The deafening sound of a chainsaw cutting beams of wood. My dad cutting logs in pieces for us to stack and dry. Helping him in the “scorching” sun of mid summer Germany. This was 5 maybe six years ago, but every time I smell fresh cut wood or the gas of a 2-stroke engine I get teleported back.
When I talked to my siblings they could relive the same moment through this smell. They also had different stories and it seems a lot of other people know this feeling as well. This feeling of smell taking them back in time. A few molecules in the air can let us relive moments that we haven’t thought about in years.
I worked in japan for 3 months a bit back in the middle of summer. The heat was cruel and the tropical climate only made it worse. Long subway rides and walks through hot tunnels interrupted by cold streams of air from the ACs. Eating lunch in the small restaurants and walking through clean office buildings and underground mazes. The walk home was a relief, cool air softly blowing with the streets still releasing the warmth from the midday sun.
After the first weeks I decided to go shopping and picked up a perfume. The perfume was cheap but smelled gorgeous and I started wearing it everyday. On my way home, after a long day in the office and no other smell around the perfume was the most memorable. Without the intention I connected this smell to the walk home through the cold air and warm streets.
To this day when I smell the perfume I get teleported back to the lantern lit streets. And the shimmering and humming of vending machines. Smelling it makes me miss the warmth of the streets in Nakano.