Apart from the delicious Patagonia Bruce Chatwin , I had never really made the effort to read books related to the region I visited and I decided to remedy by testing audio books during my last trips.
For my last days in Japan, I decided to immerse myself in the special world of Murakami in search of magical realism. From Nikko to Kawaguchiko, via Tokyo and Narita, in the trains, in the hostels, on the plane, while walking, while going to the toilets, this audio book accompanied my trip, haunted me until bordering the rice fields that I explored. Without knowing it, I was lucky that parts of the book were going on in the area where I was, in Yamanashi Prefecture. While passing by train at the Nakano suburb of Tokyo , one of the characters mentioned his neighborhood, Nakano. What a coincidence! And then, when I started to listen to this book,
I lived in Japan for seven months and I already knew a lot about the country.
I lived in Japan for seven months and I already knew a lot about the country.Everything that was mentioned in the book, all the little quirks of Japan, all the cultural differences were integrated in me, had become my little everyday world and the fact of being able to discover this story if taking audio book, immersed me even more. in my own universe. There is something very special and inspiring about listening to a book that is happening in Japan, in culture, while walking in the rice paddies, while strolling through the suburbs of typical small towns, while discovering the most beautiful Shinto temples , while wrapping themselves in the loneliness of Japanese trains , while living Japan daily. It is a total cultural immersion, complete, blessed.
Lasting 23 hours, this first audio book was also the longest I listened to, but I was so passionate, so immersed in this world out of the ordinary by the perfect voice of the narrator, I do not I have not seen the time spent and I have devoured listening. I could not let go of the book and I began to listen to it as soon as I had five minutes: on the bus, on the train, while going shopping, going to the toilet, walking, before to sleep, eat and wake up. I lived this audiobook, simply. There is also the Japanese culture, which means that everyone lives in his small individualistic world, in his little bubble and that often, by public transport, or on foot, everyone finds his nose stuck to his phone. without raising a glance or an eyelid. I had taken this habit too, more to avoid the urgent glances and judgments, but I hated it, to walk nose stuck on the phone. So, the audio book gave me that countenance, created me this little saving bubble that I sometimes needed traveling to Japan .
One day, I got up to go to Mount Fuji, above the lake, in Kawaguchiko. It was gray and cloudy, Mount Fuji was invisible and hid behind the clouds, as often. The city was not really exciting and I did not have much to do. So I decided to do some kind of sitting in front of Mount Fuji, until he pointed his nose. I loved contemplation, the prospect of looking at the clouds all day long without doing anything else did not particularly delight me. Fortunately, I had my phone and my headphones and I plunged back into the extraordinary stories of Murakami. As the clouds flew in a constant ballet and alternately made me believe that Fuji was going to appear or that I had no chance, the book was becoming wacky, more absurd, more addictive. I moved as I walked, walked a little, changed perspective, sat on steps or on a bench. The workers who cut the tall grass did not pay me more attention than that and I was part of the landscape. The tourists came and went, by bike or on foot, took some pictures of clouds, before leaving disappointed, but eager to go to visit something else. Sometimes a tourist asked me for a recommendation, for clarification, as if I were a local. Others looked at me curiously, when they passed a second time in front of me, some 20 minutes later, after having traveled the entire length of the walk. I was a kind of attraction, while Fuji still did not show up. A Korean came to talk with me, then sat for an hour beside me to take pictures and listen to music. I went to get food at 7/11, crossing some rice fields, lost in a dialogue of cats, feeling more and more part of this absurd world created by the author. and then sat for an hour beside me to take pictures and listen to music. I went to get food at 7/11, crossing some rice fields, lost in a dialogue of cats, feeling more and more part of this absurd world created by the author. and then sat for an hour beside me to take pictures and listen to music. I went to get food at 7/11, crossing some rice fields, lost in a dialogue of cats, feeling more and more part of this absurd world created by the author.