---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wander though China. Without ever…"
description: "\"I wander though China. Without ever having boarded a plane. My travels take place here in the Tokoyo subways, in the backseat of a taxi... all of a sud..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/haruki-murakami-21_ashes_i-wander-though-china-without-ever-havin_3029907.jpg"
---

#  I wander though China. Without ever having boarded a…

![“I wander though China. Without ever having boarded a plane. My travels take place here in the Tokoyo subways, in the backseat of a taxi... all of a sudden this city will start to go. In a flash, the buildings will crumble. Over the Tokyo streets will fall my China, like ash, leaching into…” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/haruki-murakami-21_ashes_i-wander-though-china-without-ever-havin_3029907.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/haruki-murakami-21_ashes_i-wander-though-china-without-ever-havin_3029907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/haruki-murakami-21_ashes_i-wander-though-china-without-ever-havin_3029907.jpg)

> “I wander though China. Without ever having boarded a plane. My travels take place here in the Tokoyo subways, in the backseat of a taxi... all of a sudden this city will start to go. In a flash, the buildings will crumble. Over the Tokyo streets will fall my China, like ash, leaching into everything it touches. Slowly, gradually, until nothing remains. No, this isn't a place for me.”

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The narrator feels detached from a city that seems to dissolve, reflecting a sense of alienation and impermanence.

**In simple terms:** Feeling disconnected from a changing place.

Key Takeaway

Recognize impermanence and seek belonging.

Themes

alienation impermanence identity

Mood

melancholic contemplative

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- travel
- personal crisis
- creative writing

Key Concepts

existential reflection urban decay

Questions to Reflect On

- What anchors you amid change?
- How do you find meaning in transience?

A Different Perspective

Change can be unsettling and disorienting.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) [Backseat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backseat/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [China Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china-like-363970/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Crumble Tokyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crumble-tokyo-4944343/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Flash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flash/) [Planes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planes/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Subway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subway/) [Taxi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxi/) [Tokyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tokyo/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Travels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travels/) [Wander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wander/) [Wander China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wander-china-4944342/)

## Related quotes

> [“I've wanted to find out as much about China as I could. But that China is only my China. Not any China I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-ve-wanted-to-find-out-as-much-about-china-as-i-could-but-that-china/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Democracy in China is like Viagra; no such thing as free elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-montgomery/democracy-in-china-is-like-viagra-no-such-thing-as-free-elections/)

[George Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-montgomery/)

> [In Japan, the writers have made up a literary community, a circle, a society. I think 90 percent of Japan's writers live in Tokyo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/in-japan-the-writers-have-made-up-a-literary-community-a-circle-a/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Along the way I stopped into a coffee shop. All around me normal, everyday city types were going about their normal, everyday affairs. Lovers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/along-the-way-i-stopped-into-a-coffee-shop-all-around-me-normal/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [I will make great deals with China and they will like us more than they do now. You know they don't even like us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-will-make-great-deals-with-china-and-they-will-like-us-more-than/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [“Six years during which time I'd laid three cats to rest. Burned how many aspirations, bundled up how much suffering in thick sweaters, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/six-years-during-which-time-i-d-laid-three-cats-to-rest-burned-how/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Can you afford to ignore China? It's like saying you can afford to ignore the internet. I don't think so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/can-you-afford-to-ignore-china-it-s-like-saying-you-can-afford-to/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [Stop viewing China like it's the Cold War. Start viewing them as a modern member of the industrialized world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-packer/stop-viewing-china-like-it-s-the-cold-war-start-viewing-them-as-a/)

[James Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-packer/)

> [China has an interest that's very much like ours in one respect, and that is they want a stable world. They don't want war.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/china-has-an-interest-that-s-very-much-like-ours-in-one-respect-and/)

[Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/)

> [I would have no problem with living in China. I like discovering new places and cultures, and I would not go alone - my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marouane-fellaini/i-would-have-no-problem-with-living-in-china-i-like-discovering-new/)

[Marouane Fellaini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marouane-fellaini/)

