I’ve always really liked the moon. On a clear warm night it is like a gateway to wonder. It’s existence reminds me our place in the universe, we’re all just sitting here on a rock floating through space next to some other rocks. The moon’s pockmarked impact riddled face must have perplexed our ancestors. If the heavens are perfect why is this singular bright thing shining down on us so uniquely imperfect.

And then there’s the regularity of its gradual disappearance. It’s both eternal and forever changing. Sometimes on my walk home from work (as it gets dark around 5pm in Japan) I would stare up at it and feel connection home. The light is also shining on my loved ones and my history.

The glow of Japan eventually wore off after a few months, and after that I was left with a somewhat regular life style. Like the moon, I fell into regularity and would wax and wane into discoveries less frequently than when I first arrived.

But, unlike the moon our lives are not eternal. We have dates and deadlines, departures and arrivals. Which means sometimes we have to say goodbye. They come faster than we thought, and aren’t as complete as we ever want them to be.

This post is the story of refusing to say goodbye, even when reason says we should…

She was standing by herself with a lazy smile; and kind of bouncing to the music but in a sly way that said “I got all dressed up today, I better not be dancing to myself all night.” I couldn’t resist of course and in a rare moment of confident decisive action, I took her hand.

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Full Moon

I picked her up at the train station with two bicycles waiting. Normally not the best way to impress a woman, but I didn’t have a car. She arrived wearing a skirt on a 50 degree night. She said something along the lines of “oh wow I haven’t ridden a bicycle in so long, I’m so excited!”

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Half Moon

The lifestyle in Japan can be incredibly solitary. Especially as a foreigner. Suddenly after meeting this little Vietnamese girl it felt like taking off sunglasses on a cloudy day. Every weekend was filled with joy, and ended with sorrowful goodbyes as I left home for Tsukuba. We were inseparable and every day apart we thought of our next time together. And together we looked deep into our eyes and increasingly felt the crush of the ensuing final goodbye.

Looking out over Odaiba

All this is ours! Muahahaha

I think we tried 10 times and not one of them had both of us smiling or not doing a silly face. This is as good as it gets

In Odaiba

You could see Fuji on a clear day from here.

I think Fuji would be out ther

Tokyo Auto show

Some cool stuff

Pretty ladies

Such a hot guy…apparently

My favorite car.

Just wanted a picture of the girl

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New Moon

In our final month we:

– Went to Robot Restaurant

– Ate the deadly Fugu Fish (blowfish)

– Saw the lights all around Tokyo for their holiday “Illuminations”

– Ate a lot of pineapple

– Ate sushi at the famouse Tsukiji fish market

– Got mad at each other for living so far away

– Rode the train to the airport together one last time.

And just like that we said goodbye. I think we both accepted in our own minds that we would trade the suffering of this kind of goodbye for the unforgettable times we had together.

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And that’s my Japanese adventure. I didn’t really given anybody I met a proper goodbye and I don’t think it would be possible anyways. All I can do is assure them that the memories we had together are forever and take solace knowing they affected me for the rest of my life.

Thank you everybody for reading this blog. I know it trailed off for the 2nd part of my trip and I am a little regretful for that. There may come a time when I return to Japan for a sequel and it will of course be covered here. But you know there’s no recapturing that first exploration such as I had here and I’m getting a little sentimental thinking about that terrifying morning when I was about to board the plane to Tokyo, and riding the train with my huge bags. There were so many unknowns and so many things to discover and well now they’ve been discovered. The past will now have to act as a motivator for the future, to go out and find that sense of wonder. I love you all, and thank you again!

どうもありがとうございます

My sincerest gratitude and dearest salutations:

Guillaume for being my unwavering travel companion

Jero for being the most gracious, patient, caring host I’ve ever met

Part 1                                                      Part 2