Today is my last full day in Japan and tomorrow I begin the long string of flights back home. But in the interest of having one last hurrah I decided to get a nice meal to really cap off the whole experience and what better meal to do that with then Kobe beef. For those unaware Kobe beef is one of five types of Japanese beef, or Wagyu. All Wagyu is known for it’s high quality and primarily it’s high amount of marbling and tenderness which give it an unrivaled flavor. Getting authentic Wagyu can be a bit pricey but if you have the money it’s definitely worth trying. I’m not sure that I could really put into word how good the steak that I had was. If I had to compare it to something it would probably be the brisket that I had in Austin, Texas earlier this year. The meat is so soft that you barely chew it and the flavor is so strong and pure that very little is used to season it. It was hands down the best steak that I’ve ever had and an excellent way to end the journey. For any interested visitors the restaurant that I went to was called Wakkoqu in Kobe, about and hour and a half from Hirakata by train. I would highly recommend it as the entire meal was delicious and the staff was extremely helpful and courteous and even spoke English so don’t worry if your Japanese isn’t very good.

Raw cut of Kobe Beef

Cooked Beef, Medium Rare

With this being my last day in Japan and my last blog post I figured now would be a good time to reflect on my time here and the program. I’m super happy that I decided to take part in this program as it’s been a great experience and one that I am sure to look back on fondly for the rest of my life. Traveling, living, and studying so far away is not something that I had done before and while I had always had the idea I was never sure if the right opportunity would come or that I would take it if it did. So I’m proud of myself and happy that I did pursue this opportunity when it came about as I think it will give me confidence in the future to pursue other opportunities when the arise. I think overall that confidence in myself that I will pursue opportunities and also the confidence in my ability to take and overcome chances is the most rewarding thing that I gained out of this program. It took a lot to overcome my nervousness and apprehension about leaving the things and routine I knew but by doing that now I feel that I have gained the ability to do it again in the future.

There were challenges of course. I think probably the biggest one was the language barrier. Before coming here I had completed about a year of study in Japanese but you realize quickly how little that actually is once you are here. It helps of course, having any knowledge of the language will help, but the first time a store clerk quickly asks if you want a bag and you maybe picked up the “ka” at the end you realize how little you actually know. But I think that’s a good thing. The desire to overcome that barrier is what motivates you to learn the language and hearing it constantly helps you start to pick up on things faster. It also helps you learn to pick up on context clues, like noticing that the clerk is holding or point to a bag during the above example. And context clues are also how you can overcome that barrier in the meantime, pointing is universal after all. And it’s challenges like this that help us grow after all. I know that I have more confidence in my ability to adapt to a situation in which communication is difficult now. Also that I’ll never be worried about going into a shop back in the United States now because if I can find stuff in shops in Japanese I can certainly find it in English.

As for the future, as usual I’m not sure. I learned a long time ago that things rarely go as planned for any number of reasons. But it’s also unfair to say that this experience hasn’t shaped my goals in some way. Academically I’m more encouraged to continue my Japanese studies. Seeing how far I still have to go by coming here is a little daunting but seeing how far I have already come has given me renewed confidence to continue my studies. This program has also reaffirmed my decision to take a Japanese minor thanks to the classes that I took while I was here, all of which were excellent by the way especially the Japanese language and kanji courses. Professionally the answer is a bit more difficult. This program has proven to me that I can live abroad without too much trouble and I wouldn’t be vehemently against the idea later in life. However being this far away from family and friends has been a little hard. The differences in time zones was a bit more difficult to overcome then I originally anticipated. While I was still able to stay in touch with everyone there is a distance that exists when it’s 5 PM here and you know if you text someone they will be asleep. It’s kind of like when you work third shift regularly. On your days off chances are you are still on the same type of schedule so when you are up and doing stuff everyone else is asleep. There is a kind of disconnect that happens in those situations, at least for me. So that makes my desire to work abroad a little bit muddier. Will I take a good opportunity if it arises, there is a good chance that I would, but will I be looking hard for a chance, that is a bit of a tougher question and one I don’t think I can fully answer yet. However, regardless of whether I end up working abroad or not, I still feel like this is an experience that shows I am capable to adapt to new environments and overcoming the obstacles that present themselves in such a situation and I think that is a valuable skill to have no matter where you are.

Regardless of how my professional future looks this is certainly not the last time I will be in Japan. I still love this country and really enjoyed my time here. Honestly if it wasn’t for the difficulties that come with the time difference mentioned above I would have no problems living here, actually I’d probably prefer it in a lot of ways. But even if that never comes to pass again I’ll be back to visit as much as I can, after all this is the country that two of my biggest hobbies come from, I’d be crazy not to want to come back. But that is all for another time, right now it is time to return home and spend time with my family and friends that I have missed these last few months. So until next time,

さようなら.