🇹🇼 Returning to Japan
Today, I returned to Japan from Taiwan. During the final week of my month-long stay, I was able to dedicate my time fully to sightseeing.
🐼 Places I Visited
Taipei Zoo, Zhinan Temple, Maokong, National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Jiufen, Golden Waterfall, and Nanji Chang Night Market. Each place left a lasting impression on me, but Jiufen and the night market became especially memorable.
🤝 A Special Encounter
Jiufen and the night market were even more special because I was guided by a girl I met at a hostel in Taiwan. We were both traveling solo, and although I am Japanese and she is Taiwanese, we communicated entirely in English. We taught each other bits of our languages, and throughout the day we talked deeply about love, values, the future, and stories from our past travels.
🍵 The Meaning of “Ichigo Ichie”
I don’t know when we’ll meet again—it could be six months from now, years later, or perhaps never. With that thought in mind, I introduced her to a Japanese proverb: Ichigo Ichie.
Ichigo Ichie comes from the spirit of the tea ceremony and means “treasure every encounter, for it may only happen once in a lifetime.” Even if you meet the same person again, the circumstances and emotions of that moment will never be exactly the same. That is why we must value the encounter before us, embrace it with gratitude, and cherish it.
Travel encounters shine even brighter in their fleeting nature, and I felt that this phrase perfectly captured the essence of our day together.
🌍 Keeping Friendships Alive
When traveling alone, many people approach you out of curiosity, and I truly love those spontaneous encounters. However, not many of them last long. Different countries, time zones, and daily lives often keep us apart.
Still, if we want to remain friends, I believe it requires kindness, effort, and courage:
- 💌 Kindness to be understanding even if replies come late
- 💪 Effort to grow as a person and be able to show that growth when we meet again
- 🚉 Courage to see someone again, even if we’ve only met once before
Meeting someone who inspires me to feel this way is a great treasure in my life.
👥 Encounters During My Internship
During my internship in Taiwan, I was fortunate to meet many different people:
- A 70-year-old kindergarten principal
- Kind kindergarten teachers
- Children who could already speak two or more languages
- A friend from Spain working in the fashion industry
- An accountant
- A student on a working holiday while taking a break from university in Taiwan
Every encounter was inspiring, and I felt my previously narrow perspective gradually expand.
🚀 Looking Ahead
The next time I travel somewhere new, I want to be a more mature version of myself. With that goal in mind, I’ll do my best in daily life back in Japan.
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