Bonito Living

Strolling through the Gyon National Park amid the Tokyo Shinjuku area, it’s impossible to imagine we are next to the busiest train stations in the world. It’s our last day in Japan and we are blessed with a blue sky, warm weather, and the possibility of saying goodbye properly to this beautiful country. This feeling of gentle sadness, expressed by the Japanese in the phrase: mono no aware, describes perfectly the feeling of the moment. The melancholia of saying goodbye and the anticipation to get home. The transition between constant moving and resting.

We know things won’t be the same, the travelers who started this trip two weeks ago (it seems and feels like two months or two years) are not the same today strolling under the trees. Japan has changed us, but also it has been a mirror of who we are and what we believe. Japan is a place where beauty is a pathway and a way of being, belonging, and becoming. We can learn a lot about bonito living here, from how people relate to each other with politeness and respect, to the aesthetics of minimalism, the kawaii (cuteness), their art, and their architecture. As my friend Sam told me, there has been a bit of Japan in me, and having the opportunity to experience Japanese culture has been a mirror for my own art and my way of understanding the world.

From this trip, I am embracing my kawaii aesthetic, the predilection for cuteness, naivity, and almost childish images. Japanese are addicted to kawaii (cuteness) present in every aspect of Japanese life: from banks to film making the friendly faces of pocket monsters (pokemon) and smiley animals are part of the visual culture. Another interesting thing for us was the cleanliness and hygiene. Trains and public places are spotless, the rooms in the hotel are impeccable and the custom of removing your shoes to enter homes makes total sense to keep those standards of hygiene. There are bathrooms everywhere, or restrooms as they call them here, all well-equipped with the latest toilet technology. This is also present in their love for bathing, with onsen and public baths places for skinship, family time and relaxation.

There is a Japan for everybody: for the tech geek, for the art lover, for the gardener, the foodie, the hiker, the bookie, the philosopher, the hermit and the fashionista. It is a place were you need to hone your senses to really see it. It is subtle and sophisticated, it is challenging and contrasting, but mostly it is rich and enchanting. It is difficult to find the right words to describe the feeling of beauty and spirituality that this place can awake in the traveller.

Although it was a quick glimpse I feel I’ve been here before, and it was a matter of recognizing and re-visiting the places that my imagination had threaded in the path of dreams. Writing this travel log has allowed me to try and make sense of what I’ve lived, and to share it with you my dear friends. I’ve invoked each of you in several places… and also my dear friend Ann has been a constant companion.

Thanks for your company, your love, and your patience.