I woke up early in the morning several days ago. Then, as soon as I cleaned my room, I was desperate to have a cup of coffee to make myself completely awake. It is my daily routine to have coffee in the morning and so, I went out to purchase my coffee at a nearby small local coffee shop.
The temperature outside was mild. Neither cold nor hot. It was comfortable. This is the climate of spring when Japan is covered with Sakura flowers. I was fulfilled with this best climate while walking outside to buy a cup of coffee.
The distance between my sister’s house and the coffee shop is very short. Since I often pass by it, I am very familiar to see this shop. The coffee shop does not have enough space for dine-in but they sell light meals and snacks. It seems that the shop is quite popular among locals that I see many people coming here just to buy a cup of coffee or their snacks for a takeaway. I am also one of their customers these days.
When I got out of my apartment, I felt something strange while walking down this short distance. It seems that the morning sunlight was creating a unique atmosphere that made me feel nostalgic as if I were in Thailand. Not only the light was perfectly adjusting the colour of objects and their shade, but also the narrow street stimulated my brain to remind my old memory. This mild climate without wind, a narrow street, and this sunlight which created the light colours of scenery suddenly brought my sensation back to the morning market in Thailand. When I was enjoying this sensation while observing the scenery around me, a motorcycle just passed by with having a large buzzing sound. “Yes, a motorcycle is another symbolic item that emphasizes the similarity between what I used to see in Bangkok”, I thought. Right after my thought, I asked myself “Where am I?”.
My curiosity stimulated myself and I was eager to confirm the smell. I wanted to know how the smell differs from my memory to what I was exposing myself. This curiosity made me remove my mask immediately and then I deeply inhaled. The air came into my body and circulated. I thought, “This is a smell of Japan, not Thailand”. The air was fresh and refreshing unlike a mixture of the smells of foods, spice, oil, and fumes. Also, it was much colder than what I use to expose when I was in Thailand. This air stimulated my brain again to bring myself back in front of the local coffee shop.
I asked myself again, “Where am I? What am I doing?”. I answered myself, “I am in Kyoto and about to get into the local coffee shop to buy my morning coffee.”
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