> [If you treat China like a foe, surely she will become one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/if-you-treat-china-like-a-foe-surely-she-will-become-one/)

[Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/)

> [I think people in China like to see R&amp;F and how we play. I think it's a very important part of football that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eran-zahavi/i-think-people-in-china-like-to-see-r-f-and-how-we-play-i-think-it-s/)

[Eran Zahavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eran-zahavi/)

> [Before I became a writer, I was running a jazz bar in the center of Tokyo, which means that I worked in filthy air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/before-i-became-a-writer-i-was-running-a-jazz-bar-in-the-center-of/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [I just gave them a little scare. A touch of psychological terror. As Joseph Conrad once wrote, true terror is the kind that men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-just-gave-them-a-little-scare-a-touch-of-psychological-terror-as/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [If China was like the moon, then arriving in Saudi Arabia was Mars. At least you can see the moon from Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basmah-bint-saud/if-china-was-like-the-moon-then-arriving-in-saudi-arabia-was-mars-at/)

[Basmah bint Saud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basmah-bint-saud/)

## More by Haruki Murakami

> [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

[Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

## More Ashes quotes

> [You can flush my ashes down the toilet, for all I care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-flush-my-ashes-down-the-toilet-for-all-i-care/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-is-gold-does-not-glitter-not-all-those-who-wander-are-lost/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I don't want to have a gravestone. I want to have all my friends burn me and then snort the ashes. I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-don-t-want-to-have-a-gravestone-i-want-to-have-all-my-friends-burn/)

[Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/)

> [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/)

[Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/)

> [He said that he will never let you cry,he will always be there for you no matter how hard the situation is,that he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhra/he-said-that-he-will-never-let-you-cry-he-will-always-be-there-for/)

[Zhra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhra/)

> [“The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-past-is-to-be-learned-from-but-not-lived-in-we-look-back-to-claim/)

[Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/)

> [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/)

[Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/)

> [When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-any-civilization-is-dust-and-ashes-he-said-art-is-all-that-s/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/man-is-a-noble-animal-splendid-in-ashes-and-pompous-in-the-grave/)

[Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/)

> [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [There is nothing quite like an Ashes trip Down Under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anderson/there-is-nothing-quite-like-an-ashes-trip-down-under/)

[James Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anderson/)

> [I think momentum is huge in sport, especially in a series like the Ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stokes/i-think-momentum-is-huge-in-sport-especially-in-a-series-like-the/)

[Ben Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stokes/)

> [Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/mark-how-fleeting-and-paltry-is-the-estate-of-man-yesterday-in-embryo/)

[Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/)

> [“When you burn a bridge, you have to be prepared to live with some ashes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-coppernoll/when-you-burn-a-bridge-you-have-to-be-prepared-to-live-with-some-ashes/)

[Chris Coppernoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-coppernoll/)

> [I would rather be ashes than dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/i-would-rather-be-ashes-than-dust/)

[Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/)

[Browse all 900 Ashes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I wander though China. Without ever having boarded a plane. My travels take place here in the Tokoyo subways, in the backseat of a taxi... all of a sudden this city will start to go. In a flash, the buildings will crumble. Over the Tokyo streets will fall my China, like ash, leaching into everything it touches. Slowly, gradually, until nothing remains. No, this isn't a place for me.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Haruki Murakami"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-wander-though-china-without-ever-having-boarded-a-plane-my-travels/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ashes"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-wander-though-china-without-ever-having-boarded-a-plane-my-travels/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/haruki-murakami-21_ashes_i-wander-though-china-without-ever-havin_3029907.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/haruki-murakami-21_ashes_i-wander-though-china-without-ever-havin_3029907.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdb/haruki-murakami-21_ashes_i-wander-though-china-without-ever-havin_3029907.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I wander though China. Without ever having boarded a plane. My travels take place here in the Tokoyo…” — Haruki Murakami",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Haruki Murakami",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I wander though China. Without ever...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-wander-though-china-without-ever-having-boarded-a-plane-my-travels/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-wander-though-china-without-ever-having-boarded-a-plane-my-travels/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
