well. i think a “going home” post is not quite what you’re going to get since i’m staying a week after everyone leaves, but i think a little summary of everything i did instead will be a bit more interesting.

first thing i did was go to ghibli park with my parents and while it was definitely tailored for little children it was well worth seeing as an adult. it’s worth mentioning that i also only saw the “warehouse” park since tickets to the other 2 sections literally cannot be purchased outside of japan. i think those are a bit less of a playground than the warehouse was but alas. i will take what i can get. i loved the park’s focus on immersion over typical Theme Parkiness that i normally have to get past in order to enjoy myself. across the park’s many exhibits i felt like i could truly just Be with thoughts about these movies that i love so much; i didn’t feel like the park was trying to sell an image of The Ghibli Brand (TM) to me because it knew it didn’t have to. my favorite exhibit was probably a series of rooms that detailed how food is animated and colored in the films, it was so specific but exactly the type of detail i was happy to see explained. it’s worth mentioning that i also went to The Milk Stand. yes. there is a critically acclaimed stand that sells milk and little red bean paste sandwiches and that shit was delightful. truly the weirdest milk i have ever tried. it was like creamy in taste without actually being creamy in consistency. and a bit sweet. really was excellent with the red bean paste sandwich though. it was a typical paste between two pieces of pound cake. i miss red bean paste so much. if i found out a way to get red bean buns in america right now i would cry in real life.

[the greater park that surrounds the ghibli park is a sight on its own. i loved walking in the very well maintained trails after the park. saw a stickbug, caught this view, good stuff.]

next we went to nara park, which if you didn’t already know is the famous place where the wild deer walk around. this was very neat in theory but what it ends up meaning in practice is that a bunch of unpredictable large wild animals are comfortable coming up to you and doing whatever they want. this was a bit stressful but the surrounding shrine and woods were truly amazing and it was cool to see it basically function as a deer city.

[there was also, if it needs saying. shit everywhere. i would not go to this place for the deer. go for the hike.]

the last place we went before leaving was the ghibli museum, which you weren’t allowed to take pictures of. that was a shame because this was hands down my favorite place and an architectural masterpiece. the stained glass windows were probably my favorites, all depicting characters from the films, and the railings that lined the floors with the occasional glass sphere. i really liked the exhibit that was all about the concept art and storyboarding of the films, they had original works just covering the walls of a intricately decorated “apartment”, tacked up with thumbtacks like they are in the studio. it felt authentic, it felt approachable. it quite literally was approachable, with no protection or divider between museum guests and the works. the design of the space implicitly has faith that you will respect the work and not try to vandalize or touch it, which seemingly has worked thus far. i also saw a movie here that i was really looking forward to. they don’t play the shorts that screen at the museum and the park anywhere else in the world, and they rotate them out so you don’t really know what you’re gonna get. the one i saw was a short continuation of my neighbor totoro which was as good as i could have asked for honestly (if you made me pick totoro’s probably my favorite. yes. i am basic.) the film displayed a whole underground catbus society with a soundtrack that was just lovely. i wish i could see it again but i suppose they want to make the films precious in this way for a reason.

[you were allowed to take pictures of the outside. looked crazy, went hard, i feel like there’s only so many ways i can generally point at something and say “I LIKE THAT” before it gets redundant.]

and. well. time to talk about the dawn of the final day. the true ending, if you will.

the ending of my time with everyone was uneventful. i like it that way. i think my reaction to permanent endings is best kept in private. i hugged jasmine the night before, encountered some people when i was checking out and gave a very awkward “bye.” nothing too serious, no real acknowledgement of the connection that was made over these two weeks. i think that is how it has to be sometimes. some relationships are special enough to feel like they could never be replicated but not close enough for emotional vulnerability to be comfortable. i think we all knew how this would go, and it went how it had to.

when i decided to take this class and go on this trip i fully expected to be spending as much time as possible by myself. i knew nearly everyone on the trip would be younger than me, i knew that the only person i knew ahead of time was going to be spending their time with someone else, and i hadn’t made any connections during the class. i had fully set myself up to be alone, i made that bed and was prepared to lie in it. i’m not sure what exactly happened but somehow i ended up doing the opposite the whole trip. i feel like due to the setting and the overall lack of pre-established close relationships between us, everyone was able to move very freely within the group. i felt comfortable hanging out with everyone and going with any person who made an open offer. it was a real Group in every sense of the word, everyone on the same level as each other and regarding other members equally, and that is seriously such a rare dynamic in this world. if people could bottle that feeling they would.

i didn’t spend as much time doing my typical introspective focus-on-the-culture travel activities because i was honestly just having so much damn fun hanging out with people. that was a first for me, having a solid group like that. i don’t regret spending as much time as i could with them even though it did come at the expense of a few of my plans.

i’m making a drawing of everyone, it’ll get done eventually and i’ll post it in the discord. turns out drawing 20 people kind of takes a while. lol.

anyway i hope you liked reading my posts. i skipped the free days and the last friday because. honestly. i didn’t take any pictures and in a few cases i literally didn’t do anything other than follow other people on their shopping trips and eat. i didn’t have a lot of inherent reasons to go where i was going i just liked being included. i like to think that what i did write makes up for it. quality over quantity if you will. or maybe you won’t. i was never good at persuasive writing because while i have a lot of strong beliefs i’m largely not interested in telling people what to think. you can take points off for that i don’t mind. alright. well. this has gone on long enough, but if i stop typing and post the document it’s over for real. no you hang up. no. no you do it. fine i’m hanging up. alright bye.

[i had a window seat on the way back. ain’t that neat :2]