And so, almost a month in Japan comes speeding to an end.
As with all my travels, I always find that this time, the aftermath of the journey, is the hardest part to process. How to take stock of the adventure, how to understand everything that I have seen and tasted and felt, how to evaluate how these new experiences have shaped me? It seems that these already mammoth tasks are amplified when applied to Japan. For how could one ever describe, in static terms, a place that is forever in flux?
And yet, this is precisely the way in which one must view Japan: a space of constant motion, in constant motion.
Japan is change. The spirit of innovation and transformation is inherent in its big cities' pulsing streets, in the forward thinking attitude of her people, even in the underlying threat of earthquakes – the very terrain is transforming! This love of change is no better manifested than in the country’s adoration of her transitional seasons, where the pink months of spring and golden ones of autumn are celebrated with festivals, song, dance and colour. Here is a place that that defines itself by the promise of new beginnings, by the beauty that comes with reinvention and rebirth.
Welcoming in the new does not mean forgetting the past. On the contrary, transformation requires a solid reference with the old in order to evaluate the rate of alteration. In Japan, tradition is sacred and the past is venerated. Ancient shrines, temples and monuments are cared for and preserved with impeccable attention. Old cultural habits are still practiced with great pride. Traditions live on, and are carried lovingly in to the future alongside that pioneering spirit of innovation.
This is a liminal space, then, that is in constant flux between the old and the new; like a magnetic charge shifting between two strong poles of equal but opposite importance. Japan is charged with this oscillating energy, and to immerse yourself within this charge is rejuvenating. And so, Japan is not only changing itself, but being a part of it changes you.
If I may have my last words on the country, it would be this: Japan, keep the change. Or rather, keep the way in which you change, the way in which you look forward without forgetting what is behind you. Keep fluctuating, energising, transforming. As more tourists flock to your shores, they will realise that this is, perhaps, the secret to this journey we call life.
