Intro
I wasn’t planning to go to Japan anytime soon. Japan has had an outsized influence on parts of my life, some more than others—yet the thought of visiting it at this stage of my life had never crossed my mind. Long story short, an opportunity arose to go there and I took it. I never thought that a single trip could have such a profound impact on a person, but my single week in Tokyo truly changed some things inside me, and I haven’t been able to put into words what exactly has changed. What follows is a brief account of what I saw and did in Japan.
Tokyo
I was in Tokyo for six days. I had naively planned to split my time in Japan between Tokyo and Kyoto—the latter of which has been a mainstay on my bucket list for some time—but then I fell in love with Tokyo, and decided to give it the time and attention it deserves.
Tokyo is a modern city. In many ways it’s what a city should look like in 2025. The whole city works like a well-oiled machine, and that’s most visible in its train system and public transport in general. I had a blast walking the streets while listening to the soundtrack of Cyberpunk 2077, since it fit the atmosphere so well. The city is always busy, even late at night, and I can’t recall seeing a lot of people idling anywhere. It’s true that Tokyo never sleeps.
When I got past the modernity, it was the depth and age of the culture and history that shook me. One minute I was walking through the streets of a neighborhood that resembled New York, and the next I was strolling through the gardens of the Imperial Palace, calm in the middle of the frenzy of Tokyo. No matter how amazed I was at the futuristic aspects of the city, I was time and again reminded of just how old it is, and of the many phases it has gone through to get to where it is now. It may sound strange, but halfway through my trip I felt it becoming a sort of pilgrimage, not to the technology and modernity, but to what the people of Japan have built over such a long time. Feeling like an astronaut who has just landed on an alien planet, I was filled with a sense of deep respect and admiration for Japan and its people.
Tokyo Game Show 2025
TGS was originally the reason I went to Tokyo. I attended one business day, during which I met many people whom I’m looking forward to collaborating with, and a public day, where I got to be at TGS not as a game maker, but a gamer. It was massive. I spent several hours walking the many halls of the show, and visiting booths of many companies I am personally a fan of. One thing to note is that while I was thrilled to be there, I found it hard to connect with 70% of the games on show there, maybe because I have a more Western taste in games. In other words, the bigger part of the show seemed to be primarily targeted toward Japanese people, and that made me an outsider there. Nevertheless, Tokyo Game Show was an experience I, as a gamer, will cherish for a long time to come.
People
Some of the deepest experiences came from the people I met and saw on this trip, both Japanese and foreigners. When I think back, I mostly recall what I saw in the people, and the friends I made in my short time there.
I found the people of Japan to be very different from all the people I had known up to that point. The culture is unique, and a foreigner is bound to trip up here and there when trying to interact and socialize with them. No random eye contact. No spontaneous conversations on the street. Very little English. All respect and seriousness. Two days into the trip, I realized I hadn’t had any real, meaningful conversation with Japanese people, and so I signed up to go to an English-language meetup for Japanese learners. That was the first time I got to actually talk with several people from Japan, and though the language barrier was definitely there, I connected with them, even if on a more superficial level than I would’ve liked. That was also where I met Eddy, an American guy who had been living in Japan for four years. He saw how utterly captivated I was by the city, and kindly offered me to show me around the next day. That brings me to the part where I want to talk about the foreigners.
If there’s one thing that stayed with me above all else, it’s what I learned about language. I have been studying English my whole life, and am no stranger to the impact learning a second language can have on one’s life. Yet, I had only thought of language as a means to and end, a tool for effective communication. In Tokyo, through my conversations with people from the US—and I met quite a few of them—I found language to be something more than a tool. After a thousand hours of English practice, I was confident that I could communicate well, but what I hadn’t known was that language can define your identity. I was amazed at how easily people from the US would befriend and trust me. It was as if they were my neighbors. The fact that I was Iranian and the huge implications that could have for our potential differences only came up once or twice in all my conversations with them. All I received was respect and friendship. Language, even if a tool, truly is powerful.
Closing Thoughts
I came back from Japan a changed person, even if I can’t articulate the changes yet. It was as impactful as a one-week trip can get. I’m already planning for my next trip there, and this time I won’t miss out on Kyoto.
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