Day Nineteen

DAY NINETEEN (06/26/08, 1:30pm)

Ahh, my last day in Japan

After an early breakfast (one last taste of seaweed salad and miso soup), Karen and I walked to the Imperial Palace.

Unlike the first time I went their alone around 7:00am and the bridges across the mote were gated off, this time we found a friendly guard who explained that, while we could not go inside the Imperial Palace because the imperial family was currently residing there, the east gardens were open to the public. We walked along the towering walls and finally made our way to the entrance to the east gardens.

Bamboo forests, purple hydrangeas, a whole garden of irises, and many dappled groves of green surrounded us.

Beyond the iris garden we found a museum showing a free exhibit on Mount Fuji paintings, both ancient and modern, realistic and symbolic.

On our way back to the hotel, Karen treated me to a delicious lunch (I was down to less than $1 worth of yen) at a little restaurant which, about halfway through our meal, we discovered was Chinese.

Now, as I sit in the hotel lobby, all that remains is to wait and soon wave sayonara to this country that has been so generous and open. I will be heading out on a bus at 2:30pm, taking an eleven-hour flight to Chicago, going through customs at O’Hare International Airport, and then finally arriving in Providence around 9:30pm. Soon I’ll be home, ready to rest and reflect, to begin processing this dense, wonderful introduction to Japan.

I’m a bit in awe of how much I have experienced. This trip engaged my every sense. I’ve tasted mysterious foods, some surprisingly good and others unforgettably gross. I’ve soaked in silky smooth mineral water from natural hot springs and been squeezed into a subway car at the peak of rush hour. I’ve wafted myself in burning incense at a Buddhist temple and smelled fresh mountain air. I’ve entered the clamor of a pachinko parlor and the out-of-tune cheer of a karaoke bar. I’ve seen dozens of smiling children, the neon nightlife of Tokyo, and the feathery leaves of bamboo forests rustling in the wind. And through dozens of conversations, I’ve seen into the daily life of a wide cross section of Japan’s people, viewed on my own country and culture through a new lens, and, all the while, been treated like royalty. Thank you, Japan! You will be forever in my heart.