Although I travel on average two months each year outside the country, ironically I still consider myself a homebody. Few things on the road beat my dull, daily routine here in Harvard Square … walking Bello, my Bernese mountain dog along the Charles River, writing in my study, reading at Hi-Rise, the city’s best bakery down the street, running three miles at my gym and, of course, seeing mentally ill inpatients at the hospital. I’m a travel and food writer, but also work as a clinical psychologist with an active practice made up primarily of folks who are poor and suffering from severe mental illness. So despite the pleasure I take from the rhythm of repetitive days, I have to leave home. Traveling clears my head, rejuvenates me and wakes me up to possibilities.
I’m a serial monogamist, too, and travel to the same places over decades. Switzerland, Italy, Hawaii, and Japan are some of my favorites. Periodically I’ll venture to new destinations like Iceland, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China, for example, but returning to the same destinations enables me to delve deeper into the languages and cultures. That way I’m not a tourist, but a visitor. I also develop friendships that way. At this point, I have more friends in Tokyo than anywhere else except here in Cambridge and New York City. The deepening of ties there creates more varied and intense layers of perception. It’s like getting to know a patient over years rather than weeks or months.
Where I choose to visit repeatedly are the places that are rich with contradictions. I also want to learn something new each time. Take Japan, my favorite destination. On my first visit in 2003, it seemed garish, overwhelming, cartoonish in its inept mimicry of Western styles and attitudes, and shallow interpersonally. I couldn’t read facial expressions. The politeness so characteristic of individuals and the broader society masked undercurrents that were not shared with outsiders. Yet, it stirred me and I became fascinated. Oddly, I found I wanted to know more. The spectacular, vaulting architecture of Tokyo spurred my wonder; the exquisite tastes of seasonal foods that relied upon texture, temperature, and color to invoke flavor were more powerful than anything Western I had ever tasted; the flirtatiousness that was both inviting and implicative of relationships. All this made me eager to go back.
I’ve been back five times since that initial visit. I know my way around Tokyo, can understand about 10% of spoken Japanese, recognize two dozen characters (“letters”), and appreciate the extraordinary differences existing between the country and ours. I love being in a place where the infrastructure and sophistication mirror ours, but where appearances are deceptive. It wakes up my senses and enlivens me. I always return with pages of new ideas for work and life.
An evolution is at work here and it charges me. What I mean is when I’m in Japan I’m forced to change from being active and become passive – slowly deciphering signs, learning new words, building a vocabulary of tastes, and having to depend on friends and even strangers in ordinary settings like restaurants to order a meal. Japan is the one place where I feel most like a child only now it’s without the pain or conflict that is always part of growing up and leaving things behind.
Scott Haas earned his Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from the University of Detroit in 1983. He is the author of the book and Boston Globe’s bestseller “Are We There Yet?” a book about global family traveling. He is also the author of “Hearing Voices” and co-author of The Da Silvano Cookbook. Scott was the producer, writer and on air talent for the National Public Radio affiliate in Boston, WBUR, where he reported for the noon show “Here and Now.” On the show he interviewed chefs, farmers, fisherman and restaurateurs. For this he won the James Beard award for Best Radio Host in 2004. Scott has written many feature pieces for such publications as Gourmet, The Boston Globe, Wine Enthusiast, Gastronomica and many more. Visit Scott’s website at www.shrinkinthekitchen.com . Coming soon, Scott Haas will be launching a new column on Travel Squire