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Philippa is on her year abroad studying in Tokyo, Japan. In this blog she discusses her travels in northern Japan during the winter holidays.
One of the great things about studying abroad for a year is that during term time you have the opportunity, not only to learn in a new environment, but also to 鈥榣ive like a local鈥� and experience everyday life in that country. And the great thing about universities is that they have long holidays. So, while during term time you can experience the normality of a place, during the holidays you can experience the extraordinary.
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During the long holiday in February and March I decided to travel around northern Japan. Starting in Sapporo for the legendary Winter Festival, I then visited several other areas in Hokkaido (the main northern island of Japan). Taking the ferry from Hakodate (on Hokkaido) to Aomori (on Honshu 鈥� Japan鈥檚 main island), I then worked my way back to Tokyo via local trains, taking a lot of detours! In total I was travelling for 22 days and having just made it back to Tokyo I am excited to share my experiences鈥� and lessons!
It is safe to say that over the past few weeks I experienced a lot of (ultimately merry) misadventures. From taking an incredibly aesthetic video of the train that I then realised I was actually supposed to be on鈥� and the next one wouldn鈥檛 be for another five hours; to watching my convenience store curry go cold as I realised that I was far too overconfident in my admittedly very limited Japanese and accidently told the shopkeeper that 鈥榥o, I don鈥檛 need a spoon鈥� even though I absolutely did. I鈥檓 honestly only slightly kidding when I say that I believe it was some divine retribution for being un-environmentally conscious and I now will never go anywhere without my reusable cutlery!
As disastrous as these situations seemed at the time, they taught me to think outside of the box. I learned that it鈥檚 okay to have a minute to be mad at yourself or frustrated and overwhelmed, but then you have to make a decision. Are you going to sit there being frustrated at yourself for another five hours, or not eat anything because you only have fifteen minutes before your train comes, or are you going to find a solution? And now I have a wonderful baby spoon with a train handle, so really, it鈥檚 all positives.
I also learned that the times when things go wrong often make the best memories. When I was sat alone on the platform of the train station, the kind man who, in my limited Japanese, I had previously asked about train schedules - and then accidentally ignored everything he said -, had come all the way to the station to give me a hot chocolate, because he knew that I had to wait an hour and a half for the next train. Or the time a friend and I caught a ride from a very kind man for an hour back to town. When we asked him where he lived about ten minutes into the ride he said 鈥榯here鈥�, pointing out of the window to some houses we were driving past, before proceeding another forty minutes to take us back to the station. And the aspiring musician who, with the help of the entire reception staff, helped us open a corked bottle of wine with a screwdriver and some plyers.
These are all memories that, while borne from frustration and a place of feeling pretty alone, remind me of how far a little kindness can go. Just a hot chocolate or a smile can be enough to remind someone that they are not alone and are strong enough to overcome whatever difficulty they face, curry related or otherwise.