I really had nothing to worry about. While I hesitated booking this trip and then felt intimidated trying to plan for it, once I touched down in Japan, everything just clicked. This is a country that I wanted to visit for some time, but doing so as an extended solo trip gave me pause for thought. Would I get homesick? Would I be lonely? Would the language and cultural barriers be too much for me on my own? Would any of that make this trip difficult in a way that would limit my own enjoyment of a much needed vacation? As I write this a few hours before catching my flight home, none of that ever materialized. And that’s all due to how wonderful Japan and its people are.

This was a trip full of memories. Hiking through the mountains outside Kyoto and listening to the previous day’s typhoon rains streaming down the hills, visiting temples and shrines, eating exquisite sushi, attending a playoff baseball game, exploring Tokyo, eating my way through Osaka, hanging out on a beach in Kamakura and thinking about my family and friends… Every day gave me something to remember.

This won’t be a trip where there’s one primary thing I take away. It has been a trip that is already forming a collage in my mind of conversations, tastes, sights, and most importantly, feelings. I have felt it all here. Awe in the presence of the physical and natural beauty. Sheer happiness visiting a crazy izakaya. Bewilderment while figuring out cultural norms and then pride in a sense of growing confidence as I figured things out. And a whole lot of pure, unadulterated joy at being so far from home and enjoying my time here to the fullest.

I am prone to easily falling in love with some of the places I visit, but even given that, I can honestly say that I have fallen in love with Japan and it has left a beautiful mark on my heart. Its people have been unfailingly warm, kind and generous to me; they have made me smile and laugh, and made me want to be better to others I meet, the way they have been to me over the past two weeks.

Two weeks hasn’t been enough time as there is so much more I want to see, experience and taste (especially, taste!). But it was also perfect. The soles of my shoes have been worn down, I’m starting to long for home and the people (and dog) I miss, and my heart is overflowing from what I have felt here in Japan. This trip could not have been more perfect.

Thank you Japan.