One Way Ticket

The first set of 176 emojis was designed in Japan in 1999 by artist Shigetaka Kurita.

🗼Tokyo Tower emoji: this is the second tallest structure in Japan. I had a great view of it from my room in Toronoman Hills🗼

Here’s what I can tell you about Tokyo: things are available.

• Need a fountain pen? The 3rd floor of Itoya in Ginza is dedicated solely to fountain pens.

• Need an A+ egg salad sandwich? Pop into any Seven-Eleven.

• Need a measuring tape that rolls out of the left nostril of a small rubber nose-shaped holder for ¥440? There’s a vending machine for that.

• Need a jar of whipped cream with cookie crumbles on top and a tiny spoon to eat it with? There’s a vending machine for that, too.

• Need a drink koozie that’s too small for any beverage can ever made, with a fish graphic and a mistranslated self-care message that reads: Smile. I love yourself. Stay Classy. Whatever. You’re in luck at the Can*Do Dollar Store conveniently located inside the Maruetsu Petit mini-grocery in Toranomon.

• Need a vintage Cedar Point sweatshirt straight from Ohio for ¥11,999 ($85!)? Visit CYAN Vintage in Shimokitazawa.

• Need to see approximately 2,000 people cross a street at once? Pop over to Shibuya Crossing.

• Need princess themed chopsticks? Find them at Don Quijote (DonKi for short) in Roppongi.

• Need washi tape with cats or Buddhas on it? You can find that at every store in the city, apparently.

• Need to mail the gifts and snacks you bought for your son and your boyfriend home because you have no room in your suitcase? Japan Post will get it from Tokyo to Ohio in five business days in a “small packet” for thirty bucks. Five days, people. When I send FedEx 2 Day from Ohio to California for $79.50 plus tax, it takes six days. Help me understand. 

You get the point. You want it? You can find it here. In a vending machine, most likely.

⛩️Shinto Shrine or Torii Gate emoji: The red torii gates mark the entrance of, or are found in Shinto Shrines around Japan. My favorite was the Atago Shrine in Minato City. It’s famous for its steep staircase known as the "stone steps of career success"⛩️

Here are some observations about Japan in general:

• Just because a bar with only six tables on the eighth floor of a high-rise building is empty does not mean you may come in for a drink. No, no, no. One look at a group of loud Americans and suddenly, “Reservation required.” Thankfully, a man will see your defeat after being turned away from multiple bars, proclaim, “You drink outside,” and welcome your group with watered-down whiskey and sodas at his establishment. Outside. On the sidewalk. You take what you can get.

• Take your shoes off.

• Bow.

• Leaves get swept from the ground into a trash bag at the gas station, the steps of my Airbnb, a public shrine, in a park. Please take a slow, deep breath and read this again: in a park. Leaves. Into a trash bag.

• Arigatou gozaimasu! Arigatou gozaimasu!

• Driving on the left side of the road but the right side of the car is exactly like driving on the right side of the road on the left side of the car. Except you have to remember to drive on the left side of the road, which isn’t as easy as it sounds.

• No honking. None.

• Toilet seats are heated. In the airport, at the office, in the hotel, in the library. I didn’t visit a library, but I know the toilet seats there are heated because that’s just how it is.

• The salaryman and his outfit are alive and well.

Japan is known for its meticulousness, neatness, and organization. If you can’t figure something out, wait and watch.

When things make sense, you can anticipate. You know what humans really, really like? To anticipate what is going to happen. It’s our favorite mirage.

The orderly conduct in Japan made my heart pitter-patter a little faster and my smile a little wider. In India, a man I met at a dinner party said that Japan is a nightmare for Indians because there are rules and order. Which Indians can’t handle because India is chaotic. But. I will not reflect on India now because to write about Japan and India together would be disorderly.

🍱Bento Box emoji: a Japanese lunch box containing multiple compartments to organize your food into🍱

Here’s an example of the orderliness in Japan.

