The Return: December in Tokyo

After my week in Taiwan, I was off next to meet Claire again. We had last spent a week together a month before in Cebu within the Philippines. My ‘bargain’ for staying at her apartment this time for a few weeks was to ‘butler’ it up. I was happy to share her company, run some errands and then enjoy some spells of solitude while she worked after months cohabitating. I humbly think I knocked it out of the park here, cooking delicious veggie food, keeping her apartment tidy & adding a few small DIY touches, altogether making her busy teacher life a bit more chill with my presence.

With my time off, and our nights together, I got to indulge the feeling I get being in Japan that is sort of a, “pinch me, I’m dreaming”, kind of vibe. Seeing a snow-capped Fuji near Claire’s apartment or just walking through Shibuya and seeing all the anime stuff in those first days were magical for me. Walking into a conbini and almost always having some healthy veggie snacks is great. It’s just undeniable the subliminal effect this culture has on me, and it feels very privileged for me to indulge on it.

Our first week was one full of rock concerts, with three different bands, including one the night I flew in. Tokyo is a sought after destination for internationally touring artists, and Claire, like myself, has a strong affinity for bands. It’s part of the reason we gel well! That week we saw Squid (post-punk, UK), Caroline Polachek, an old favorite pop artist enjoying new highs of success and Alvvays (indie rock, CA), one of my favorites that Claire had thoughtfully bookmarked. In the following week, we’d add Snail Mail (indie rock, US) as one extra night out.

We had two weekends together for this spell in Tokyo. One we reserved for a trip to Mt. Fuji, where Claire took me to appreciate this storied mountain up close. For whatever reason, I totally neglected to do it my first time around Tokyo. Rising at dawn to gaze upon the light hitting Fuji was a sublime feeling for me as this journey neared its end. We followed that with a committed day riding rental bikes some 60km around the nearby lakes, though that was a bit of an ordeal as they weren’t too optimized for athletic feats and harsh hills. Oh well, we both sort of thrive on that sort of struggle, and it made things memorable.

Our other weekend was one of simple revelry near her neighborhood, replete with karaoke, a trip to Gotukuji, the famed cat temple, and a visit to a sentō, or bathhouse. Karaoke was a staple of my life in NYC that had fallen by the wayside after I left for Arizona, I was quite happy to do the legit version in Japan an extra time after leaving my good pal Chuck in Osaka in March. It was cool to do one with Claire and her crew, and I fit right in with them. There’s just something special about singing in a tiny room with friends and loved ones.

Gotukuji is something everyone can enjoy on a Tokyo visit. It’s heralded as the birthplace of the “maneki-neko” or one-armed, good luck cat that is a ubiquitous icon around Asia. It was bustling when we showed up on a Sunday afternoon, and they were even sold out of cat statues. You know it’ll stay as something “Tokyo” in my mind since I felt empowered to make it the featured image for this article.

From this visit, I perhaps felt most changed (or “enlightened”) from my sentō visit. Washing oneself in the company of strangers, nude, is humbling, and a sentō won’t discriminate against you for being tattooed like the hot spring resorts often will. Claire, waiting outside for me afterwards remarked positively on my glowing complexion. It felt like a nice public service to use the bathhouse, doing the humble act of cleaning oneself publicly and enjoying a simple hot soak. Since leaving, I’ve enjoyed hot baths regularly in my apartment, that I previously only ever used for quick showers.

A bonus highlight of my Tokyo trip was synchronicity with an old pal, Monkey! This thru-hiking adventurer I met for a week back on the Arizona Trail in 2021, he since went on to do the Appalachian Trail (at my behest) and now lives on a farm in Hawaii and teaches when he’s not doing something extra adventurous. This time, he was visiting Japan for the first time before further travels afield into Southeast Asia. We got to link up for a few days, doing an epic hike along Mt. Takao where I got to show him Mt. Fuji up close, which was Claire’s wise suggestion. I’ll remember the light in his eyes from being able to guide that epic reveal when we reached the first summit of our hike on Mt. Jimba and Fuji came into view. The rest of our short time was just palling around the various tourist districts for an extra day or two before he continued his meanders towards Kyoto, but it was a nice bonus to share that time with paths crossing. I’ll pay him a visit in Hawaii sometime soon, I think.

Mid-December came, with the end of the school year heralding Claire’s return to Britain for the holiday break and my month of consuming in-season persimmons. I arranged my flight back to the States for the same day she’d fly out. Three weeks of butlering, concerts, and fun Japan life had concluded, and we bid farewell, but my parting with Claire in Tokyo was not so bittersweet. We had already arranged a trip to San Francisco soon after for a curious week to see one of our favorite bands, LCD SoundSystem, performing for New Years in that storied city. So, my story with Claire will continue in one forthcoming chapter as my 2023 abroad wrapped up..