In two days, as I write this, I’m getting on a plane to visit Japan for the first time since the pandemic began. I’m drowning in deadlines and haven’t started to pack, but all I seem to be able to do is rewatch the second season of Good Omens. Two years and a few months ago, I was getting ready to relocate from Sydney to Brisbane to start a PhD. That time, my binge re-read was The Lord of the Rings. A year and a bit before that (give or take), when I was getting ready to move to Japan to teach English, I rewatched every episode of every season of Lucifer, start to finish.

Each of these moments were exciting, but nerve-wracking. Right now, I’m worried about how different post-pandemic Japan might be compared to when I was living there. I left in a hurry in mid-2020 and that part of my life feels unfinished. What will it be like to be back?