Japan: Nostalgia and Belonging

2015 | Tokyo > Kobe > Kyoto > Osaka > Mt. Fuji > Miyagi >Kawasaki 🇯🇵

As a kid growing up in the US, I didn’t watch any American cartoons–I was watching ドラえもん (Doraemon) and Hayao Miyazaki films like となりのトトロ (My Neighbor Totoro). I was raised in a traditional Chinese household, so bringing up anything Japan-related is a touchy subject (due to Japanese war crimes against China). Nevertheless, there’s many similarities between Chinese and Japanese culture such as the language, food, and way of life that bring me joy.

Challenger and I talked about how we just have to go to Japan for the sake of our childhood nostalgia, art, culture, and food! Even though I have visited Okinawa, Japan back in 2011 for my cousin’s wedding, I never really got to truly explore and “experience” Japan. So off we go!

We arrived to Tokyo in the middle of summer–we were so hungry and almost couldn’t buy food that first evening because we had trouble exchanging money. We finally found a post office that got us some yen and we had delicious ramen at a local spot where we met Tatsuya, as I remembered it; he was hitting on Challenger the whole time, haha! The next few days we went up the Tokyo Tower, played at an interactive design museum, saw a photography exhibition that featured the Bronx streets of New York, and visited the LOVE sculpture (1 of 50 in the entire world!).

Then I checked off an item on my bucketlist, which was to try the 7-flavor soft serve ice cream cone! We each had one and it took forever for us to finish. Japan was also known for animal cafes; we went to an owl cafe, where Challenger was mistaken for a famous basketball player. Last but not least, we headed to the Fushimi Inari Shrine to walk through the one thousand torii gates for an amazing view at top!

Hopping onto the Japan Railways (JR), we explored Kobe city where we had Kobe beef for dinner one evening and also visited Nankinmachi (Kobe’s Chinatown). My friend Subaru came to pick us up and drove us into the countryside of Kobe where we had cold soba noodles at a local gem! We were then greeted by his wife and newborn baby in their beautiful home. Subaru gave us a tour to his glasswork shed nearby and we had a glass art workshop that day; I was a fan of his work back when he exhibited at Ouchi Gallery in Brooklyn!

Our next stop was Kyoto, which was my favorite place in Japan thus far. Nara Park was a “must” for me. Over 1,200 wild sika deer roam free in this park (and also classified as natural treasure!). The park and gardens were on the grounds of Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, and Kasuga Shrine. Nearby we explored the Yokai Street of monsters and Sagano bamboo forest.

Located in southern Japan, Ōkunoshima island had a dark history–a poison gas factory was built here during WWII. It now serves as a museum to educate visitors about this past and the rest of the island was turned into a park with a few bunnies. Over time the rabbit population boomed and now it’s called Usagi Shima (Rabbit Island).

Osaka was super chill–we went to the beach and strolled around the city. Japan definitely have the most unique museums in my opinion. I really liked the Momofuku Ando Ramen Instant Noodle Museum, where they showed the history of this invention, displayed the many different flavors that exist, and had a factory workshop to make a DIY instant noodle cup. Sunset by Osaka Castle was probably the most beautiful feeling ever.

Last bits: Mt. Fuji, Shiroishi, and Kawasaki

We circled back to the Tokyo area and took a trip to the majestic Mount Fuji, which is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains"–what a beauty! We also made our way to Kitsune Mura (Miyagi Zao Fox Village); it was a large forest-like sanctuary with wild foxes running free. After visiting in-person and reading more about it, I feel that it was more like a zoo and the animals were not treated too well.

The trip that came out of the desire of nostalgia would not be completed without paying a visit to Fujiko F. Fujio Museum in Kawasaki, which was pretty much Doraemon wonderland. The museum is dedicated to Fujiko Fujio’s work (including original illustrations), and has a manga reading room and a theater. I will always remember that me and Challenger arrived to the entrance of the museum not knowing we had to reserve tickets at 7/11, but the lady was so nice–she just let us in without tickets!