My heart is at home in: Tokyo. Part one.

As I start writing, it is April 10, 2022. Seven years ago today I was travelling home from my first trip to Japan.The previous 12 hours had been some of the worst of my life, preceded by probably the best two weeks of my life.

I’m not sure where my fascination with Japan began. I know I loved Pokémon cartoons (and still watch them several times a week on iPlayer at the age of 49!). I don’t think that can explain it though. I’m not sure I even equated them with Japan particularly. I think I’m going to have to stop worrying about how and why and just know that it has been there for a long time.

The fascination between the ancient and the modern, the architecture, the style and design, the spiritual and playful mentality. Temples, shrines, skyscrapers, bullet trains, kimonos, geisha, Pikachu, Hello Kitty, Spirited Away, netsuke, bonsai trees, Takeshi‘s Castle, Banzai. I find beauty, ingenuity or enjoyment in them that I don’t find elsewhere.

The trip took a lot of planning. At that time I could walk a little with two sticks but needed an accessible bathroom and would be in a wheelchair when out and about. I booked it with a travel company specialising in trips to Japan and they helped to find suitable hotel rooms and advised on the accessibility of destinations.

The trip would take me to Tokyo, Kyoto, Takayama and back to Tokyo over two weeks. I had a lot of fun in the run-up to the trip with the Lonely Planet guides to Japan, Tokyo and Kyoto, using Mario mushroom and flower post-it notes to mark the pages of interest.

I even had a playlist for the flight recommended by Cerys Matthews for the Weekend magazine in the Guardian, having written in looking for inspiration for the 11 hour journey. I listened to Dawn and Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence by Ryuchi Sakamoto as the plane landed into Narita airport.

I have used the first person singular so far, but I wasn’t travelling alone. I travelled with my now ex whom I shall refer to as X if I need to refer to him. He pushed me everywhere in the wheelchair (for which I am extremely grateful) but I don’t look back on it as a shared experience. As much as possible I shall write as if I were alone.

I had arrived in Tokyo and as the driver took me to the hotel he pointed to the cherry trees and said “Your timing is perfect – the cherry blossom has come out today”. And so the trip of a lifetime began…

https://ninaisinhere.home.blog/2022/04/11/my-heart-is-at-home-in-tokyo-part-two/