I would take the free shuttle bus to the city nearby. But for the longer trip to Tokyo, I had to get a ticket for the express train. I was excited to go to Tokyo for the first time. It was all mapped out in my notes, even down to the time. My best friends then received access to the itinerary that I had created. We were all excited.
As I sat and stared out of the window of the train, I felt myself riding the train in Japan at the time but in a different context. It is as if I envisioned or felt myself already living in this place at that moment. Because of this my resolve had strengthened. I would surely live in Japan.
My first year living in Japan was quiet and sweet. Funnily enough, the same hotel I used during my first visit to Japan was also used before I got to live and work in the country. For me and some other wide-eyed excited teachers, although still in a time of great uncertainty with the Coronavirus looming, it was also a time of adjusting to the country's context. Japan is NOT America, so the realizing of this bought a sort of relief to me, personally. Japan was still locked down at the time. It was quiet, things were slow, and people were still skeptical about coming outside. But despite all of these mixed feelings of uncertainty and ambiguity, so many exciting things happened. All of the night drives with my first partner in the country, barbecues filled with laughs, hopping from train to train in empty stations alone and with friends, these feelings still feel very vivid to me. I would like many of my first-year memories to remain strong over the years and to create more of them. As I look back on my first-year memories, I would say that during your first year in Japan, you should focus on building community. You need to have a Japanese community to further your experience. If that’s not something you want to do, then Japan is the wrong country for you.
In my second year, I felt like I kept being reborn again and again. This second year has reminded me that just because I moved to a different location in the world, doesn’t mean there will be a pause in my growth as a person or a ceasing in my longing for where I’ve come from. Life of course keeps moving. Fortunately, life is moving in a general positive direction and I still love Japan, but in a different way now. Because I was able to establish a strong community in my first year of living in Japan, my second year of living in Japan continued to focus on community but brought professional growth and interpersonal and personal relationships more to the forefront. I was able to achieve goals with the support of the community I have / had at the time. I was able to perceive more. Despite my uncertainty in new situations, I always attracted very interesting people that no doubt make the experience living in Japan much easier and much more fulfilling than I ever thought it would be.
I grew up watching JVLOGGERS, trying to live vicariously through them. Eventually (and dare I say fortunately again), I realized before moving to Japan that nothing is always as it seems. And in Japan, concepts revolving around appearance are much more widely practiced. It is embedded in the culture, tatemae. All that to say, living vicariously through others can serve as inspiration but it is nothing compared to living this experience yourself. Make your own experience and project it, but never stop asking questions and seeking answers.
Despite the events that has happened last year in 2023, I feel I have made so much progress. I have found new communities to invest time in, with clear paths in sight. So with an improved focus, thinking of what I am able to achieve this year in Japan with my surrounding community makes me want to step it up this year. When I think of what we have already achieved in a short period of time, what I have achieved in a short period of time, the possibilities feel endless. I want to push myself and the ones I love further into happiness within my third year.
At first, I was shocked to be in Japan. There would be a few times when I would stop, look up, and stare at the person across from me.
“Wow, we’re living in a different country aren’t we?”
I feel a lot more grateful for where I am in life. Not only am I in Japan, but I feel secure. I recently have been talking with a few of my friends about being grateful. We often sit with each other and with appreciation in our voices say, “We live in Japan.” Yes, living in Japan is special, at least to the people who are here now. It is safe, it is beautiful, and I have had the privilege to stay up until this point. Now, I get to think back at that one point in time in my life when I imagined myself living in Japan. I am here and I am satisfied about where I am. I am imagining myself back on the train during my first trip. But this train is just an allegory for my life. I’m sitting on this train of uncertainty, but I have nothing but hope about where I am headed. I am happy that I can say Japan is a big part of the journey. I think this feeling of peace and stability is worth celebrating my new year with.
Have an authentic and happy new year.
