Yami's Japan Trip 2023

 For those who regularly follow this blog, some will find it to be unusual that Realm of Darkness is inactive for almost 2 weeks given the resurgence of the blog over past few months. The reason of this period of inactivity is no other than this blog's very author went on 2 weeks trip to Japan! This blog's inception came from due to my personal fascination toward Japanese Pop Culture in particular mecha genre and to be frank it only took until now that I manage to visit the land of Rising Sun in person. Despite this fateful trip takes quite some time to be realized at long last, The experience is well worth it and It was truly an eye opening experience as I have seen many things in Japan whether it is the Good, Bad or The Ugly.

 Throughout my 2 weeks trip in Japan, I have visited several places with Osaka, Hakata and Tokyo serving as main hub and go for a trip to experience what japan could offer with their Cultural and Modern stuffs. Prior to my visit to Japan I have always heard a saying of that "Japan is a nice place to visit, but not to live in". By the end of my trip, comparing to what I have seen on other parts of the world notably China and Sydney, I also reach upon the same conclusion. 

 At some point when I was still in my young adult phase, I do really look up to Japan with their superior entertainment products of Anime and Video games which did exude immense sense of boundless optimism, which unfortunately I didn't see much throughout my trip. For most of the part of the Japan did I see, I had the feeling that the land of Rising Sun still mostly stuck in the 90s era, a quagmire that it got itself trapped due to their economy bubble burst in that period which probably Plaza Accord played a role in it. While the stagnation is still not as bad as Hongkong, seeing the real predicament that Japan got into sure feel depressing.

While You may find Big Cities like Tokyo and Osaka might be still bustling. But once you travel 100km further from the big cities you will likely witness a scenery that represents majority parts of the nation. Considering the nation's geography are mostly surrounded by hills, the societal development between communities surrounded by Hills or Flatlands do show some stark contrast even compared to China. Despite the polarizing situation, Japan no doubt is still a developed nation through and through with one of the more reliable train service in particular for the Interstate travel. However the modernization of the Nation only visible on the tip of the Iceberg and there is no way that the present state of Japan can keep up with Mainland China for much longer as the latter continues with their pace of unprecedented rise.

 Despite taking some reality check upon seeing some glimpse on the truth of Japan, overall I can still appreciate Japan for what it is. Though I do still think paying 500 Yen commuting fare only to be stuck as canned sardine on train or lack of accessible rubbish bin really suck for a developed nation.  Personally I don't think Japan is a good place to have holiday when travelling as family but you can still have fun when traveling in small groups when you can afford to be mobile. 

 All in all I was able to complete of my bucket list when travelling in Japan like visiting all of the lifesize Gundam statues and had a good look on Akihabara which makes the commitment of the travel feel worthwhile. In the end, while I won't ever consider to live in Japan and I can say most people can enjoy the Pop Culture entertainment that Japan could offer without visiting the country directly. But personally I don't really mind another chance to revisit the Land of Rising Sun, at least when the Akihabara is still around.