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I was 26, and I was in Japan. I’d traveled to England, Sweden, and France, and through Italy, Switzerland, Monaco, and Germany, but this was my first time in an Asian country. Unlike those other times, I wasn’t in the country to study, to perform, or to visit: I was there to work. Most days, I worked in Saginomiya, a small suburb of Tokyo near Takadanobaba (where Waseda University is located). On Sundays, I worked in Shinjuku, one of the busiest parts of the city. Shinjuku Station is considered the busiest train station in the world. It took me a full year to navigate it properly, and even then I’d sometimes go out the wrong exit. One of the impressive things about Tokyo is how large the city proper is, not to mention the suburbs that spread out from its center. All the neighborhoods have their own feel. Most of the museums are in Ueno, electronics and nerd culture in Akihabara, cool and kawaii fashion in Shibuya. They even celebrate their summer festivals differently. Where I was in Musashi-Koganei, they had a traditional dance that took the form of a giant parade through the city called the Awaodori. Though I worked weekends, I had Tuesdays and Wednesdays off, when the excellent train system that encircles and divides Tokyo was less crowded than on weekends. Despite the lack of touching in Japanese culture, crowded trains could find you rammed up against strangers in odd formations. The Chuo Line, in particular, was notoriously crowded during rush hour, though the only time I saw pushers (oshiya) – train staff with white gloves whose job it is to “push” people into the cars so the doors can close – was on the Seibu-Shinjuku Line, a private line than runs parallel to part of the Chuo. Besides public transportation (which includes subways and buses), one of the best ways to get around the city is by bike. Early on, I bought one and rode it around streets with cars driving inches from my elbows. Somewhat nerve-wracking in a country that doesn’t believe in bike helmets. I also found it incredibly easy to get lost. Often, I’d take a shortcut on a road that should’ve intersected with one I wanted to get on, only to see that road change direction and arrive at a dead end. On the other hand, the bike paths were well laid out and easy to follow. When I moved from Musashi-Koganei to Kodaira, they connected my new home to a park near my old one, where I’d find a log to sit on and write about my experiences there. Bullet trains made it easy to visit all parts of the country. I spent one February in Sapporo during its Winter Festival, where a multitude of snow and ice sculptures are on display. Twice, I visited Kyoto, with its temples and famous rock gardens. I took a day trip to Kamakura and remember riding on a rickety train past the Pacific Ocean to get there. Once there, I crept inside the Big Buddha and got purposely lost in the cemeteries. I also visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki and visited their atomic bomb museums. When I visited Nagasaki, I attended the Peace Ceremony, where the Prime Minister and one of the survivors of the bombing spoke. Though I didn’t understand what was said, most of the museums and tourist sites in Japan have information written in English and Japanese. Despite taking advantage of all the cultural opportunities I could, three years wasn’t enough time to experience all that this island nation has to offer. I left with many things undone, hopefully to spur me on to make a return visit. So far, I’ve only been able to go back once, but I hope that I shall soon return to explore more of this fascinating country.