noun
Rip van Winkle feeling; feeling that everything has changed after a long absence
Describes the shock of returning to a familiar place after a long time and finding it completely transformed, like the folk tale of Urashima Tarō. Often used humorously or self-deprecatingly.
10年ぶりに地元に帰ったら、駅前がすっかり変わっていて浦島太郎状態だった。
When I returned to my hometown after ten years, the area in front of the station had completely changed and I felt like Rip van Winkle.
最新のスマホの機能についていけなくて、浦島太郎状態だよ。
I can't keep up with the latest smartphone features; I feel totally out of touch.
Refers to the folk tale character; 浦島太郎状態 is the derived set phrase describing the feeling of being left behind by time.
From the folk tale of Urashima Tarō, who returns from the Dragon Palace to find centuries have passed. The phrase 浦島太郎状態 (Urashima Tarō state) is a modern set expression for the disorientation of returning to a changed world.