May 20th was our last full day in Japan. It’s hard to believe that this trip is coming to a close. The whole year was leading to this event for it to pass so quickly.

For our free day, a group of us chose to go shopping to pick up the last of our gifts for friends and family all while simultaneously spending the last of our yen so we didn’t need to exchange currencies again. We finally were comfortable enough with Tokyo to take a train by ourselves (without a group leader or resident of the city) to our destination. Rounding up to almost 14 million people, Tokyo is massive. Constantly bustling with four times the population of Iowa living in one city, at times it can be intimidating to be in such large crowds.

While shopping, I noticed many stores had handmade items. Emily and I stopped at a jewelry kiosk that was all handmade and the women who were selling them and had made them seemed to take so much pride and care into what they did. What they made was quality. Japan, from what I have seen, takes pride in the quality of items more so than the quantity. My homestay for example had smaller houses than we do in the US, mostly due to population and spatial differences, but the homes were very nice and well kept with only what they use. Often in the United States, it seems that we have more than what we use or what is practical simply to show of the quantity of things that we have.

During shopping in Tokyo, I also remembered a concern I had with this trip at the beginning of the year. I was worried about the language barrier. I realized this last day that, while it was at times a little more time consuming, communication was much easier than expected. Students in Japan study English so many people know at lest a few words and everyone is so kind and willing to help.

Being back in Tokyo brought a sense of familiarity that will only be strengthened when we reach the United States.