Japan is a wondrous country that’s so culturally fascinating, I decided to document daily observations throughout my two week venture here.

9/27
Today, I overheard a conversation between two men: a Chinese and a Japanese, in which three languages were exchanged, English being the common ground.

Japanese man: こんにちは
Chinese man: 多少?
Japanese man: 三百
Chinese man: …
Japanese man: three hundred yen.

9/28
Today, I got lost on my way to the hostel in the tortuous humidity. A woman watched me walking around in circles, hazed and dazed, and offered to walk me all the way to my hostel. It was so humid, I had to peel off my sweater and jeans from my body once I got to my room.

9/29
Today I saw an elderly man walking through Arashiyama’s bamboo forest playing Pokemon Go. I wonder if he caught any Pidgeys.

9/30
Today, an elderly man walked up to me at the supermarket, pointed at my tattoos and commented in Japanese. I pointed at myself and said, “eigo” (english), in which he proceeded to spell out the adjective.

c.r.u.e.

The fine line between sounding like “cool” and one letter off from “cruel.” So I went with the former and thanked him.

10/1
Today on the train, I saw a woman transform her monolids into double eyelids.

10/2
Tonight I walked onto the night bus to Tokyo with regular ankles and left with cankles.

10/3
This morning I walked into my airbnb/hostel and was greeted with a naked man on the bed marked for me.

10/4
Today I realised the beauty of Japan. The museum experience is unlike others in, say, Europe. When you walk into an exhibition, there’s a silence of gratitude that sweeps across the rooms. No nudging to take a picture. Just silence and respect.

10/5
Today I experienced what it was like to ride the train during peak hours. I skipped the first train thinking the others may be less cramped; they only got more compact. I sucked in my stomach, stepped onto the train, and braced myself. Then, a woman no older than 50, put her back toward me, planted her two feet on the subway platform and with her legs, she catapulted her body into me, which created a domino effect of people squishing further into the train. She allowed five more people to tiptoe on.

When we reached a major station, people just spilled out onto the platform, and the feeling is similar to unbuttoning your pants after a big meal.

10/6
Today I took a two hour train ride to a small island of Enoshima where, as myth puts it, if you go with a lover you’ll leave single. Good thing I’m already single, though I may have jinxed my chances of ever being in a relationship.

10/7
Today, I found a quaint pond to read at. As I sat on a rock, enjoying the welcomed fall weather, I saw a large rat swim up next to me, climb onto the rock I was sitting on, and scurry away into the bushes. Instead of screaming, I sat there in disbelief.

10/8
Today, I salute to all the mother cyclists here. A kid in a björn and a kid in the back, riding through the city mass.

10/9
Tonight, Alyssa and I were serenaded by the barman/owner of Bar Lonely in Golden Gai. His original songs and a rustic guitar, he sang and strummed. He looked at me in mid strum and stated, “you’re single.” In just two months, he’ll be celebrating his bar’s 50th anniversary.

10/10
This morning I went to the famous Tsukiji fish market and had the freshest fish, it melted in my mouth. The sushi chefs took a liking to me and gifted me a bowl of miso soup; I now like miso.

10/11
Today, I met two Aussies at a bar who came from Melbourne, and one of them coincidently lives in the same suburb as I did – Brunswick West, about 300 meters from my former house. To make the world smaller, he was born in Philadelphia. His lady friend interjected, “he’s single, marry him!” in response to my visa restrictions.

And like that, two weeks came and went and now I’m headed off to the airport to endure 48 hours of flying and layovers. I’ve stuffed my face with all the sushi I could eat, city hiked to my legs content, and have thoroughly enjoyed engaging with the locals. Let the good times roll on.

See you in two days Napoli.