Today at noon thousands of red rose petals will flutter down through the oculus of the Pantheon in Rome. This spectacular tradition is held each year on the feast of Pentecost.
I went to a public bath (sento) in a small town outside Tokyo. I was super nervous because I'm not Japanese and didn't want to break any etiquette rules.
An old man saw me looking confused and helped me out. Showed me where to put my shoes, how to wash before getting in the bath, where to sit, everything. We didn't speak English but we managed with gestures and my broken Japanese.
We ended up sitting in the bath together for a while. He asked where I was from, what brought me to Japan. I told him I was traveling after a bad breakup, and needed to clear my head.
He nodded and didn't say anything for a long time. Then he said in simple Japanese "water washes everything. Not just the body. Heart too."
We sat in silence for like 20 more minutes. When I got out, he was already gone.
I went back to that sento three more times during my trip. Never saw him again. But I thought about what he said a lot.
Water washes everything. Not just the body. Heart too.
He was right.
This Japan/US bonding moment on X is pretty awesome.
What's so great about it is that it all started with talking about food. And now both cultures are sharing their native cuisines, traditions, so on and so forth, and everyone is having a good time! A GOOD TIME! Not fighting, not bickering over silly political things or nonsensical social issues. Just bonding and having fun.
X is typically not a lighthearted place, but today it definitely was, and that is refreshing. I pray it continues.
Side note: If you're Japanese and you ever find yourself in Colorado, try Palisade Peach Cobbler. It's delicious.
The US and Japan have the most underrated mutual obsession on the planet.
Japan worships American BBQ culture. Texas-style brisket restaurants in Tokyo have 3-hour waits. American Barbeque, a chain in Osaka, charges $80 a plate and sells out nightly. Japan's wagyu beef revolution was literally built by importing American cattle genetics in the 1800s.
Americans worship Japanese food culture in the exact same way. Omakase spots in NYC and LA run $300-500 a head with 6-week waitlists. Ramen went from a $7 lunch to a $22 "experience." Every serious American pitmaster now studies yakitori technique.
This tells you everything about why the US-Japan alliance is the most durable in geopolitics. Trade agreements and military bases hold countries together on paper. Genuine cultural admiration, where both sides look at the other's food and think "I want to be part of that," is what makes it stick.
A Japanese creator looking at a photo of guys grilling steaks in a backyard and saying "someday I'd like to join" is the most honest expression of soft power that exists. No government program produced that. A grill and 40 pounds of meat did.