Hi everyone,

As I mentioned in my last blog post, my plans for my final week in Japan were thwarted by an unexpected medical crisis. I had arranged to have 3 interviews in collaboration with a trauma care organization in Japan; I was looking forward to speaking with and learning from people in different roles in the mental health field. Unfortunately, we had scheduled the interviews for the day after my trip to the ER, so they had to be cancelled 🙁

Everyone was very understanding about my situation. However, when I tried to reschedule the interviews, they said that this was not possible due to their busy schedules and the need to arrange for a translator. Frankly, it was difficult to figure out what to do about this. I felt disappointed that I couldn’t carry on with my research the way that I had planned to in this country. Even during the one interview that I had managed to do, I was battling a fever and finding it hard to focus.

But ultimately, I think that this was a learning experience for me. Things did not go according to my plans, but that’s a part of life! I learned to be more flexible with my schedule and to let go of unrealistic expectations. I practiced communicating disappointing news in a professional manner. Most importantly, I learned to adjust my mindset about a challenging situation.

I had luckily recorded my interview with the Japanese psychologist. So, even if I could not completely focus during our conversation in real time, I could more attentively listen to what he said through the recording. I also realized that there were valuable things I could learn from the experiences that I had so far in the city. I had even visited a big hospital (albeit unintentionally) and experienced firsthand what the medical intake and care process was like! So, I decided to try and maintain a more positive mindset throughout the rest of my stay in Japan.

For the next few days, I mostly did nothing but rest. I drank lots of fluids, took my medications, and tried my best to recover quickly on my own. Fortunately, I could have most foods delivered right to my doorstep ☺️

I finally felt good enough to go outside with 1 day left in Tokyo. I decided to take the subway to Shibuya station and explore the heart of the capital before leaving. I went up to the observation deck in Shibuya Sky. From there up above, I could see so much of this beautiful city! Later, I also crossed the Shibuya Scramble intersection. It’s hard to believe that an intersection would be considered a city landmark, but once I walked through it, this made sense. Every time the crossing light turns green, thousands of people seem to walk across in all directions. It’s an amazing place for people watching. Finally, I saw the statue of Hachiko (the loyal dog who waited for his owner to come back from work for many years) before taking the train back to my Airbnb.

And so, now, I am heading to South Korea! Even though my stay in Japan did not go according to my expectations, I am very happy about the time that I spent here. Tokyo is such an amazing place – I think the city just has this wonderful energy that is difficult to capture with words.

I would say “sayonara”, but apparently that version of goodbye has a forever connotation to it. So instead, I choose to say the Japanese version of see you later 😁

Thank you for reading 🤍

Something very unexpected happened to me in Japan.

It all began when I decided to explore the area of Akihabara on Sunday. In this region, I got to experience a different side of Japanese culture: there were girls dressed as maids standing on every street, inviting people to come with them to cafes and restaurants. There were also huge billboards displaying anime characters and brightly colored advertisements – the whole space was fascinating to be in. I ended up eating at a local restaurant that served a type of raw meat rice bowl.

You may be wondering: why would I eat a raw meat rice bowl? Well, I have always had a very open mind when it comes to new culinary experiences. Growing up in a Korean household, I have definitely fallen in love with dishes that sounded a little weird and daunting at first. So, my attitude toward food is that I will always say yes to trying something new before deciding whether or not I like it.

To be honest, I am not sure if I have this mindset anymore…

That same night after I came back to my Airbnb, I started to feel a bit strange and had a pounding headache. I went to sleep with a low grade fever, and I hoped that by the next morning, I would feel better.

Unfortunately, this was not the case.

I had an interview scheduled the next day with a psychologist in Japan. I had taken Tylenol that morning but continued to have a low grade fever, so I asked my interviewee if we could switch the interview to online in case I had contracted something contagious. I am glad that I made that change because during the interview, I grew increasingly sick. My head felt like it was getting hotter, and I struggled to stay focused on our conversation because I began to have severe body aches. When my interview finished, I found that I had a temperature of 102°F.

So, I took more Tylenol and tried to rest/sleep, but my temperature refused to go down. I attempted to go to bed early that night, but I woke up around 2 in the morning because my body was overheating and in pain. My fever had risen to 104°F even though I had been continuously taking acetaminophen throughout the day.

