Where Do Broken Hearts Go?
Asia
Nobody wants to be the one to break a relationship off (that’s never fun), but sometimes it’s a kindness to the person you’re dating. Maybe they’re psycho-crazy. Maybe they’re driving you to your wit’s end. Maybe it was perfect, except… it wasn’t, really. Either way, it's time to cut the strings and set them free. Clichés do nothing to ease anyone into the conversation, so scrap that. The set-up to the break-up can speak volumes more than words.
lemi
It’s not a glimpse into a life of singlehood, some people are just genuinely comforted by cats! Get your soon-to-be ex comfortable, settle them in, and let the cats shower them in the love you used to give. A cat café is perfect, not because you’re sentencing each other to a life alone and with 15 cats. There’s the benefit of a café, a classic nook to sit down and talk, but with the comforting presence of their favorite animal. The original idea began in Taipei, Taiwan, but gained worldwide popularity in Japan. It’s like peeling a band-aid then giving a comforting hand; except this time, the task falls on your new feline friends.
- +81 3 5927 8828
1 Chome-15-6 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo, Japan
東京都豊島区西池袋1-15-6-3F JR池袋駅西口より徒歩1分
“It’s time to flush each other out of our lives,” would be a totally golden line to say. Modern Toilet is a themed restaurant that serves up its food in a little bowl shaped like the ceramic throne. Pork cutlet, or chicken, slathered in curry comes in a small toilet perfectly paired with iced tea in a mini urinal. Your entire love life isn’t going down the pipes, but this relationship is. There is so much potential for puns; and, for some, a little bad humor is the perfect way to go. End your relationship somewhere you probably would go only once or twice, so Modern Toilet is a quirky, novel idea. The food is surprisingly good, but its patrons don’t become regulars for a reason.
- +886 2 2311 8822
Second Floor, 7, Lane 50, Xining South Road, Taipei, Taiwan
- http://www.moderntoilet.com.tw/en/index.asp
“There are plenty other fish in the sea,” is another opportunity too perfect to pass up. In the same way that some people are comforted by cats, there are those who are calmed by the water. Slow swimmers and gentle giants of the water swim peacefully in their massive tanks at the S.E.A. Aquarium at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore. End things amidst beautiful creatures of the deep. A serene corner of the aquarium can keep things contained. No need to overwhelm your ex-to-be. The bright, loud world will be waiting outside whenever you two are ready to emerge.
- +65 6577 8888
8 Sentosa Gateway, Sentosa Island, Singapore
Like these two rivers, you two just don’t mix well together. The Alakananda River and Bhagirathi River meet in the Devprayag of Northern India. The line is clear in the turbulent water as the currents continue downstream, forming the Ganges River. They’ve traveled from glaciers up in the Himalayas. A viewing deck descends from the side of the mountain where temples loom above the holy confluence, and people can actually step into the waters and bathe.
Devaprayag, Uttarakhand, India
Breaking up at “The Happiest Place on Earth” is taking a negative and adding a positive. It cancels out! It’s simple math, really. Just do it after the day’s done. Sharing a car in the “It’s a Small World” ride or on the shuttle coasters is subjecting each other to a day of painful awkwardness. Bringing back a simpler time of play, among Disney characters and fairytale castles, can be the magic spell to soften the blow.
- +8521830830
Hong Kong Disneyland, Lantau Island, Outlying Islands, Hong Kong
離島大嶼山香港迪士尼樂園- https://www.hongkongdisneyland.com/
Peek into the bigger picture where we are but a speck in the universe. The moment of heartbreak is a grain of sand in the hourglass of time, yet, it matters. The heartbreak will pass and many more beautiful moments—and people—will come along. Nagoya City Science Museum houses the largest planetarium in the world. The 35-meter diameter dome attempts to bring justice to the marvels of space, as guests sit in reclining seats to gaze up at the realistic sky. The observatory is also a good place for some perspective. Short of hiking to the top of a mountain and being stuck with your former beau, a planetarium is the quicker alternative. Set your eyes to the sky, and, remember, it’s still a beautiful universe.
- +81 52 201 4486
17-1, Sakae 2-chome, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Japan
- http://www.ncsm.city.nagoya.jp/en/index.html
In 1988, performance artists Marina Abramović and her partner Ulay ended their 12-year relationship of artistic collaboration and personal intimacy at The Great Wall of China. It was called “The Lovers: The Great Wall Walk.” Marina and Ulay started from two opposite points of the wall and made their way by foot to the middle over 90 days. They met, said their final goodbyes in embrace, and ended an intense relationship. It was a beautiful end; one that cannot be wholly replicated, unless you let your partner in on the plan, have 90 days to spare, and government permission. Consider the wall as a site, though. It has survived direct attack and so can the two of you. A trip to this wonder of the world is sure to change your life in one way—adding another will make for a colorful story to look back on.
Huairou, China
Time your visit to Tokyo between late March and early April, just in time for Cherry Blossom season. As its pale pink petals flutter gently in the wind, Cherry Blossoms remind us of life’s fleeting and beautiful moments. Like some people in our lives, the Cherry Blossoms come once in a while, bring in beauty, but inevitably leave. Seasons pass and the blooms fade away, but that only means that it’ll flower again someday. A break-up here is an end fit for the movies. Endings don’t have to be ugly or unpleasant. If you have the luxury to choose when or where your relationship will end, then you’ve still done better than many couples.
- +81 3 3556 0391
Kudan Minami, 2-chome—Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- http://www.kanko-chiyoda.jp/
