Upon moving to Tokyo, Ibuse was ambivalent at leaving the countryside of Fukuyama and moving to the big city. Ibuse described this experience in "Thoughts One February Ninth": "sometimes I feel that half of me wants to return to the country while the other half would like to cling to Tokyo until the very end". Tokyo appeared surreal to Ibuse; he felt lonely and missed his Fukuyama home. Nevertheless, Ibuse decided to stay in a boardinghouse near Waseda University; he often moved but always stayed near Waseda and visited Fukuyama only occasionally.