After an arduous journey, including 13.5 hours of layover in the Toronto airport, a night in Tokyo at a precious hikers/youth hostel and hours on trains, I’m back. Niigata greeted me with refreshingly cool air, a relief from the heat and humidity Tokyo had offered. It feels great to be back in Japan. I always find myself brimming with a mixture of relief, excitement and wonder anew when returning to Japan. There is something about this country, her people and their lifestyle that makes me feel perfectly comfortable and at home.
My first night back I stayed at the Khaosan Tokyo Samurai, the newest of the Khaosan Tokyo hostel chain’s locations in Asakusa. There are a ton of hostel chains in Tokyo to chose from, but based on my experience I think the Khaosan brand is the best. They win out in terms of cleanliness, safety, atmosphere, customer service, and even generally location. You would be hard pressed to find a more inviting hostel, with nicer facilities, friendlier staff or such a great value. The Sakura group of hostels, hotels and apartments are much more heavily advertised, and comparably priced. However, I have not enjoyed my experiences with Sakura nearly as much as those with Khaosan. This time, the Khaosan Samurai staff gave out going away gifts of a piece of candy inside of an origami bird. They also have their own bar a few blocks away, and offer a free drink ticket when you arrive.
Other than resting up in my hostel, I also met with a friend and former classmate for dinner in Shinagawa, and made it out to Akihabara’s Yodobashi Camera to finally buy a camera. After years of wanting to move up to a DSLR, I’ve finally bitten the bullet. I took the death of my late Canon Powershot as a sign that I needed to take the next step – and I don’t regret it. After handling all of the cameras on my list of candidates, I decided on the Nikon D5000. It will take some time to fully acclimate to the button layout, and to navigate all of the menus, but I’m enjoying it already. I’m already planning on a macro lens and a wide-angle lens purchase in the near future. Happy early early birthday to myself!
All in all I had a great summer. It was to short, and obviously I didn’t get to spend as much time as I would have liked with everyone I wanted to see. However, I managed three weekends with the fiance – between that and celebrating marriage in Tennessee, a half-century birthday in Georgia, and spending time with the elusive and rare Democrat in South Carolina, it was a good summer. I miss ya’ll already (but I’m also excited to get started with this new school year). ‘Till next time!
