Has this happened to those of you studying in major cities like London, Paris, etc, or even just the country in general? Where you just realize it’s just not as big of a deal as you initially thought?
Since I was a child I have been interested in Japan. Obsessed might be a better term. If you didn’t know it, you just hadn’t met me yet. Much like many a great (and not so great) celebrity, I knew from early on I knew exactly what wanted to do with my passion.
That being said, you would think going to Tokyo would be the cherry on top of this dreamy dessert. Instead, it hardly shivered me timbers. And it rained nearly the whole time.
To see it all for myself with my own eyes was the only way to end this day dream era that I’ve been living in. I had seen the place through so many mediums, it was only fair to remove the third party and put my senses to the test.
I was able to gobble up ramen from Hokkaido at the Ramen Museum. In Akihabara, I bought a tiger kigurumi after eating lunch at the Gundam Cafe, and I got to see Hachiko in front of Shinjuku Station.
I was able to gobble up ramen from Hokkaido at the Ramen Museum. In Akihabara, I bought a tiger kigurumi after eating lunch at the Gundam Cafe, and I got to see Hachiko in front of Shinjuku Station.
But as I walked down the street, it just felt like bigger Nagoya with a whole lot more lights and foreigners (despite the awesome Gundam Cafe with a Gundam simulating bathroom! So cool~). Although I will admit it was pretty nice to feel more like a minority and less like an alien from the planet America. I just had imagined so much more.
Having already been in Japan about seven months now, it’s getting hard to surprise me, however. Mostly the way I was treated was different than anything else. No one gave my Japanese a chance. In fact, when ordering food at Disney Sea, the cashier wouldn’t even look at me until he pulled out a binder, flipped through some pages and started reading his bit in English. Statistically speaking, perhaps they are right to assume such, but that doesn’t curb my frustration so easily.
More on Disney later!
All in all, I am doing everything in Japan that would be expected. We can put a huge check next to Tokyo now. I’m not saying it’s nothing to see and I very much see myself going back someday (preferably a sunny day), but I hyped myself up so much I don’t even know what kind of fanfare I was expecting. Hopefully I can be more cool headed about it next time and take Tokyo at face value.
Location: Tokyo, Japan
