Back-blogging, Sleep Deprivation and Other Run-of-the-mill Things

Before I say anything else allow me to note in passing that I’m extremely sleep deprived, of my own free will of course, and that I’ve been reading a lot of Dostoyevsky. That should explain everything that is to follow.
I’ve made it to my host family and I start school on Monday. It feels good to not have to worry about my next connection in travel, but now I have to worry about all the things that come with school…but I guess I should start at the beginning. There’s a considerable amount of back-bloging to be done (is back-bloging even a word?).
When I left for this trip I was a bit apprehensive, which I must admit was an emotion worth heeding. I had planned to sleep on the flight so that I would have more stamina for my day in Tokyo, but we all know that never works. There were some movies that I wanted to see, the new King Kong and (to my abhorrence) I even watched the Pink Panther remake. King Kong was good. So I arrived in Tokyo and immediately began to sweat. The airport went smoothly, I was able to take care of all my packing and repacking and shipping and train reservations. Once I got into to Tokyo, things began to get a bit sticky, plus I was sticky. Tokyo this time of year is even more humid then normal because of the profuse amounts of rain that are falling. This added with the normal summer heat of Tokyo make it almost unbearable. But it’s Tokyo so you bear with it just because everyone else is. “But they’re not lugging twenty pound bags around…well maybe they are…" anyway: I went to get a cell phone that began a week worth of fiascos. I still don’t have a cell phone but I’ve indebted myself to so many people I think I should get a conciliatory one anyway. Thank God Akiko lives in Tokyo, that’s all I have to say! But because of all the back and forth around Shinjuku, and a great soccer game to break the tension, I was up all night. Then in the morning I went to Osaka to meet Kyoko, but didn’t meet Kyoko. I returned to Tokyo, and just as I thought I might die from exhaustion, Akiko said I could stay with her!!!! Then after about a week I went to my hotel…a whole another story.
“Hehe, I turned right…NO!...I was supposed to turn left! OH!” That’s okay it was a good assurance for me that the Japanese police really are as helpful as people say they are…and I love taxis! I think I could have filled a swimming pool with my sweat. My room was so cute but it felt kind of weird being surrounded by gaijin again in the middle of a run down Tokyo neighborhood.
Then I went to Yokohama and had great a time relaxing and eating great Japanese home cooking with Kumiko. We went to Kamakura and saw the hydrangeas and the giant outdoor Buddha.
And here we are!
It’s really remarkable; I can’t really remember what I did each day in Tokyo. I think it’s lost its luster. I mean for me, of course it lost its real luster ages ago. I didn’t have the energy to explore any new alleys so I went back to my oldc haunts, but my favorite coffee shop where I liked to read, closed. I think the lure of the unknown had waned in Tokyo, for me. Maybe I’ve become disillusioned. I hate to think that, even more to write it. “I’m going to base my whole future on this place and the pull is weakening!?” But Kamakura reminded me of why I love this country. The people are able to mix old and new, they can meld their ancient traditions with their modern world with no qualms. State of the art cell phones take videos of ancient works of art and natural wonders. But are they just admiring these things because it’s tradition? I can’t help wondering repeatedly if all these actions are carried out without any serious critical thought, and isn’t that what I detest about America? Maybe the analysis is just lost in translation.
Of course, maybe I just have too much free time on my hands to think about this stuff. I need to watch more football.
Akiko doesn’t have a TV so I was only able to start watching the World Cup again on the 17th. I’ve been watching one or two matches since then, but because of the time difference they are on late at night and very early in the morning so once I start school it’s probably not a good idea to stay up…but since when have I listened to my little voice of reason…

- 鴻