Leaving Japan

Tokyo is awesome.  Shibuya, Asakusa, Shinjuku....it was all amazing.  Some really fantastic architecture.  We were done with our schedule by 3 so Jackie and I stayed in the busy city while the rest of the group went back to the rooms at the Olympic Center.  We hung around Shibuya until dusk, ate dinner, then enjoyed all the bright lights and waves of people after dark.  Shibuya has one of the most famous intersections in the world, and we were a part of it for an evening.  I still wouldn`t want to live in Tokyo - but I could definately come back.  It really is something and I thoroughly enjoyed my last full day!

I fly out this evening....will arrive home Friday night.  Saturday I`ll wake, mosey, finish unpacking, laundry, errands and shopping, mow the lawn......and life will return back to normal.  Mostly.  There will be hints of Japan in my daily life and much to think about when I return.  And I am already planning a trip back - projecting fall of 2012!  Just enough time to let the recent experiences simmer and soak in, and also time for more research and study of Japan and Japanese.  Some places will be visited again, like Ryoan-ji, Kinkaku-ji, Koyasan, and some new places will be visited, like Eihei-ji, the seashore to watch the fisherman, a satoyama up north, and more gardens in Kyoto which I wasn`t able to view.

I have met some really great individuals here.  Before I came I thought the Japanese people were a very reserved and closed society.  And while it is quite traditional/conservative and rule-oriented (for the most part)...the Japanese are still very joyful, happy, and wonderful people who love to share their lives with those around them.  I am glad my preconcieved ideas were a bit off.

Gardens, temples, shrines, kimono fabric, artwork, food (not all food however, I do have texture aversion to some items...), architecture, mountains, new green, borrowed scenery, the people...it`s was all completely worth it!