Coming from Okinawa

Hello

I moved from Okinawa to Kyoto in April.
Because of that, there are various inconveniences, or perhaps surprises,
and a few things I have felt anew.

・It is hard to get my name across
・Escalators are difficult
・How to use public transportation
・The climate

When I tell people my name,
if it is a name unique to Okinawa, they don't catch it the first time.
On top of that, explaining the kanji is also difficult.
But I am actually quite proud of that.
I like that my surname and given name feel one-of-a-kind.
That feeling has only grown stronger since coming to Kyoto.

Escalators are also unique.
Everyone lines up in a single file on one side.
No matter how crowded it is,
they are already lined up before they even get on the escalator.
The fact that it differs by region whether you stand on the right or left is also a drawback.
From my perspective, it's unthinkable.
They should just ride in two rows.
I think everyone is in too much of a rush to live.

The way of using public transportation is the same.
Even how to ride the bus is different from Okinawa.
It's easy once you get used to it, but
it's confusing at first.
People also sit next to strangers without a second thought.
It's because there are so many users, but
it's something I didn't experience much in Okinawa.

The climate is probably the biggest struggle.
The humidity and the temperature difference during the day.
There is a temperature difference of over 10°C in a single day, making it hard to choose what to wear.
Even if I judge by the temperature numbers alone,
it's often hotter or colder than I thought.
It's too different from the feeling I had in Okinawa.
I'll probably struggle with this until I get used to it.
Actually, I don't even know if I will get used to it.
The humidity is also so low that
I am surprised by how dry my skin gets.

Like this,
coming from Okinawa, there are so many things,
or rather, everything is so different,
that every day is fresh and very interesting.
I think it's been great to have these kinds of experiences.
Summer is coming soon.
The rainy season will come before that, but
how will it be different and how will it surprise me?
I'm looking forward to it.

Thank you for reading to the end this time as well.
I'll post my other articles here, so
please feel free to read them if you'd like.