Lost in Japan

I have recently returned from a much needed holiday, including one full week in Tokyo. Japan is a country I hold extremely close to my heart. It not only houses one full half of my family but a huge portion of my soul and ultimately... who I am. There are people and places in the world that in some unknown way, you feel a deep connection and safeness with. A place where you feel completely at home in their embrace without needing to communicate in the same language. Japan is that for me.

Over the years of visiting this country I have watched the culture slowly change. Tourism kicked in and the western way of life took over. The outfits started to blend into one another rather than stand out like it used to. The sub cultures began to flitter away and mainstream kicked in completely. Casual was in. Lolitas were out. Vending machines were banned from selling used womens panties and there were no areas where being a Gaijin (foreigner) was a phenomenon anymore. Suddenly I wasn't rare. I wasn't special. I was just another tourist... lost in Japan.

I spent seven days in a city populated by THIRTEEN MILLION residents. Day in and day out you never once could find a space where someone else didnt also occupy it. It wasn't so much a holiday escape as it was a pure experience. I knew what I was in for, visiting this huge city but I intensely loved and craved the craziness of what Tokyo had become. I knew I could relax once I was fully immersed within it's embrace. It would just take time, just like any new relationship.

My memories of this country didn't live up to the standard that I had formed. It had been five years since my last visit and in that time I had changed and so had the culture. The inherent nature Id grown to expect, still existed however the extreme contrasts seemed to have blended into an amalgamation of what was now normal Japanese culture. I wanted the extremes; not normality!

Where were the Ganguro gyaru? (panda girls) Why weren't school girls wearing socks that were 150cm in length? Where did the business men sing karaoke? Didn't they do that anymore??  And why didn't I feel the need to buy lingerie at every store I walked into?

Over the next couple posts I will share my experiences whilst in Japan. My lingerie shopping, Love hotels, the Japanese lingerie style, the sex industry, their culture and.... ah.... hmm.. cough cough.... selling my used panties...

Intrigued? You should be! There is so much more to Japan than just... kawaii!

Have you lingerie shopped in Japan before? Want to learn more?