A Path to Adventure: Or How I Found A Restaurant
What is having a 'sense' of adventure? Is it being open to experience in a passive sense or something more aggressive? Recently, I went on a short vacation to a place where I neither knew the language or had a friend to be bold with, but I knew it was a rare opportunity and like those who know how to travel, decided to jump in.
Oftentimes, when people travel, we try to make plans ahead of time, choosing where to go and what to see. Even when we spend money to relax, we form a structure on which to hang from so that we don't feel completely at the whim of a strange culture. We come to define a place less by exposing ourselves to it and more by the image left after we've connected the dots.
I do have a personal strategy to bring real experiences out from under the net we consciously lay over the unfamiliar and although it might take a little imagination and courage, we can use the same concept wherever we are and whenever we want to give meaning to something completely random.
The pictures below are from a recent trip to Chinatown in Tokyo, which added a second layer of strangeness as my Japanese is severely lacking as it is. Anyways, as I entered the giant gates at the perimeter of the neighborhood, I knew I wanted to find a restaurant other than the normal fare of steamed buns I had been snacking on all day but couldn't read a scratch of the signs posted outside the shops and everything seemed to be closing soon. Here's what I did:
For all pictures that this story mentions please check out the 'Guided By Meaning' album on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.483947255066374.1073741838.418178888309878&type=3
I decided to explore the labyrinthine corridors without stopping until something jumped out at me. Most of the restaurants are extremely similar, serving dumplings and steamed buns as a main course. I wanted the experience to guide me...
Picture 1. After walking for a little while I saw an owl on the sign and having a special thing for the birds, immediately chose to take a turn down the alley.
Picture 2. When I reached the end, I looked both ways and chose the path to the left because my birthday is on the 16th of August.
Picture 3. The last alley was another left and had the fewest signs. I figured that it was the right one to go down if I wanted randomness.
Picture 4. Just near the end I found a dark staircase with a sign stating that whoever was up there would be until at least 3:30.
Picture 5. Surrounded by little dumpling shops was this incredible tepanyaki grill and bar with English speaking staff and guests. I even had a fantastic conversation with a new friend. It was one of the better restaurants I have been to in Japan and the staff was so easy going that I ended up staying for almost four hours getting to know everyone.
Now, I'm in no way implying causation by all this, but I do believe that setting ourselves up to explore the world around us in a constructive way is healthy for the mind. Open yourself up every now and then, even in your own neighborhood, don't be afraid to wave to strangers, you never know who or what you might find.
- Brandon S. Heal
