Japan Part II, to read Part I, go here.
It’s been over a month since we headed out for Japan. Compared to other trips, coming back was relatively painless. Of course, there’s always the struggle to return to a normal routine, and the reignited inspiration to vow to travel more, but all in all, the return has been fairly painless.
On the second part of our trip, we stayed in Kyoto and traveled to Osaka for several days before returning to Tokyo and heading home. By this time however, we were getting fairly tired. While we do like seeing people and doing things, at home we are generally homebodies. We like to relax and enjoy the day slowly. In Japan, however, there really wasn’t any of that, as we wanted to get the most out of our trip.
I imagine if we had stayed in Japan another week, we probably wouldn’t have done much more than what we did, but we would have rested longer and taken things slower. Regardless, I’ve vowed that I won’t wait another 10 years before returning to Japan, and Mr. C has been making ramen and Japanese style curry almost every night since we got back, so I think it’s fair to say that he’s amiable to the idea of returning as well.
The last trip I went on was to the Dominican Republic with Mr. C. At that time we were still living in NYC and while I hadn’t started my crazy work routine yet, I still found that I was extremely distressed upon returning to “real life”. I’ve since read that “Post Vacation Blues” is a real thing and it’s not uncommon for travelers to feel this way upon returning home.
My goal (one of my many goals) this past year was to enjoy my life more- my day-to-day life. I don’t want the idea of returning to “normal” to be distressing and upsetting. Based on this trip, and my return experience, I’d say I have definitely moved in the right direction.
While I love traveling, I’ve also found that I love coming home. I love my own bed, my own pillows and my own sheets. I love shifting at night and finding our dog at my feet, rearranging himself in accordance to my movements. I love having a comfortable chair to sit in and read for hours without feeling like I needed to do something or see something more. I love drinking tea at the dining table and enjoying the morning light as it streams through the windows, seeing the trees rustle outside and hearing the wind chimes dance away.
I think when you do it right, traveling should make you hunger for more, but should also help you appreciate what you already have.
