Goodbye

Unfortunately we don’t think this will be a short goodbye. Out of all of the goodbyes we had to make in the last week of our adventure we were both dreading this one the most. 

For only a short while we have been acquainted, but for years we have known about you, known about your wisdom, beauty and kindness. But for all our admiration of you, we have only spent a short time together, and now like a plaster we must say goodbye.

Man, have we done some crazy stuff together. Dancing together under the stars to Kodo on Sado Island, singing under umbrellas in Hiroshima and who can forget the countless days riding on the snow, watching each other do crazier and crazier things. However memorable these moments were it is not this side of our friendship we will miss the most.

As soon as we got off the plane you welcomed us with arms wide open. You didn’t see us for who we were, but you saw us for who we are and who we can be. You didn’t see the world in black and grey, your view was a kaleidoscope of new colours. We came to you in your time of need, when others were leaving you. We saw that what you needed the most was friendship. Only friendship: not probing enquiry into the danger that others saw in you. We selfishly think that in some small way we helped you through your time of need, and our support for you will never fade even though the distance between us grows.

But, for every moment we helped you, you helped us back tenfold. You saw us at our worst, when desperate thoughts of loneliness and desperation filled our minds; it was you who helped us think clearly. It was you who showed us the true meaning of life. Through our friendship over the year you showed us that our potential, love and sense of joy are limitless. Every day we were together you taught us a new lesson, some were big and others were small and insignificant on face value. Our friendship stood the test of time.

So Japan, we are proud to call you by name, we are proud to call you home and were even prouder that we can call you one of life’s dear friends. This is not goodbye, but a quick ‘see ya later’. In the future our paths will cross again, we’re sure, and when they do we know our friendship will pick up where we left it.

Thank you Japan, your friendship will always be a treasured memory for us.

ありがとう日本

Aimee and Craig.