I’ve just got back to the hotel after a fantastic day away from the city. A friend of mine invited me to stay in his family home in Saitama, to the north of Tokyo, which is much more the kind of place I like to be in.
Saitama, Japan
I’m so pleased I had the opportunity to experience something other than bright lights and concrete. The trip included visiting hot baths… I wouldn’t normally go around naked in front of anyone, but I quickly realised it really didn’t matter (besides, the sexes were in different parts of the building!). And I saw inside a real Japanese home, which is probably not only the best insight of all into how a different culture might work but it creates stronger bonds between people.
Tomorrow I will be back on one of these:
Schipol Airport
I know that it is far from ecologically sound to fly but needing to be with friends in other cultures is my achilles heel, if you like. Now, though I am sad to be going back to England, I have had a top-up of something else and can get on with that digging….
And hopefully I won’t have to use the d-word for much longer 😉
© Helen Butt, April 2014
