Back from Japan (reluctantly).
Having a blog makes you realise how quickly time passes. Easily a month can pass by without any new entries here. But that month would feel like a blink to me.
So I did go to Japan for three weeks. I experienced moments of bliss/ecstasy there that would sound downright silly when put in words. But don’t worry, the only drugs involved were nature, rural fields, quiet neighbourhoods, long walks, silence, solitude, books…
I think I could easily become a recluse if I allowed myself to.
Even then, some of my best memories from the trip involve other people, mostly strangers. I made friends in cafes, izakayas, shops. We talked with the help of Google Translate and their kindness warmed my heart. I almost didn’t meet an unkind soul in Japan.
So that’s the thing – I enjoyed my solitude to the point of delirium, but so much joy and light and happiness were delivered straight to my heart from my interactions with other human beings.
Both things are true at the same time.
Rebecca!
I saw a big bump in my blog stats and wondered where they came from. Rebecca recommended me at “People and Blogs”!! Thank you for your kind words! Yours is my first review in twenty years, except for that one time that Tyler Cowen linked me on his blog and I got 30,000 hits in one day!
I love your blog too and am following you now. I especially loved your travel photos, the you apply style makes them kind of moody and from-the-old days. They take me back. I’ve been to lots of the places that you have. I even spent to weeks in Singapore in 1989.. I loved Tokyo too and saw Tokyo Story in May on maybe the same day that you watched it.
Anyway, thanks for the shout-out!
— Ragged Clown.
PS. Feel free to email if you want to swap blog thoughts. No obligations.