reasons for Japan

I just came back from relatively long vacation of about a month to Asia, which included visiting Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. It was a very rewarding vacations, with both good times and challenging times. The trip to Hong Kong was mainly to visit family, while Taiwan was a short trip (mainly because I found cheap tickets) in which I actually visited two cousins who are studying at a college, and Japan was the main "meat". 

One interesting point is that the "service" I received from restaurants got better during the trip... in Hong Kong I felt that I had to rush eating so that I don't get kicked out, Taiwan was a lot more chilled, and Japan I was treated nicer that I deserved (something I blogged about a year ago).

Actually I have been planning the Japan trip for like 10 months, since I got very excited after I visited Tokyo for 5 days last year, and wanted to travel again and get to know the country more. Even when I I arrived Japan, I still felt very surreal that the trip was actually happening.

Why would I be excited about Japan? Here are some reasons:

• food is excellent (this is good enough reason for me to go back again)
• interest in culture
• this is mainly due to my interest in reading manga and watching anime, as it's kind of neat to see in real life the cultural aspects portrayed from manga in real life (both old and modern culture)
• also, I think the extreme politeness from Japanese people is something that interests me,
• cherry blossoms 
• it's actually cooler and prettier than I thought
• "technology and efficiency"
• it is the country that builds very reliable cars and also builds a huge array of consumer electronics
• public transportation (really enjoyed taking many forms of trains)
• toilet with bidet 
• final fantasy games

Moreover, I have many friends who share in these common interests, so I am grateful to travel with these friends (in total, there are 9 other people who traveled with me, in different stages of the trip).

I am very grateful to God, who has blessed me with opportunity to travel, including finances and flexibility from workplace, as well for the smoothness during the trip. It is a real blessing to be able to travel, and though most of the focus is on enjoying the vacation, I also think travelling is an opportunity to learn. I really appreciate observing how people from other countries behave and work, how their society works, and learn from the good and bad things. Sometimes it can be a mind-opening experience, and sometimes it can be a source of inspiration.

On a more personal level, I decided to go on such trip as a "small sabbatical". In a way, it is a break from work, that has driven me to some mental exhaustion. But also, a break to reflect. I think that the busyness and routine of work has made me too comfortable and detracted me to think more about my "vocation".  So really, the main goal was to get away, and spend time to reflect about my life and my future pursuits. By talking to family, spending leisure time, and learning about new culture, have given me some thoughts, and I hope to refine and consolidate them in the next few weeks. 

It is always challenging to discern what God has next for me, I feel that a clear answer might not be given, but might be a journey of searching and having faith in midst of uncertainty.