April 2024 update: I am rewriting all the posts to improve readability, trim boring sections, and add information from my private journal.About Me: 10/10 done | Coming Out: 16/16 done | Japan, Round One: 17/43 done | South Korea: 3/29 done | Japan, Round Two: 5/48 done | Taiwan: 23/23 done | Israel: 8/8 done
Latest Posts
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The Land of Organised Chaos | 組織的混沌の国
This year’s summer festival marathon, courtesy of Shikoku, has it all: rural breeze, reunions, cats, and atrocious night buses; my first time camping, snakes, dance parties, plus a tsunami and mega-quake panic; my favorite dish, and my favorite festival in Japan.
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A Resident of Japan | 日本の在留者
After nine months last year as a tourist, I’m back in Japan – and this time, I have a residence card.
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Israel, Synopsis | ישראל, תקציר
I returned to my most hated place on Earth after the trip of a lifetime to war, arguments, and peer pressure. After sinking into loneliness and depression, I finally got over my unrequited love, grew close to my friends and family, and left Israel as a tougher, more appreciative person.
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Shalom | שלום
Shalom to Israel, shalom to love.
About Me
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The Story of This Blog | このブログの物語
This is the story of an ambivert who feels abandoned by humankind. After growing up lonely and misunderstood in Israel, I travelled to Asia for fourteen months. Delights, discoveries, and dangers exposed me to a whole new world – one where I felt comfortable enough to grow into a confident adventurer, and discover love.
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Lessons From Running a Blog | לקחים מניהול יומן רשת
Like everything in life, blogging is not what I expected.
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Lessons From a One-Year Trip | 一年間の旅からの教訓 | 1년간의 여행으로부터의 교훈 | 一年旅行的教訓
Fourteen months of travel have come to a close. Every adventure, friend, and location made me grow. I found (and lost) love several times, learned life lessons, and became a better person.
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To Be Alive, Part 3 | 生きていること、第三章
Kumano Kodo pilgrimage ends with a spiritual finale. Days 3 and 4 (Hongu-Nachi) test my limits and culminate in the most climatic night of my life.
“Coming Out”
Israel (February 2009 – August 2011)
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Coming Out, Synopsis | カミングアウトの梗概
During a pilgrimage in Japan, I decided to share my coming out story. My diaries from school show how peer pressure, fake friends, and homophobia in Israel have led depression and self-harm.
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Coming Out, Epilogue | カミングアウト、エピローグ
I give up on the idea of intimacy and dedicate all my time to school and writing. Homophobia pushes me to self-harm. After graduating from high school, I come out as bisexual.
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Coming Out, Chapter 15 | カミングアウト、第十五章
My second coming out is as burdensome as the first. I develop an attraction toward girls, grow sick of my fake friends and homophobia in Israel, and fall into depression. Twelve years later, I realize I’ve failed in life.
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Coming Out, Chapter 14 | カミングアウト、第十四章
My sixteenth birthday heralds dark hobbies, new and lost friendships, the realization that I’ll never have a boyfriend, and coming out at long last.
“Not What I Had in Mind”
Japan: Round One (February – May 2023)
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Japan: Round One, Synopsis | 日本で一回目の梗概
A lifelong dream came true when I left the West for the first time and travelled to Japan. Delights, discoveries, and dangers exposed me to a whole new world – one where I felt comfortable enough to grow into a new person.
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Sayonara | さようなら
I bid my favorite place on Earth farewell at a cemetery that makes me realize how much I’ve grown – and how much of a failure I’ve become.
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The Dark Side of Japan | 日本の暗黒面
I relish Asakusa, visit a penis shrine in Kawasaki, and cry at the dark secrets of Japan.
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Like a Scene From a Movie | 映画の場面みたい
Forest therapy in Tokyo and Saitama alleviates anxiety surrounding the end of my trip. Partying takes a dark turn, until my Japanese equivalent shows up.