I tried to drink water and wait for my fever to break, but I was in a lot of pain; my fever would not go down. I did not have any other medication, and all of the pharmacies nearby were closed. I called Aoi (the friend that I had luckily made a few days before) and asked her for help because I didn’t know what to do. She researched hospitals in Tokyo that were open, but none of them spoke English. I couldn’t even call a taxi because the taxi apps in Japan require a Japanese credit card when making an account.

Eventually, Aoi called me an ambulance. She and her mother went with me to the emergency room so that they could translate for me. The doctors ran some tests and told me that I had contracted a serious virus (most likely from something that I ate 😅). My fever finally broke once they gave me an IV drip, and they prescribed me medication to take for the next 2 weeks.

So all in all, I learned a few lessons from this experience.

First, if you can, you should try to make a very kind friend in Japan who speaks Japanese just in case you experience a medical emergency. Second, you should be careful when trying raw foods when traveling around the world.

Thanks for reading 🤍

P.S. I do not have any pictures from this incident because I was not in a state to take pictures. I also deleted the pictures of the raw meat rice bowl I ate because it was traumatizing to see in my camera roll 😂

Thursday (Day 4): Today happened to be a day centered around food! Before coming to Japan, I had seen one Japanese restaurant pop up on my Instagram feed hundreds of times: Tsujihan. At this restaurant, they serve a raw fish rice bowl that comes with a complimentary soup afterwards. Knowing that the restaurant usually has a wait time of over an hour, I decided to go here for a late lunch/early dinner. Next, I tried Mont Blanc (a Japanese dessert made of chestnut cream) at a nearby cafe. The Mont Blanc had layers of cake, fruit, and ice cream inside and came with a traditional cup of matcha. Both were super delicious!

Before going back to my Airbnb, I decided to visit the famous Character Street inside of Tokyo Station. It was so cool to see that many shops based on famous Japanese characters such as those from Studio Ghibli movies or anime. I also walked around Ramen Street (an entire area inside the subway station that is dedicated to selling ramen), but I didn’t end up eating anything because I was too full from my earlier meal 😂

Friday (Day 5): [I didn’t have much planned for this day, but it ended up being one of the most meaningful days that I spent in Japan ☺️]

I slept in really late this morning; it has been more difficult than I expected to adjust to the time difference between here and Europe. Because I woke up late, I had a hard time finding a place within walking distance that was open so that I could have lunch. Luckily, I happened to stumble upon a hole in the wall restaurant with decent ratings 3 minutes away from my Airbnb!

Let me set the scene: this tiny restaurant has a L-shaped counter that wraps around the kitchen in which the restaurant’s owner and sole chef cooks/serves the food. There were 3 people sitting at this counter, talking to the grandma standing in the kitchen. When I went inside, everyone fell silent. The grandma started speaking to me in Japanese, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying. The youngest of the 3 customers, Yoshi, happened to speak English, and he told me to sit down and translated the menu for the grandma.

I had broiled fish and rice and delicious side dishes; I felt like I was genuinely experiencing the food enjoyed by the locals. As I continued to talk to the grandma and the other customers (through body language and Yoshi’s translations), I found out that they all knew each other through this restaurant and came to eat here almost every single day. As we continued our conversation and I finished eating my meal, the grandma started giving me pieces of chocolate and ice cream and even brewed me an iced coffee for free! I was really surprised at and grateful for the hospitality and kindness that everyone showed me. Eventually, the grandma called her granddaughter, Aoi, to come and meet the strange girl from America that happened to visit her restaurant. When Aoi came, we automatically clicked and made plans to get dinner together that very night!

So, after working at a cafe for a few hours, I met up with Aoi, and she took me to a local ramen and gyoza restaurant. Her younger brother and Yoshi joined us there, and we talked together for hours! They all showed me around the neighborhood, and we talked about what it was like growing up in Japan vs. in the United States and about what we wanted to do in the future.

Traveling alone has definitely taught me how to enjoy my own company and how to be comfortable exploring on my own. But at the same time, this experience has shown me how important the people around me really are. The friends that I made today really enhanced not only my day but my entire stay in Japan, and I am so thankful for them and Aoi’s grandma’s restaurant.

Thanks for reading 🤍