While the Uncover Japan blog has only been around for about 4 years, August 2nd marked my eight year anniversary in Japan. Yup, we arrived on that date in 2008 to begin an adventure in what was then the great unknown.
That date is now book-ended by another one – August 4th, 2016. THAT, dear readers, is the date I left Japan. For good.
**tissue break to wipe up copious amounts of tears**
Well, I say “for good” but what I’d like to mean is for now. My husband’s job, which took us to Japan so long ago, now takes us to California. All three of us – me, the hubby, and culturally confused kid we had along the way – would love to return. For the adults, our years in Japan constituted nearly a quarter of our lives. For our daughter, it was her everything. Sure, it’s early and homesickness is like the fourth member of the squad right now, but we all envision our eventual return. I truly believe our life will take us back there, and hopefully before too many years have passed.
That said, we still have to put in our time in California, and right now, that involves a WHOLE lot of stresses, the biggest of which is readjusting to America after eight years away. Holy mother of dragons, things are HUGE here. Oh yeah, and there are houses to rent, cars to buy (I SO miss the Tokyo metro), school registrations (how did we get here already???), phones, and the myriad other little things that make up an international move. Which means, for you all, that I’ll be taking a few weeks off.
I know, I know, I’ve been terribly delinquent on the blog already this year and now I’m going to abandon it altogether for a short period. You can’t see it, but I am deep bowing in apology. (I also dip my head when I talk on the phone. Yes, in English. Habits die hard, y’all.)
However, when I return in September, I won’t have a fascinating city of 13 million people to explore and divert my attention from the task of writing. Instead, I’ll have PLENTY of time to share some of my discoveries from the past year that just never made it to the page, as there was always something exciting to do in Tokyo and I sure didn’t want to miss it. I also have some exciting new categories I want to try out, such as a “Where to Go When” type of feature and some deeper looks at the various prefectures (inspired by HaikuGirl). And as soon as my computer arrives (oh, and I get a house, right … 😉 ), I’ll be getting some other exciting projects off the ground as well, to make your future trips to Japan even more meaningful and fun.
And this might just be the homesickness talking, but wild horses couldn’t keep me from returning to Japan at least once a year, so I’ll still be gathering material and updating … I hope you’ll continue to follow along.
Thanks, as always, for reading and sharing in my love of Japan. See you in September!
Uncover Japan 
My activity has been stagnant on WordPress for a few years, but I always looked forward to reading your blog on my Reader because it gave me special insight into a place that I have always wanted to visit. As I reflected on the past 13 years of my own life, I just realized that I have spent almost half of that period away from home. Now realizing that one of my favorite bloggers is no longer in Japan, I share a degree of your wistful yearning.
Beni, THANK YOU for your kind words. It’s a meaningful honor to know I’ve been a welcome addition to your Reader for the past few years. And it’s with sadness and extreme yearning that I continue to write this blog, being so far from a place I still consider home. It’s not the end, though. I WILL be back and until that time, I’ll just keep sharing what made me fall in love with Japan in the past decade. I hope you make it there someday yourself!
Eight years… I cannot imagine the massive heartbreak you have to endure. I only spent 10 days in Japan (in 2013) and I still feel the withdrawal symptoms even now 😦
Hoping the best for you and your family 🙂
Thank you! It was heartbreaking to leave and it’s been a tough adjustment. But I am excited because I get to return in late November for my favorite time of the year! Hooray for foliage!