• Tokyo’s metro is extensive: multiple private and public companies operate hundreds of stops on over 15 separate lines. The metro system serves more than 2.5 billion people annually. And still, the metro is easy to navigate.

• Each line has a distinct color. Even lines that share the same track have a different color.

• Each station has a unique letter and number combination.

• Each station also has a unique jingle that plays when the train arrives at that stop.

• Although some stations are massive, the signage, platforms, and subway cars are color-coded by the line they are on.

• This means you can find your way by letter, number, color, name, or sound.

• If you’re lost on the metro, you’re not paying attention.

And, as if that’s not nice enough, let me also tell you that people are not pushy in the metro stations. They walk calmly. They line up to wait for the subway doors to open. They do not take up more than one space. They do not listen to their phones out loud. They do not eat or drink while riding. There are rules, and the rules are followed.

🏣 Japan Post emoji: A post office with the Japanese Post symbol (〒). I love sending postcards. Visiting a post office to buy stamps and send mail is a fun way to do a chore in a new country and get a feel for life as a non-tourist. Japan has a strong culture of craftsmanship and penmanship. Learning to write kanji characters takes time and attention to detail. You might as well use a nice pen and paper🏣

Here’s what else I can tell you from my time in Japan.

• Takamatsu is a city of about 400,000 people on Shikoku Island. 400,000 people but no taxis available at the airport at 8:30 pm. Even if you have traveled for nearly 24 hours and you do not want to figure out the bus, and you do want to cry because you are exhausted.

• This is ok because the airport bus will take you to the train station near the port and you can take a taxi from there. But be careful because the backseat taxi doors automatically open and close with vigor. The taxis are all dark blue or black Nissan Cedric models. Luxurious!

• Ferries are running regularly from Takamatsu to neighboring islands. The ferries have seats that face looking out the window instead of forward. Someone was using their noodle during the design process.

• I had the impression there would be cats everywhere. Instead, the only cat I saw was in a man’s tote bag at the ferry terminal. The cat obediently popped itself from the tote bag into the basket on the man’s bike. They rode away before I could let them both know I loved them.

• Brett and I walked the entire east to west distance of Naoshima Island in half a day. My favorite public work of art was a giant garbage can. We visited zero museums. I’m thankful that Brett and I agree on not spending travel time at museums.

• Staying seaside on Shodoshima, renting a car to drive around, and taking a few days to discover all the small island had to offer was rewarding. There was a tour guide at the soy sauce factory who said, "You can see everything here in less than a day, no”? I suppose we could have, but I’m glad we didn’t.

• We spent an afternoon on walking trails amidst a tribe of ~200 uncaged monkeys at Chōshi Valley Monkey Kingdom. If you take 538 photos of the monkeys, none will accurately convey the experience. Also, do not look the monkeys in the eye.

• I’ve enjoyed many obsessions in life. One that’s persisted over time is small islands. It’s hard to pin down why I am decisively drawn to them. Something about life on small islands can’t be replicated in other topographies. The interest and affinity I have grow with each new island experience. Naoshima and Shodoshima are small, quaint islands. You can’t make the mistake of thinking you aren’t on an island. Despite all the wonders of Japan, this is still the feeling I most enjoyed.

🙅Not OK emoji: This gesture is used in Japanese culture to signal something is not OK. Some English is spoken in Japan, but there were many times when I had to use Google Translate or gestures to communicate. Once, I walked out of a building and into a bus loading area, which resulted in whistles being blown and two employees coming toward me with this gesture. When I got into the taxi line in Takamatsu, the attendant made this gesture to let me know no taxis were available. Then, when I asked for how long, he made this gesture again to signal none would be coming🙅

Here’s what I can tell you after 20 days in Japan.

• I don’t know much about Japan.

• I bet you’d enjoy seeing it for yourself.

Arigatou gozaimasu.