One thing I neglected to mention in my Fuji blog opus is the number of senior citizens who climb the mountain with great ease.  But fear not.  I’ve got ways to make that seem not so impressive.  Pride intact.

So I’m back in Japan, and not a moment too soon. Like a podling forced to stare into the eye of The Dark Crystal, I feared for my very essence while I was in Utah. When they tell you that old man jetlag only strikes when you travel East to West, take heed. Going over was like murder to my senses, but I returned with the ease of a well-oiled baby seal passing through a tubular slide. (Just to let you know, I could’ve come up with something much more offensive right then.)

Japan, where you can feel the blood of the country pulsing beneath your feet. There’s no secret that some places in the world are more vibrant than others. It’s easy to forget this, when I’m under the fog of an ungracious city, the hypnotizing throng of traffic that keeps me in step with the others, led by the chain around my neck.

I say this, maybe with a touch of hyperbole, because I live in a country imbued with ghosts and gods. Part drooping branches, and you will see the stony Tao stare of Siddhartha. Peek over the rails of the overpass, and you’ll see the head of a giant turtle, sunning its leathery neck.  A country with resonance will speed you toward your dream with the ease of . . . Oh, wait. We already used the lubed seal, didn’t we?

There are many elements that sway a town into a mythological labyrinth: kept ancient structures, burial grounds, the number of Starbucks infecting the streets.  But I think it goes beyond mainstream coffee grounds and the types of bodies are mixed in with the soil.  The thing is unnamable. Its serpentine tail always slipping around the corner as you catch up.  Honestly, I hope I never will.

Anyway, I’m lost in my own maze, giddy and wandering, without paying much attention to anything besides the cobbles and thrum beneath my feet.

Did I mention it feels good to be back?

-Christian

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under All Comics, Incompletes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.