CONTENTS
DURING THE SUMMER OF 2013, JUST BEFORE I TURNED 16, I SPENT EIGHT WEEKS IN JAPAN VISITING MY GRANDPARENTS AND GETTING REACQUIRED WITH MY BIRTHPLACE. WHILE IN JAPAN, I VISITED MY FAVORITE SPOTS IN TOKYO THAT I HADN’T SEEN IN YEARS, AND I ALSO TRAVELED TO KYOTO FOR THE FIRST TIME. JAPAN IS A FASCINATING MIX OF THE OLD AND THE NEW: ANCIENT TEMPLES AND MODERN SKYSCRAPERS, GEISHA AND MAID CAFES, ENKA AND J-POP, SUSHI AND MOSBURGER. I EXPERIENCED ALL OF THESE THINGS IN JAPAN, AND I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT MYSELF ALONG THE WAY. IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY, AND WITH THIS BOOK I HOPE TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.
Each day is a journey, and the journey itself home.
Matsuo Bashō,
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
THIS IS IT.
I’M AT THE AIRPORT. I’VE CHECKED MY BAG AND I’M GETTING READY TO SAY GOODBYE TO MY FAMILY.
I HAVE TWO PASSPORTS. I HAVE TO USE MY JAPANESE ONE WHEN I ENTER JAPAN, AND MY USA ONE WHEN I RETURN TO AMERICA. I’M IN CONSTANT FEAR OF LOSING ONE, OR BOTH, OF THEM.
KASHIWA IS WHERE MY GRANDPARENTS LIVE. IT’S A SMALL CITY JUST OUTSIDE OF TOKYO.
THE BEST AMERICAN FAST FOOD ISN’T EVEN IN AMERICA
BESIDES MY GRANDPARENTS, THE SECOND GREATEST REUNION I HAD IN JAPAN WAS WITH A CERTAIN FAST FOOD CHAIN YOU CAN’T FIND IN AMERICA…
SPEAKING OF BURGERS, THE FAST FOOD SERVICE IN JAPAN CAN BE BEST DESCRIBED AS A MIRACLE. THE EMPLOYEES ARE ANGELS, IN MY EYES.
I HAVE SO MUCH RESPECT FOR THESE PEOPLE.
MY AUNT AND COUSINS ARE HERE. THEIR NAMES ARE MEGU, TAIGA & KAREN. THEY’RE LIVING IN INDIA RIGHT NOW AND ARE VISITING TOO. I’M TOLD I’M A LOT LIKE MY AUNT MEGU. WE’RE BOTH VERY DIFFERENT FROM MY MOTHER (AKA MEGU’S OLDER SISTER, AYUMI) AND I THINK THAT MAKES US SIMILAR TOO. MY MOTHER IS LESS… CONVENTIONAL
YOU REALLY WOULDN’T THINK THEY WERE PRODUCED BY THE SAME TWO PEOPLE, BUT I LIKE IT THIS WAY. IT MAKES LIFE MORE INTERESTING.
I WENT TO THE KASHIWA STATION MALL WITH BABA TODAY. IT HAS ONE BUILDING WITH A LOT OF STORES FOR YOUNG, HIP PEOPLE, AND I REALLY LIKE IT. IT’S CHEAP TOO. IT WAS VERY INTIMIDATING THOUGH TO STAND AROUND THE GIRLS WORKING THERE.
EVEN THOUGH I WAS IN JAPAN DURING THE SUMMER, SCHOOLS WERE STILL LARGELY IN SESSION. AS A RESULT, I LOOKED EVEN MORE OUT OF PLACE BECAUSE THIS MEANT EVERYONE MY AGE IS IN A UNIFORM OF SOME SORT…