Traveling abroad was my favorite, while I was in university. I have been to Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, India, Singapore, Australia, The United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Egypt, Qatar and The United States Of America. I went abroad in every summer and winter holidays when I went to a university in Kyoto. And I went to that university for very long time. Why I did travel a lot? Because it was an essential part of my university life. To explain this, I start with my university town, Kyoto. First I brief the culture of Kyoto. Second, I describe the atmosphere among people in Kyoto. Finally, I explain how this affected to my university days.
Kyoto had been Japan’s capital for 10 centuries, until the modern Japanese government was established. You can safely say that Kyoto has an essence of Japanese traditional culture. You see more than 1000 shrines, 2000 temples and tea house with geisha’s. Above all, Gion festival is a traditional icon in Kyoto. It is an anniversary of an 11 century old shrine. It is one of the most famous festivals in Japan. It lasts one month every summer. It collects one million visitors. It has 180 million dollar impact on Kyoto’s economy. It starts with night markets, the best opportunity for girl hunting in Kyoto. It closes with a parade. You can imagine “Disney’s electric parade” with 30 200-year-old two-story floats. With a Japanese orchestra on it. Each dragged by 40 people.
This special event is run by a powerful local community in Kyoto. This was originally a merchant community and has 7 centuries of history. However, there has been no strong leaders in this community. A part of the reason is that they are fed by expenses of the emperor and aristocrats, in my understanding. Their bite in the fixed net expense was the main concern, I guess.
It is this community that has made the frame of Kyoto culture. It created an atmosphere among people in Kyoto. Independence is the first priority in the residence. But their independence means “not causing trouble”. You should be up to standard, and no more. On one hand, this atmosphere makes oriental gentlemen. On the other hand, it might remind you of “1984” by George Orwell. In 1984, the big brother governed the society. But it is a collective unconsciousness that governs Kyoto society. Murakami Haruki, a Japanese million dollar novelist, published his latest work the last year. The title is “1Q84”. In Japanese, the number nine has the same pronunciation as the alphabet “Q”. In my understanding, he described the relationship between the fundamental problem in Japanese culture and a cult group. Which caused the sarin attack to Tokyo subway in 1995. He called this problem “little people”, in stead of the big brother.
This little people made me travel abroad. When I was in Kyoto, I felt rigid. When I was abroad, I breathed oxygen. I acted anonymously. And I thought with my own head. Traveling abroad was my second life.
Today, I explained the significance of traveling abroad when I was in university. First, I briefed Kyoto culture and community. Second, I described the atmosphere among people in Kyoto. Finally, I explained how this atmosphere affect to my university life. Now, I work in the US. Japan is one of my travel destinations. They say life is a journey. And my journey is in travel.
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