MISSING JAPAN by Alvin Tagle

Leaving Japan is akin to a heartbreak, at least for me. When you leave someone, you do your darn best to forget and move on to your new reality. So I tried to avoid anything that connected me to a country which was home for 15 years. Otherwise, I risk triggering a momentary bout of depressing mental block that wrecks my day. So that means no manga, no Jeepney Press on FB, no Terrace House on Netflix, no Uwajima (local Japanese grocery), and no Japanese restaurants (not that Japanese food outside Japan is anything good). Sayonara. This silliness did work, and my sanity is preserved.

However yesterday, after Sunday church, my family happened to pass by a very happening Seattle street food festival and decided it will be our lunch. We parked the car, and walked through the thick crowd when I saw the banner, in big Hiragana font at that, �����. I momentarily stopped, and thought about heading back. It would be the right thing to do. But then, I was really, really hungry, and my family kept walking being truly excited. So off we went, stall by stall. There were all sorts of Japanese products on sale. My nieces bought kawaii stuff not unfamiliar in Harajuku, and fished for those hapless goldfish. And food was everywhere. We had shoyu ramen, okonomiyaki, yakitori, takoyaki, karaage, and yakisoba. I ate two platefuls of

yakisoba, as it tasted like the best yakisoba ever (though minus my crazy state, you can do better with konbini versions). Our bellies full, we mingled with the international crowd, enjoying a bit of Japanese culture in America, and later joined the bon odori. Yes, a bon odori complete with adorable and very patient Japanese grandmas in kimonos teaching the overly excited locals with two left feet. It was a fun day, and we

capped it off with coffee and matcha ice cream at Tully’s across the street. Tully’s, though ubiquitous in Japan, did originate in Seattle after all.

On the drive back home, I was ready to feel the familiar pain of heartbreak starting to creep in. But it did not happen. I had a fun day and it felt good, really good. That night, I was not able to sleep, but only because I binge-watched Evangelion on Netflix. Perhaps, I have moved on, and accepted the fact that I now live across the Pacific. But moving on does not mean forgetting the joys, and the craziness of those 15 years I spent in Tokyo, and I take comfort knowing that someday, I will come back... home.