undercurrents of joy in boring everyday life
Today, YouTube decided to recommend me videos from a guy who explores weird train lines and train stations, mostly in the Tokyo area. I’m not really a train otaku, but I ended up watching quite a few of the videos because I just … liked the vibe.
Part of the reason why the videos felt so nice was the low production value. It’s mostly just handheld recorded footage with the guy talking in the background and a few bits of text added in post-production every now and then. No flashy soundtrack or sound effects, advanced animation, etc. It felt very nostalgic without being nostalgia-baity.
The bigger part of what made the videos stand out to me though was the sense of muted, but noticeable excitement. The videos aren’t about anything all that special - most of them are on the “huh, neat I guess” level. But it’s clear that the guy behind the camera is genuinely interested and has fun making his videos. It reminded me of my first few years in Japan, when I got joy out of doing the most random things like getting a new type of drink from the conbini, talking a walk through a residential neighbourhood or traveling to locations that tourists don’t typically travel to. Being able to read signs, to gather additional information, and to retain it … often, it wasn’t very useful or relevant. But the fact that I could do it was what made it fun.
Apparently, quite a few people that move to Japan eventually move back to their home country, or to a different country. It’s understandable, and probably not unique to Japan. Personally, I've never seriously thought about taking that step so far. But in general, I get it. Some things get repetitive, other things that you considered to be fun or quirky at first start to feel a bit annoying, and you get bogged down by everyday worries about the future, and the daily grind. And yeah, maybe even from an objective point of view, living in Japan isn’t as special as it used to be 20 or 30 years ago.
But watching those train videos reminded me that even the same old everyday life that I've settled into by now can still be special to me. In the end, we all build our own little worlds. And if I find a way to reset, to shift my perspective just a bit, the same undercurrents of joy are still there.