“New Heights, New Lows”
South Korea (May – August 2023)
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South Korea, Synopsis | 한국、개요
My spontaneous (and reckless) adventures in Asian cities and nature continued in a new, unfriendly land. I couch-surfed, volunteered, and fell in love for the first time. By the end, I became an extrovert who felt abandoned by the human race.
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Annyeonghi Gyeseyo | 안녕히 계세요
As I prepare to leave Korea, I lament falling in love.
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A Piece of Tofu in a Korean Barbecue | 한국식 바비큐에 두부 한 조각
A bittersweet farewell to a country that made me feel like bland leftovers in a seasoned buffet.
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New Lows | 신저점
Mountain highs plummet into romantic lows after a pefect date at an abandoned theme park leaves me heartbroken.
“The Passenger”
Japan: Round Two (August 2023 – January 2024)
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Japan: Round Two, Synopsis | 日本で二回目の梗概
I returned to my favorite place on Earth for more festivals, more dangerous adventures, and one enlightening romance. My love-hate relationship with humanity reached a tipping point with betrayals and abandonments that made me forswear intimacy – until all the financial and emotional pain proved too memorable to reject.
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Sayonara, Yet Again | また、さようなら
I leave my favorite place on Earth for a new adventure in Taiwan.
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The Winds of Change | 変化の風
Volunteering at a temple offers a memorably simple lifestyle, comforting friendships, an Israeli meal, and a trip to Japan’s forgotten gems.
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Temple Life | お寺での生活
Heartbreak and unrequited longing continue to haunt me as I begin volunteering at an obscure temple and hike to a snowy temple with a unique view of Mt Fuji.
“The Pain Applicant”
Taiwan (January – April 2024)
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Taiwan, Synopsis | 臺灣、梗概
After a lifetime of abandonments and sexual oppression, the friendliest country in the world was a social and romantic revelation. My dangerous adventures and dating life peaked when I began to pursue pain in order to understand love. In the end, I finished my trip with my mission complete.
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Zaijian | 再見
My last day in Taiwan sees me rushing to the emergency room and recreating my dizzying first night of partying in this country. I end my trip and dating life on a high note.
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The Meaning of Love | 愛的意義
A powerful earthquake and romantic Jiufen shake me into understanding what all the fuss is about.
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Tantalus’s Punishment | 坦塔羅斯的懲罰
“I love you,” he said, but my trip was ending, and I was blue. Yehliu Geopark and duck blood offer refuge.
“The Ghost Writer”
Israel (April – July 2024)
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Israel, Synopsis | ישראל, תקציר
I returned to my most hated place on Earth after the trip of a lifetime to war, arguments, and peer pressure. After sinking into loneliness and depression, I finally got over my unrequited love, grew close to my friends and family, and left Israel as a tougher, more appreciative person.
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Shalom | שלום
Shalom to Israel, shalom to love.
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The Ghost Writer, Part 3 | סופר הצללים, חלק ג’
Free from the shackles of love, I regain the ability to cry, grow close to my Israeli friends and family, attend Tel Aviv Pride, and bid war-zone Israel a sad farewell.
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The Ghost Writer, Part 2 | סופר הצללים, חלק ב’
More war, more nightmares, and more alienation take me back to middle school. I finally begin to fall out of love.
“A Resident of Japan”
Japan (July 2024 – Present)
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The Land of Organised Chaos | 組織的混沌の国
This year’s summer festival marathon, courtesy of Shikoku, has it all: rural breeze, reunions, cats, and atrocious night buses; my first time camping, snakes, dance parties, plus a tsunami and mega-quake panic; my favorite dish, and my favorite festival in Japan.
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A Resident of Japan | 日本の在留者
After nine months last year as a tourist, I’m back in Japan – and this time, I have a residence card.
View all “A Resident of Japan” posts
Poems
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Shalom | שלום
Shalom to Israel, shalom to love.
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The Land of the Undead | ארץ האל-מתים
The Hebrew on the tombstone is the name of my maternal grandmother. Behind her is my maternal grandfather.
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Hibernation | תרדמת חורף
War, alienation, and unrequited love: life in Israel.
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Patior Ergo Vivo | 我苦故我活
I suffer, therefore I live.