Most of the time, I go about my business in life like everyone else. This is often a part of the sleepwalking through life that we all do as we perform routine behaviors. When you first come in Japan, the "oh wow" factor tends to dominate as the novelty of all the little differences make you think normal things are awesome because they are 10% different and have Japanese writing all over them. For most people who aren't raging Japanophiles, this wears off sooner or later (generally sooner) and your awesome loaf of bread with the dumb message about "for your happy bakery life" and the cute anime-style mascot is something that fails to impress you and is just another item in your shopping basket.
Occasionally, I'm walking around Tokyo and something about it will strike me in just the right way. Usually, it's the glittering of the metropolis during a pensive moment. At those times, I remember that I was born in a rural Western Pennsylvania town with fewer 2000 people, few jobs, lots of farms, and little else, and now I live in one of the most glamorous and interesting places in the world. I realize where I've come from and where I am and how that says something about just how far I've come. I'll miss those moments of grand realization, which I can't imagine having in any other city in the world the way I have them here.
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