#Tokyo school life nudity windows#

I felt a rush of emotion, and I released a breath I didnвЂ™t know I was holding. What stood before me was a busy crossing. But on my second transfer, I stepped out of the station instead of catching the next train. I had to transfer lines before getting to the onsen. While inside planes and trains and cars, I am shielded by the window and invisible to the passersby. Most of all, I enjoy seeing everything from a safe distance.

#Tokyo school life nudity windows#

I look at the windows of tall skyscrapers and imagine each window as a television channel-with each window having its own storyline and own set of characters. Being in transit is one of my favorite parts of traveling. I must have been inside a vehicleвЂ“from a car to a plane to a trainвЂ“for almost ten hours!ДЄnd I enjoyed those moments. The train ride took around an hour-maybe more. Once I arrived in Tokyo, I was met with a very quiet and calm airport. The plane ride took a couple of hours again. IВ waited for a few hours in the airport before boarding the plane. The car ride took around an hour and a half. On the morning of my flight, my dad drove me to the airport. Like I wasnвЂ™t in control of anything-just taking things one hour at a time. With school, work, and preparations for the trip all happening simultaneously, I felt like I was in a constant state of anxiety.

Will my visa get approved? Did I forget anything that would hinder me from graduation? Is my passport really at home? What if I spill coffee on it accidentally? Was I scammed when I bought plane tickets online? What if my debit and credit cards get skimmed? What if someone steals my wallet? I was also caught off guard at how much time and money it took to get visas! The travel bloggers on Instagram made everything look so easy! I had to secure a visa to Japan, US, and Canada-even if I were to stay in Tokyo for 22 hours only. вЂњThere would be time for that later,вЂќ I told myself. I didnвЂ™t even have enough time to celebrate my college graduation and to process what it all meant. Since I was going to be on leave for two months, that meant there were so many things to iron out before my vacation started. I had to deal with my finals at school along with the demands of work. The months, weeks, and days leading up to my trip were fraught with so much fear, anxiety, and chaos. Since my flight arrived at Tokyo at 7:55 pm on August 1 and I was set to fly to Vancouver at 6:20 pm on August 2, I decided to spend the night in an onsen and to join a food tour from morning to lunch the next day. With such limited time, I needed to narrow down what I wanted to do. I bought that ticket and resolved to make the most out of those 22 hours. But when I booked flights to Vancouver, the cheapest one I found had a 22-hour layover in Tokyo. Going to Tokyo was never part of the plan.

Confronting Solitude: Traveling Alone for the First Time