The best part about spending two weeks in Tokyo, by far and large, was the company. I was able to meet with a lot of people I didn't expect to ever see again, including people from my stint abroad and fellow university alumni. When people graduate from high school, or college, you expect them to all go their separate ways. I was very fortunate in that many of my friends chose to go, seperately, to the same place.
Through Christmas parties, karaoke, sighting, and New Years Eve celebrations, I was able to rendezvous with one friend after another. Some old, some new, no two the same. While no two friends provide the same experience, neither is better than the other. I have some great stories (I'll keep them to myself) from Tokyo, and they each take place in different parts of the city, at different times, with drastically different endings.
Would I do it again? I spent two weeks in Tokyo--two weeks! That is a long time to go on vacation, and I will admit it got a little boring near the end. While I didn't get to do everything I had planned, I did manage to accomplish everything that I considered important. However, I think I'm done with Tokyo. That's enough sightseeing for at least a decade. If I do visit Tokyo anytime between now and my inevitable return to America, it will be solely on business or for the purpose of meeting friends. No holidays, no sightseeing.
On a final note, I just want to say: it is very tough to maintain long-distance relationships. There is a reason why people tend to prefer face-to-face meetings, or physical contact. I am glad to see that my relationships with those close to me haven't degraded over the last year. I graduated in December of 2010, but I hadn't seen some of these people since December of 2009, a little over two years! Even though we only communicated sparsely, via methods such as Skype, Facebook, letters, and e-mail, there was still a bond that has yet to be broken by time or distance. For that, I'm thankful.
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