My adventure with Japan started many years ago and at that time, in 1997. I would never have thought that I might had gotten so attached to her to the extent of rushing to see her almost every year…. To her beauty, kindness, curious nature, challenges she gives, generosity, order, deliciousness of food, and that unique richness in culture and nature.
At that time, I just got an assistant professor position at the Department of Chemistry, City College of New, York where I am still enjoying working, although as a Distinguished Professor now. In 1997 Prof. Katsumi Kaneko was organizing a short workshop (one of series of many) at Chiba University. The workshop was just before another (bigger) conference organized in China, in Guangzhou. It was my first trip to Asia and impressions were unforgettable; both, from getting acquittanced with China in 1997, and from seeing a very small part of Japan for a very short time (from Narita airport to Chiba University, where I stayed for 3 days). When growing up in Poland, we were told that Japan is a small country loving Chopin music with many people living in small places due to the limits in land… Thus, seeing her so green and lush in not-even-cultivated areas, as I saw from a train, totally turned my expectations upside-down and awaken curiosity for further explorations. The workshop on adsorption was also a fantastic experience. Prof. Kanko invited many great minds of adsorption including Prof. Keith Gubbins of Cornell University or Bill Steele of Penn State- a Langmuir Editor at that time. Listening to their presentation and discussions, and having an opportunity to know them better as persons and to learn from their integrity and kindness certainly enriched me as a young person and scientist. When I think about it now, I certainly can say that Japan was a great contributor to my development as a scientist, teacher and a person. There is a saying in Japan that working with dirt/soil makes people better and sometimes I think that touching that Japan’s dirt/soil also made me, and still makes, a better person.
After that 1997 there we many short trips to Japan for scientific conferences. It was always great science and wonderful organization and hospitality. It includes trips to attend the meetings in Nagasaki in 2001, Nagano and Kyoto in 2008, Awaji Island in 2010, Nagano in 2017, Chiba in 2019, Nagano in 2023, Sendai in 2024, and again Nagano in 2025, where I could further develop professionally and had an opportunity to present our results and viewpoints. It was also an opportunity to make really good friends (unfortunately, some of them passed away or retired, and I miss them tremendously; conferences are not the same without them) and scientific collaborators. Whenever I could I took a half a day or a day to explore the nature and culture. I remember a small hike on the hills around Kyoto vising old shrines there.. it was muddy, slippery and rainy.. but certainly worth of all the effort .. and of a danger spraining an ankle. I remember that after FOA 7 in 2001 I came back with shingles….. on my face. And symptoms have started on a plane from Tokyo. Yes, it was tough to get over it and fortunately my eye was saved and the rash did not leave permanent marks on my forehead.
But the marked advancement in my affair with Japan happened when I decided to take a full year of sabbatical leave in 2013/2014. I asked Prof. Kaneko, who moved at that time to Shinshu University in Nagano, if I could spend few months working with him. He was very kind accepting me and arranging a visiting professor position. Mark (my partner at that time) and I after spending 3 months at the University of Malaga in Spain and 2 months in Adeliade Australia arrived to Japan in March 2014. March in Nagano can be snowy, rainy and quite cold. But we were ready by taking the variety of apparels for almost three seasons. Upon arrival, we planned to stay few days at the hotel (Chinsun in Nagano, close to the train station and half an hour walk from the Shinshu University) and from there to look for an apartment. We got a great help of Prof. Kaneko Secretary but.. we were not lucky. After considering few options we decided to stay ….. in the hotel. Yes, 5 months in the hotel might seem not easy. We had to change rooms every two weeks. We learned how to organize our belonging in limited space but we did not need to cook, change sheets, or pay regular-life bills. We saw many advantages with something that could scare others, and we were really glad with that decision. Time went very quickly and observing seasons change in Japan was awesome. I enjoyed walking to work and back; something what I really miss when I have to cross GWB coming to work in Manhattan. Work with Prof. Kaneko group was very rewarding and on weekends, or Japanese Holidays we explored, explored and explored. Since Nagano is close to Japanese Alps, the short and long hikes were fantastic. Hiking on the surrounding hills or at the rivers gave us an opportunity to see Japanese farmers working in their orchards and fields. We also visited great places not far away from Nagano such as Tagakushi, Snow Monkey Park, Kanazawa, Matsuhiro, Matsumoto, Otari, Tsukuba, Ioihawa-Omachi, and Kamikochi Alpine Valley, all at different times, form early spring to full summer. Prof. Kaneko was an excellent host. Regarding food, we loved soups (kaku udon is my favorite) and other small dishes at the university cafeteria. Ther was also a small bakery next to the school where they had great sandwiches. Ready-to -eat dishes bought at the grocery stores or Lawson or 7 Eleven were great and healthy! I miss them a lot. Such a variety of tastes. By visiting one pub with a very friendly owner, we learned the taste of okonomiyaki (I love the dish) and Prof. Kaneko wife, Hiroe, she taught me how to make it. And I make it at home. We can buy ingredients in Japanese grocery store in our area of NJ. Regarding the wonders of Japanese nature, we saw a snow wall on Alpine Route…. and hiked Mount Fuji at the beginning of July. I mentioned the time, since at night it was so cold at the summit. Even though we put all cloths we took with us for the trip, we had to stay very close to each other to share our body warmth. I only once felt so cold-in Iceland in November at one of their waterfalls. While climbing Fuji, we stayed overnight at a mountain hut.. and it was also an advantage: long bed where strangers /fellow hikers slept next to each other one by one. The hut was cold at the beginning but when we got up at 2 am.. it was really hot and then we climbed in dark with head lamps and we were accompanied by so many people that it was hard to see a break in the line of headlights. Sunrise was spectacular, of course …. But freezing!
