I’m sitting next to a small stream next to the apartment I lived in 24 years ago here in Tsuruse, Japan. This is where the my first job after college – the English school Nova – placed me and I spent a year here with three roommates who came and went. I still remember my first experience of waiting in the huge train station of Ikebukuro waiting for our escort who would bring us to Tsuruse. I remember seeing a white guy walk by and give us a sly look like he knew we were English teachers. I remember being impressed that he could navigate such a train station in a country as foreign as Japan and I hoped to one day be like him.
The guide arrived and brought us out here, away from the vibrant, and hectic city of Tokyo to this countryside place where I knew absolutely nothing. The teacher that picked us up from the station was Will and he dropped me off at my apartment. He mentioned he was about to go out drinking with some friend and I was really hoping he would invite me. He did not. Thus, I was in a somewhat dingy apartment, in a country where I knew nothing, and that would change my life.
Here I am 24 years later, with a Japanese wife, two kids and just coming off two weeks of traveling the country. I now speak Japanese, can drive and the country is now like home instead of a strange place far from home.
At 48 years old I realize my memory has faded somewhat. But sitting by this stream I can recall memories of the excitement, the nervousness, and the daily grind of wearing a suit in hot, humid summer months, where I taught English for 8 hours a day along with other foreigners who became friends. Almost all of those friends returned to their home countries but all have forged different paths in life. I still keep in touch with many of them.
Sitting next to this stream is peaceful. I’m under a wooden canopy, there is a wonderful cool breeze and a bird is singing to compliment the sound of the stream. The beautiful sounds of nature are interrupted every few seconds by cars passing over the bridge to the left and then the peacefulness completely wrecked every two minutes by the trains passing on the right. There is an elderly gentleman sweeping a smaller stream to aid the flow towards the main stream. This is seems like something very Japanese to me, an elderly gentleman meticulously taking care of a small part of nature. It reminds me of my youth and fascination with creeks. I absolutely loved them and always wished I could build a clubhouse over one. We tried once but only managed to place a few planks over the stream that were washed away by the next rain. I can see myself behaving as this older gentleman should I have the good fortune to live next to a stream.
Regardless, this is a beautiful oasis amongst urban development, interspersed with small fields and far from the chaotic metropolitan known as Tokyo.
I’m somewhat sad for two reasons. The first is the realization that 24 years have past and that excitement of youth and for the future have mostly faded. Instead of looking forward, I mostly look nostalgically backward. I cannot complain however as life has gone rather well since I first took the leap of working overseas. The second is my trip is coming to an end. Normally, I have time to myself for the first few days when I land in Tokyo. It is then I meet up with friends, walk around my old neighborhoods and look forward to soon seeing my family and going on trips. This time however, we did the family trips first and so instead of having something to look forward to, I have something to dread which is the end of my time in Japan this year.
This free time is also different from previous trips as I had no specific plan for the free time and it was difficult to get motivated about anything. I’m grateful to have been visiting Tokyo for 23 years and have seen and done pretty much all I’ve wanted. It has been a few years, perhaps four, since I’ve been in Tsuruse and Narimasu so am spending the middle of the day here.
Much has changed over the 24 years since I’ve lived here in Tsuruse. The most obvious is the East Exit now has a large bus terminal instead of a labyrinth of streets and shops. The old man who ran the red yakiniku booth is gone and I heard he passed away. He must have inhaled a lot of smoke everyday making that food for passers-by. Looking at the older folks walking down the street I imagine them as they were 24 years ago and in midlife. Now, I’m in midlife and they are old. How many people must have come and gone from Tsuruse over the years. Japan is such an old country and the change has been great. I’ve only had direct experience with 24 years of that history and see first hand how much things can change in a short amount of time.
After this, I’ll walk back to Tsuruse station and visit the West Exit and eat Coco Ichiban curry then make my way to Narimasu where my English school (Nova) was located. The only teacher that remains in Japan from that era is Greg and he is now the Director of an accounting firm here. I wonder what my life might be like if I had followed that path. I’m sure it would have gone quickly due to the insane work culture and been less pleasant having to wear a suit everyday.
So again, I cannot complain as my life has turned out well and Japan remains something I can look forward to. Not only our summer trips but that we will eventually live here again. I assume the move will be a momentous experience leaving California and I wonder if I will eventually regret the decision. Normal life is not like a trip where everything is somewhat new all over again. But perhaps, if I can find my creek to tend and get into a routine I’ll be just fine.
