It's strange how good it feels to be back in Seoul, like I am coming home, although I spent about 16 hours here before heading my way towards Japan.
I interpret this feeling as a comfort to be done with Japan, which has much less to do with Japan, but how I chose to experience Japan.
I raced through that country gathering photos and accumulating memories of sights at breakneck speed. In 6 days, I saw 11 cities......ELEVEN! Traveling in this fashion was pretty much antithesis to my intention for this trip. I'm not saying that I regret it. Japan is a country I wouldn't have likely visited for a few reasons, mostly costs. I took advantage of a stopover and saw a country, ALOT OF IT, that I may not get to see again. I'm glad I did, yet it made it so clear HOW I do not want to experience, well, anything. Full of stuff. Scheduling, calculating, with a mission and a purpose. full of thought and plans and reading maps and crunching figures. YUK!!!
Nonetheless, it was an experience. Beyond what I learned, or rather reconfirmed about myself. Some impressions of Japan:
- Yen get tossed around like nothing: I had read that Japan, contrary to popular belief, is NOT that expensive of a country- BALONEY.
- It is a country that I think I would most appreciate over time: On the surface, Japan was just like any first-world country. Big cities, fast trains, a high standard of living, a variety of personalitis amongst its people, yet the depth of the culture (which I only glimpsed) seemed to be incredibly unique, individual and amazing. Japan is a place I could live and enjoy getting to know on a more intimate level.
- It is truly extra-ordinary: It fit my expectations (and I dont even know where I formed them). But everything from Japan's countryside to its architecture and art to the mannerisms of its people, visiting Japan confirmed in me that it is truly a unique and amazing country and culture.
