nordic notes in japan

My journey to Japan started with Malaysian cows and a dying iPad 2.. Part one of why I ended up moving from Sweden to Japan.

Japan and Sweden might not seem like an obvious couple looking from a far, but when you start to learn about the cultures and norms, you will slowly realise the strong bond of these two, physical very far, countries. If you had asked me 10 years ago what pops up in my head when hearing “Japan” it would probably be something like sushi, ninjas and an alarming obsession with Hello Kitty. “Kawaii ” – never heard of it. No I never thought about Japan on a daily basis, I didn´t grow up watching anime or studio Ghibli, never read a manga. Japan felt far far away, another world really, for 15 year old me. An evening 4 years later, sitting on a wooden bench in a hostel somewhere in Malaysia with two of my closest friends, I suddenly felt a rush going through my body. We should end our 4 month long backpacking trip in Tokyo. How cool wouldn´t that be? That entire evening was spent switching between researching hotels and flights on my terribly slow iPad 2, (that constantly froze and went black), and enjoying the greenery and companionship of the nearby cows. Now looking back, I have no idea how we ended up in a hostel with farm animals and daily night guests (aka random men) that our Russian roommate brought in..

“I don´t know if I have the funds to go to Japan. It´s so expensive” my friend said. I felt disappointed. I didn´t know what it was, that feeling, but I knew I had to go there. I just had to..