firstly, i would like to say - rest in peace, anthony bourdain.
his knowledge and presence had such an influence on me as i grew up. i know he inspired so many others as well. as one of my longtime role models, his death was quite the shock to me and i hope to let others know that they are not alone and they can always seek help by confiding in others or to find hope in creative interests. i hope this post gives solace to those who have been affected by any disheartening thoughts.
i experienced a bittersweet weekend filled with happiness, melancholy, and curious longing for knowledge and kindness between others as i continued to think back on bourdain's philosophy towards culture and food. he was always open-minded, yet knowledgable, on the good and the bad between the places he's visited. he never failed to show appreciation for others no matter their race, gender, age, social status.. as i ponder his success, his influence continues as its helped me write this small piece from what i've experienced in the past couple days. please have patience as its been a while for me and this is also still a work in progress, but i hope you enjoy what i've came up with.
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it was a hot and humid day. i had just parted ways with my best friend, meghan, from the ginza line after visiting harajuku together. she was visiting from my hometown of las vegas and was on her way to the airport to fly to another country to see her family. she made the kindest gesture to stop in japan to visit me before her family reunion.
“so this is shibuya crossing,” i said, “its kinda like the times square of japan.” i gestured towards the crowd as we both made our way from one end to the other.
“holy crap, people even stop to take photos?” she asked, as she pointed out the woman - an obvious tourist - sitting on the ground, cross-legged, in the middle of the street as her significant other snapped away photos with his DSLR. it wasn’t hard to miss the sight since they were the only still people in a sea of others who were walking on one end to the other as well, naturally.
i laughed, “yes, there’s so much to see here. i would say ten days would be the perfect amount of time to take everything in. was there anything specific you wanted to see while you’re here?”
“not really,” meghan said, “since i’m here for such a short time, i figured you could just show me around.”
and i did just that. within 2 days, we were able to visit cute cafes and amazing vegan restaurants (she’s been vegan for 4 years) in shinjuku, harajuku, and shibuya. we even stayed in the traditional neighborhood of edogawa, which was something new since it was located in a personally unexplored area a little closer to narita. rather than my usual destination of tokyo. it was nice to spend a couple days with my best friend of 10 years in the country that i now call home, the country she’s known me to adore.
sadly, after a fun weekend, we had to separate ways. we exchanged words of gratitude and took one last train together before we went in different directions to our next destination. the train doors opened, and i hugged her goodbye before getting off the train. i turned around to watch her leave and as the train doors closed, i waved and instinctively said the words, “see you.” - a common phrase in japan between friends that evokes more positivity on the usually sad-sounding goodbye. after a smile and a wave back from meghan, i then made my way to my next train.
at the station, i was waiting at the platform for my train ride that provided my 45-minute way home. crowds made their way to line up on the numbered floors alongside me, waiting for their next train as well. in just a few seconds, the next train approached, and 90% of the crowded platform boarded. the other 10%, including myself, stayed back to wait for the next train that followed.
in front of me, an older man spoke (in Japanese), “seems like many people take the train to Yokosuka, doesn’t it? our train will have more space.” he continued to speak, yet i couldn’t understand.
i smiled and nodded before speaking some quiet Japanese, “it seems so. i’m sorry, but my Japanese isn’t so great.”
“ah, excuse me,” he nodded and continued to apologize in Japanese. he paused.
“where are you from?” he asked, in English this time.
“America”, i said, “but i live in Ushiku now.” i continued in Japanese, a little louder with more confidence this time.
he continued in Japanese and gestured his hands from himself to me, “oh, we are both going to the same place.” he smiled.
“it seems so.” i replied in Japanese, returning a polite smile.
he then asked, in English, “do you have a green car ticket?” and pointed to the numbered floor below us.
“oh, no, i don’t.” i showed confusion. i knew i was boarding the next train, but i hadn’t paid for the extra fee of entering the green car, which had more luxury reclining seats and a train attendant to tend to paying guests.
the train started to approach, i was frazzled and looked for other queues to rush behind, so i could make my way to the regular entryways.
“ah, its okay, come with me. i’ll pay for you so we can sit together,” he gestured towards me with an open palm, not necessarily asking for my hand in return - but to show his openness of generosity.
i was hesitant, and before the train doors could close, i quickly made the decision to follow him without any time to verbally agree.
- to be continued, part two in progress -
(exact locations/town names were changed for privacy)