TOKYO, JAPAN: A TINY WISH I WON’T SAY OUT LOUD

Tokyo at Christmas.🎄

I’m leaving around the holidays. Suitcase 🧳 half-zipped. Last coffees. Last train rides where nobody looks up. I’ll miss the small rituals: the warm vending machine cans, the way Tokyo can make me feel anonymous and seen all at the same time.

This time of year hits different. Not sadness exactly—more like gratitude and bewilderment. Tokyo never begs me to stay. And I thought I wanted it to this time.

December 2025