Consistency. That word is something of a foe to me. It seems stale, predictable, and nothing like the world of words I live in.
And yet there’s something to be said for the understood, familiar or dare I say, comfortable… (my latest piece for Burton Snowboards)
Appropo, my recent crush on consistency developed last month in Japan. I arrived after a full 8 hours of sleep, charged through the all too familiar Narita airport and grabbed the first bus to Roppongi. I was home, in less than an hour, which is almost impossible thanks to Tokyo’s terrible traffic. Not a bad way to start.
The first time I visited Japan was on Semester at Sea, over 5 years ago. The sheer adrenaline of the adventure, the bliss of purposeful yet free-to-be travel was inspiring in itself; But add a week of backpacking, train hopping, internet-cafe sleeping, photo-safari-ing (sans cell phones!) to an already exhilarating experience… Now that, makes magic happen. I felt that magic when I ate Toro – true Toro – for the first time at 4 am in Tsukiji Fish Market, laughing over every bite. I felt that magic wandering through the nostalgic streets of Kyoto and falling in love with Fushimi Inari. I felt that magic sitting in Shibuya, stunned and thankful to be there in that moment, when the light turns green, in the world’s largest intersection.
The second time I visited was en-route to Thailand. Japan was a welcome stopover, with just enough time baked in to stock up on Vintage t-shirts from Harajuku, and once again, melt over Omakase.
The third and fourth times are a bit of a business blur. Work took precedence over exploration. But on my day off, I trained, bused and cabbed it 5 hours to Nagano, to hang out with some Snow Monkeys and make the 5-hour trek back. And with my humbling West to East jet lag, I took 5 am runs through Meju Shrine. So it wasn’t completely useless.
Needless to say, the past time, lucky number 5, was different.
In life, in all major decisions, you can choose the old or the new. Instinctually, I always go for the new: new lessons, new perspectives, new challenges and new dreams. Needless to say, at this stage in my life, with an ever-burning need to see, hear, taste, touch and smell all that I can (it’s a blessing and a curse), a repeat performance is not common.
But for the first time, newness took second place to familiarity. For the first time in a long time, a foreign place felt comforting and easy to digest. I could understand the language (enough to get applause from many Japanese colleges and friends); I could navigate the city (enough to know where we were at almost all times); I could order my own meals, (most of which were in true Japanese fashion and style).
But mainly, I could relax. I could release the pressure of adventure, and note to self: the first, second, third and most definitely fourth times of tourist touring will suffice. You’ve been to the Imperial Palace four more times than the Empire State. And what this did, was allow me to live in the moment.
As travelers, we invest in our itineraries. And often you get so caught up in the planning and schedule that you lose sight of the minutes, seconds of detail that bring the most inspiration and awareness. As a photographer, I get lost behind the lens. I express myself through the shutter, the need for that spirited shot. Could it be, that in capturing the moment, I am missing it?
So forgo the phone, camera, headphones, map… and look up.
Because if there’s one thing I know, the world is always inspiring. And that’s a consistency you can count on.