Last weekend was my goodbye party with all my friends living in Tokyo. A handful of UT students were in the crowd, and it was as nice a feeling as it had been almost 2 years ago when I first came to Tokyo, only to run around all night with the same friends I had back in Austin. It was much more exhilarating, though, to come halfway around the world and find that you still belong to something. It's something most tourists don't have.It's been that feeling - only on occasion - for the last year. Anytime I took a break from my province, I hightailed it to Tokyo and called up everyone in the crew. In retrospect, those times were the ones where I was the happiest.I've spent the last week in such a fashion. With nothing to do other than wait for a flight, I shacked up with various members of the Tokyo crew and got very adjusted to sleeping on solid floors. At night, the crew comes out to play and I get egged into another Red Bull, another can of coffee. And I wind up awake until the sun comes up. It's of great comfort to know that the Tokyo Crew will live on and just might be here the next time I come back.Tonight's my last night in Tokyo, and I'm honestly a little relieved to be alone. Maybe it was the constant action and poor sleep of the last week, or maybe it's the peace and quiet of staying in a decent hotel for my last night. I'm acting like an old man - slouched on some bed or couch or other, hitting the spa for the relaxation, ordering room service, the whole deal. It's a good chance to contemplate the closing of the 'Japan' chapter of my life. The first time I left Japan, I wasn't sad at all - I could feel that I'd be back before long. Sure enough, 5 months later, I had a contract in hand to spend anywhere from 1-5 years over here. But now that the contract is up and my bags are packed, it's hard to reminisce over the last year. Honestly, it's been utterly refreshing to get out of Shimane Prefecture, to the point where I'm quickly putting most of my life there out of mind. I'm too excited to get to the new thing. I could be reverse culture-shocked, but I'm too excited to see my friends. Too excited to start my new projects. Too excited to seek out a significant other that speaks my language to the point where you start inventing new words and meanings just to keep the communication on the same page. Still, I'm ever-so-slightly nervous about leaving Tokyo. I love this city too much. This time, I feel like I'll be back - but it'll be a while. And when I get back, I've got a whole list full of people who will get calls the instant I land.Right now, I can see the Tokyo skyline from my hotel room. It's gone from breathtaking (2 years ago) to feeling natural, feeling like home. With any luck, I'll see Mt. Fuji in the morning for the very first time.
