Yokohama, Japan

Visited in December 2014

My first solo-trip was to Japan, highly encouraged by my mother. I stayed with my friend from high school who was working in Tokyo at the time. For the first day, I took the most nerve-racking train ride alone out of the big city and to Yokohama on my own. At the time, I kept thinking what if I get lost? Today, to that, I say, so what if I get lost. This trip taught me so much, and it will probably be the best lesson I have learned in terms of connecting with myself.

Yokohama is located just south of Tokyo in the Greater Tokyo Area. I remember going to Renga Soko (Red Brick Warehouse) where I nervously bought an omurice and a hot matcha cafe for lunch. I do not speak Japanese. This was my first time visiting a country in which I do not speak the same tongue. I was constantly worried that I might say or do something that somehow would offend them, despite trying my best to adapt to their mannerism.

I, then, walked to the port and sat alone for what felt like a good half hour, just breathing and clearing my mind. It was such a relief. Just before this trip, something quite dramatic happened in my family. It was something that brewed for at least a decade. Anyways, the day in Yokohama, to me, it was where I felt like I could finally reflect on everything and move on to the better things in life.

Before I returned to Tokyo, I visited the Cup Noodle Museum. Even though I no longer consume wheat products since the allergy diagnosis in my late teens, I could not pass on this interactive museum to pay homage to all the instant noodles I consumed as a child and the long-haul flights taken between Hong Kong and Toronto. As a souvenir, I made my own custom Cup Noodle which I can never enjoy.

This entry was published on September 9, 2020.