- Mar 4, 2011
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Most dreams, I think you don't know when it starts. You're already there and things are happening.
But this one, I remember. The dream materialized the moment I stepped off a bus or train station into this town. It was a semi-rural town in Japan. But it was still bustling with higher population density than any towns you see in US. And it was very very bleak. The 'main street' I was on was bustling with people with small housing units & hole-in-a-wall eating joints.
It honestly felt like the late 80's Korea I grew up in. But it was even few levels below that. It looked like the evening had just begun. Everyone looked dark - the skin & clothing. This was not a fashion choice of wearing black, but just dirty and tainted.
I don't know how to describe this - the mood was very bleak, dark, unhappy, BUT not unsafe. It was akin to perhaps 70's soviet era with the bustling scene of an East Asian town. There were also children running around in groups without adult supervision. That part was reminiscent of me growing up in Korea in late 80s.
I think it was basically a re-skinned uber bleak version of the Korean neighborhood I grew up in - much much much darker and something was ominous. Below link is one of the streets I remember - there was a co-op arcade here and all the kids used to go. And of course, unlike in the dream, in reality the neighborhood was very sweet & pleasant. I have lots of fond memories of my neighborhood.
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.595...4!1s-Sr6sVTkuNSabFB1pAFJCA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 (wtf this street seemed so big back then).
Anyways, back to the dream. I started to walk around. I remember feeling I needed to find my way out of here. Immediately to my left was a small eating joint. I saw all these Japanese adults in working class clothes all dark & sat super close, shoulder-to-shoulder to each other. They were all sitting on a bar eating or talking. I asked one of the guy in English how do I get out of here. The dude didn't speak English. He said something I didn't understand and I moved on.
As I walked down the 'main street', I saw a random public bathroom. For whatever reason, I could kind of peak inside from afar and I heard little kids talking to each other on the toilet with their feet dangling. This is my strictly my American imagination since bathrooms in Asia don't have stupid bottom opening in the stalls. Anyways, I could tell there were no adults present.
Now that I'm awake, I guess the town wasn't so bleak. Everything was stained dark and it was evening. But it wasn't dangerous or actually scary. The kids all sounded happy being kids.
As I was walking through an underpass, I saw a tall pale-skinned redheaded white dude walking in the other direction towards me. I lit up and asked him where I was. The dude looked puzzled and replied something back in some unintelligible language. But I knew he was saying, "sorry I don't speak English."
That's it. The dream actually went on to a different sequence. But I thought I'd share.
But this one, I remember. The dream materialized the moment I stepped off a bus or train station into this town. It was a semi-rural town in Japan. But it was still bustling with higher population density than any towns you see in US. And it was very very bleak. The 'main street' I was on was bustling with people with small housing units & hole-in-a-wall eating joints.
It honestly felt like the late 80's Korea I grew up in. But it was even few levels below that. It looked like the evening had just begun. Everyone looked dark - the skin & clothing. This was not a fashion choice of wearing black, but just dirty and tainted.
I don't know how to describe this - the mood was very bleak, dark, unhappy, BUT not unsafe. It was akin to perhaps 70's soviet era with the bustling scene of an East Asian town. There were also children running around in groups without adult supervision. That part was reminiscent of me growing up in Korea in late 80s.
I think it was basically a re-skinned uber bleak version of the Korean neighborhood I grew up in - much much much darker and something was ominous. Below link is one of the streets I remember - there was a co-op arcade here and all the kids used to go. And of course, unlike in the dream, in reality the neighborhood was very sweet & pleasant. I have lots of fond memories of my neighborhood.
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.595...4!1s-Sr6sVTkuNSabFB1pAFJCA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 (wtf this street seemed so big back then).
Anyways, back to the dream. I started to walk around. I remember feeling I needed to find my way out of here. Immediately to my left was a small eating joint. I saw all these Japanese adults in working class clothes all dark & sat super close, shoulder-to-shoulder to each other. They were all sitting on a bar eating or talking. I asked one of the guy in English how do I get out of here. The dude didn't speak English. He said something I didn't understand and I moved on.
As I walked down the 'main street', I saw a random public bathroom. For whatever reason, I could kind of peak inside from afar and I heard little kids talking to each other on the toilet with their feet dangling. This is my strictly my American imagination since bathrooms in Asia don't have stupid bottom opening in the stalls. Anyways, I could tell there were no adults present.
Now that I'm awake, I guess the town wasn't so bleak. Everything was stained dark and it was evening. But it wasn't dangerous or actually scary. The kids all sounded happy being kids.
As I was walking through an underpass, I saw a tall pale-skinned redheaded white dude walking in the other direction towards me. I lit up and asked him where I was. The dude looked puzzled and replied something back in some unintelligible language. But I knew he was saying, "sorry I don't speak English."
That's it. The dream actually went on to a different sequence. But I thought I'd share.
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