The Land of the Rising Sun: An Introduction

A Little History

I began studying Japan late in college, when my then-bf-now-husband told me of his dream to teach English in Kyoto after graduating, simply out of a desire not to be left back in the States, dateless. I took a crash course in Japanese for ten weeks at UC Berkeley, and immersed myself in the early-modern history, too. The culture I had relative headstart on, having been interested to a non-serious degree in anime and manga since I was a kid. The considerable gaps in my East Asian education were filled in by said reason-for-going, an EAS major, nearly fluent in the language (and half-Japanese to boot). Long story and one hemorrhaging national economy later, and our dreams of Nippon were tabled indefinitely. That is, until we received the money to book tickets from my generous in-laws, and took a three-years-belated honeymoon of 18 jam-packed days. These posts, tagged Progress, are the tale of that journey, one that expanded the horizons of this novice traveller and renewed our commitment (now much older and wiser) to a future in Japan.

Go There to Know There

My posts on this trip aren't intended to be used as a travel guide--they are just my experiences, my inspirations and questions, from a snapshot visit to a vast and varied nation. More than making a record of my travels for posterity, I'm hoping to express the cavalcade of emotions, the connection to humanity that I so enjoyed there, as an offering to others as curious as I am about what makes the world tick, seen through the lens of an entirely novel culture. You don't know what you think you know about Japan...or at least I didn't! Still, beyond anecdote, observation, gender and media theory, there will be handy tips and history aplenty--not researched as per a guidebook, again, but drawn straight from my own subjective understanding. In the end, this log should be an experience of an experience, so hang on tight and get ready to get meta in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Us, the day before college graduation in 2009--younger, dumber and plumper than we realized.