This is probably the place that left the deepest impression on me during this solo trip.
Because I ran into a strange person.
It all happened very suddenly. Her capsule toy rolled over to my feet, and I simply picked it up and gave it back to her. But then she actually threw it back at me and even tried to punch me. I instinctively pushed her away, and then she tried to swing her bag at me.
And then the tragedy began.
The 2-liter bottle of water I had just bought got knocked over, leaving only half of it, and I still picked it up and drank it.
(Sorry, store employee...
Looking back, I really feel like I was such a mess.
What was even more absurd was that she later just ran away and eventually even hid in the restroom.
The building staff and security guard kept following her, while I stood in the bedding store trembling all over with anger and crying nonstop.
Fortunately, some kind Taiwanese people helped record everything on video for me.
The employee at that store really moved me. He didn’t act like I was a bother at all and kept comforting me through a translation app, staying with me until I slowly calmed down. In the end, he even asked if I wanted to buy any bedding.
But there’s still something I don’t really understand.
I had already called the police, so why did the building staff and security guard still let her get away?
Was it because they didn’t want the situation to become a bigger issue?
Or were there other considerations in how they handled it at the time?
Even now, I’m still a little upset and can’t quite understand it.
The police eventually arrived and took my statement.
The kind Taiwanese people also gave the video they recorded to the police, and some nearby passersby were willing to be witnesses for me as well.
I was actually pretty moved, because I was afraid no one would help me, but then so many people suddenly stepped forward to help.
The police also recorded my passport information, comforted me, and told me that if they caught her, she would be severely punished. They also asked me not to hate Japan because of this incident.
(I immediately said, “Nihon daisuki.”
I wasn’t actually hurt that badly. Only one fingernail broke and bled a little, but I felt so wronged at the time. I really couldn’t stop crying, and I kept trembling...
I hate this, because I don’t think I did anything wrong...
But looking back now, I’m still very grateful to the Taiwanese people who recorded the video for me, the passersby who were willing to be witnesses, the employee who patiently comforted me using a translation app, and the police who ultimately came to handle the situation.
Later, I also started thinking about why I came here in the first place. It was because I thought, “Ah, since I’m already in Kumamoto, I might as well shoot some more material.”
I even felt a little nostalgic for the nearby shopping district, so I came over to take a look.
But then something like this happened...
And because of that, I started reflecting on something.
If I’m only doing it for content and don’t properly experience the moment, then what kind of work can I possibly create?
If every trip is only about accomplishing a goal, taking a few photos, and collecting pictures to put in an article, will what I ultimately write really leave anything in other people’s memories?
And when I look back on this trip many years from now, what will I remember?
I once watched 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days, and there’s a line in it that I really like:
“The people we meet on our journeys always leave something in my heart.”
What about me?
Have I ever left something in someone else’s heart?
To me, what truly remains after a trip isn’t just the photos, the attractions, or what I ate (though those remain too). More importantly, it’s the people I met and the things that happened.
And honestly, seeing more and more people participate in this event has made me a little anxious.
I even used to secretly feel happy and think:
“Good thing hardly anyone knows about this event. I can still openly share it with my coworkers!”
But now that more and more creators are participating, I’ve started thinking again.
Because this means that maybe my work really does have a chance to be seen by more people. I hope my writing isn’t the kind of article people forget as soon as they finish reading it.
I hope someone will smile knowingly after reading it. I don’t like writing formulaic articles that all feel the same.
I also don’t want to simply arrange where I went, what I ate, and what I photographed into different combinations.
Because if traveling is only about checking off attractions one by one, then after the trip ends, maybe the only thing left will be the itinerary.
But if I truly lived in that moment, then even if that day was an absolute mess!
I can still tell a story about a memory that belongs only to me〜