In Nagano, as in any other Japanese city, there are many festivals. We could enjoy the parades and seen groups of people having funs. They organized themselves to show unity and respect to culture and tradition. Seeing the strong cultivation of tradition was very encouraging. Almost every day after I came back from work, we walked in the evening to famous Zenkoji Temple.. a monumental complex of great tradition and religious significance… and on the right side of the main street was a bakery with fantastic chocolate danishes… It is really hard to describe all of this.. those cute children, young girls, boys and adults wearing wonderful kimonos and wearing them with grace and pride for religious or folk holidays.
Each subsequent trip to Nagano was a treat. There we could again go to the same restaurants/pubs, say hello to that nice lady owner, walk to Zenkoji and go back to wonderful times.
In 2019 we visited Okinawa… I was attending Japan Colloid Conference. One Japanese woman from my gym told me that “Okinawa was Japan but not Japan”. And it was indeed another advantage. For a couple of days we explored the beaches and hills and did some exciting open-ocean snorkeling. It was a new experience for me.. In Okinawa we also notice that it was a capital of pork. The meals were delicious but mainly meat on the small island…
Then my next sabbatical time came. Since I enjoyed working in Japan with Prof. Kaneko so much, that time I asked him if he would agree to by my host if I apply for a Fellowship from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. I wrote a proposal, applied… and got that Fellowship… it was such a joy for me and Mark that we could go again to Japan for longer time. I have asked for 4 months. Another joy which happened at that time was an invitation from Japan Carbon Society to present a plenary talk at the World Carbon Conference which was supposed to take place in Kyoto in 2020………. I was so excited about this. Giving a plenary talk at the Carbon Conference in Japan !.. what an honor and award.. Unfortunately, a fortune was not generous to me at that time…. The Covid time came and Japan Carbon Groups had to cancel the conference.. and I realized that that that honor would never come true. And the sabbatical leave at that time… I had to postpone for a year… Japan was not accepting visitors anyway and times were really tough. Finally, I took sabbatical in 2021. I was planning to go to Japan (Shinshu University) then to Spain (Universidad de Granada) and Germany (Dresden Technical University) but since I could not get visa to Japan, I had to change the order.. so in 2021 Mark and I went to Granada for 4 months, then Dresden for 4 month and…. when I almost lost hope to go to Japan (the fellowship could not be postponed forever! ), Japan opened for special visas and in the last moment at the end of June 2022 I went back to Nagano. Unfortunately, alone, since Mark could not get visa.
Arriving in Japan at that time was another unique experience…an empty airport, all people in masks (even though in Europe and US people did not to it too often anymore) and one could feel certain tension in the society. I started to work immediate and got very interesting results on insertion of sulfur to carbon nanotubes. At that time, I was lucky and with the help of a Prof. Kaneko’s secretary I found a very cute small apartment 30 min walking from the University. I really liked that little place. But I felt lonely…. Many places, as for instance that friendly pub were closed or changed owners. Once again, every day after work I had a long walk to Zenkoji and could see the sunset there. But on weekends I explored. Mainly by myself. I did not feel comfortable to hike in the surrounding hills by myself (although, had long walks at the revers there) but I took bus and train trips to surrounding areas. The places where not crowded (still after covid feeling) and I enjoyed the culture and nature. Sometimes I took a longer trip with my Mexican friend Rodolfo, who was also working at the university and had a car, to Tsukuba, to go higher… I attended the conference In Hiroshima (during a typhoon!) and visited the lab of Prof. Nishihara at Tokou University and Prof. Mukai at Hokkaido University. At the latter, I took a couple of days to explore the nature and visited Shakotan Peninsula. Besides being very nice people, these professors do fantastic research and have great laboratory capabilities. Came home at the end of October with new ideas for research. In October 2023, Mark and I we stayed a week longer in Nagano to hike a Tsukuba area.. it was beautiful October and we had great time.
Then in July 2024 I was invited to attend a conference in Sendai organized by Prof. Nishihara and two weeks after was another conference .. in Sendai. It happened that in June that year Mark and I got married and we wanted to spend our honey moon, of course, in Japan ..and in Hokkaido. So first we spent few days on famous Tohoku trail and then we flew to Sapporo. And it was an advantage time. For two weeks we traveled through the whole Hokkaido Island and stayed in hotels with wonderful onsens… that sulfur smell! (I did research on removal of H2S on carbons J) and small boutique hotels as that one in Teshikaga-Kaway; the artsy one, where we got even our own onsen inside and outside, with bonfire in the evening…. We hiked in the national parks of Hokkaido and frankly speaking I was really scared of bears. They are huge there, like grizzlies. I was not sure if bell sound was enough. Hokkaido was very unique.. and each time when we reached the summit and wanted to enjoy a view or see volcano… we were surrounded by dense clouds.. but we loved it anyway… This November we again plan to visit Okinawa, to attend the Japan Colloid Conference. We will spend additional two days hiking a national park there. I hope all of this will give me again the opportunity to touch that Japan’s dirt, which might make me a better person, and to be exposed to exciting results of Japanese scientists, and to meet friends and colleagues not only from Japan but also from all over the world. Looking forward to this coming adventure.