Image by jacqueline macou from Pixabay
The Never the Same Island Why Japan Never Re-reveals Itself Herein Lies a Gentle, Almost Poetic Deceit in How We Frame Our Travels… We book a flight, circle a day on the calendar, and visualize our destination as a solid location on a spinning globe, confident in the thought, I am going to Japan. But the instant you set foot upon the land, you quickly realize that “Japan” is none other than a mercurial, living tableau that sheds its costume and completely alters its aura, its character, and its visual identity as each quarter of the year turns over. Whether you journey during springtime – with the delicate, wan hue of nascent cherry blossoms, otherwise known as sakura, fluttering like fresh snowfall in the atmosphere above the urban sprawl - or while crisp autumnal breezes ignite the mountainous regions with a cacophony of brilliant rust, crimson, and liquid gold colors, Japan never fails to surprise even the most ardent planner and can turn the best-laid travel itinerary into a tapestry of the unexpected.
This country simply ‘gets’ time in a way few other destinations on Earth ever manage; treating each successive season not only as a climatic shift but rather as an entirely new and separate way in which to live on this planet. The Silent Watcher of Mount Fuji and the Stillness in Being Regardless of the landscape below transforming during the year, there are touchstones in Japan’s wilderness to keep the national spirit tethered firmly in place.
Standing supreme above them all, the unequivocally perfectly rounded king of this island country: Japan’s undisputed and arguably most famous landmark – Mount Fuji. Rising sharply into the atmosphere, this impressive edifice is this nation's highest peak, and you are, with no possibility of doubt, in the presence of the sublime as you stand before it (either directly at its base, or looking across a perfectly glassy lake) – this alone can explain why Mount Fuji has been a sacral center for millennia. Individuals have been traveling across all global divides to breathe within the shadow of this silent god or prove to themselves their own mettle by attempting the trek up its volcanic cone. In the latter half of spring and summer months as the formidable ice caps begin to melt sufficiently to unveil their contours revealing steep, rocky hiking trails, legions of ambitious climbers may undertake the strenuous and steady pilgrimage to the top through the night.
Their shared goal nearly ubiquies is typically reaching the summit, and at Goraiko, the auspicious moment when the sun begins to appear over the horizon of clouds, people watch its golden light spill onto the serene earth.
What is it then they will take away for sure after their dusty shoes have been dried and aches eased – it is seeing Mount Fuji beyond just its geological dimensions and its imposing profile against a bright sky., Sacred Spaces and Garden Pa-th Reflections (The Heart of Kyoto and Beyond) Unlike the breathtaking scope of natural peaks, much of the soul of Japan persists even in the centers of urban sprawl and sleepy rural towns, the centuries of tradition existing side-by-side with the contemporary pulse of life. It could be said that Kyoto, the country's former imperial capital, has persuaded time to flow at a more tranquil rate. Thousands of ancient Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples are interwoven with narrow wooden streets throughout the city, from the quiet environs of Gion where one can still hear the clip-clop of wooden geta on stone paths, to a thousand vividly red arches lining the mountain slopes, up to the summit for a contemplation of the vast expanse.
The city was designed to inspire quiet contemplation: in ancient and modern times this serene gardenesque sensibility continues with some extraordinary exceptions. Japan's largest private garden of its type is located right in the heart of bustling Tokyo in the form of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, a serene oasis that is located in a very large complex right on the side of of the nation's busiest train terminal of which the noise from which completely vanishes once inside its grounds. Here travelers will escape Tokyo's frenzied rhythm, visit its wide varieties of floral gardens and flower fields or just lie in the grass watching the light changing across its landscape that was constructed as and represents the importance to the Japanese that no matter how quickly their nation might advance on a material basis that they will always need and require quiet corners of green space to find a quiet peace, in the Spring this is a vast canopy of pink and in the fall it is bathed in hues of amber. Nature’s Untouched Frontier (Hokkaido, Northern Japan) For those that relish vast and raw untouched natures, the path leads to Hokkaido, the northernmost major island in Japan that much differs from many of the island archipelago's other locations and its cities, and is a place composed of large spaces open horizons and fresh untouched elements of nature, a land of sweeping valleys and plains.
Lovers of nature should explore Hokkaido where natural beauty runs rampant with vast colors, volcanic terrain, spectacular snowy mountain backdrops, steaming hot geothermal springs (incredibly called onsens) and wild and open unspoiled wilderness.
Depending on your travel period, this is a land whose outfits change more dramatically than anywhere else on Honshu and most anywhere else. Depending on the season you visit and even the specific time of summer (early to late summer) and what month you plan your sojourn to the Northernmost Island, in summers Furano's farmlands bloom into a sea of purple lavender that can seem almost otherworldly or "too real", standing at the edge of those fields, enjoying the fragrant breeze and seeing the rugged Tokachis in the distance feels like staring into an Impressionist's oil masterpiece. When the greens that cover this Northern Island die out, as the winter cold sets in and the harsh winter winds blow in from siberia it will also produce arguably, and probably without question, the finest most perfect snow for winter Sports anywhere in the world - some of the most unique light and fluffy ski and boarding resorts on Hokkaido include Niseko and Rusutsu resorts. After a wonderful cold day in the mountains carving the powdery slopes of the Island, what could be finer then to sink into outdoor volcanic waters and see the snowflakes fall around and melt in the air from the hot steam around you, a true symbol of the serene dichotomy of a nation that finds perfection between extremes. In Four Acts; An Unveiling Journey What is certainly striking about any travel in Japan, that truly elevates its experience beyond the norm is how it never fully lets travelers know all it truly has to offer on any one particular trip, nor that at times, that it just simply never reveals itself in precisely the same manner on multiple visits.
The seasons on the Japanese Islands make that an impossible feat… Japan appears more like a grand play where the scenes and light and character can alter so distinctly each few months. – Spring, brings the delicate blossoming of cherry blossoms, dotting the entire coastline with delicate white and pale pink flowers; - Summer bursts forth, and mountains transform to a striking green with vibrant local festivals and soaring summer fireworks that crackle at the night's sky, punctuated by the high whirring buzz of cicadas; - Fall washes over valley walls in a stunning blanket of red, orange and gold; - Winter descends to blanket and hush the North and much of the central highlands
Image by Yoshiharu TSUYUKI from Pixabay
Every season Japan looks different, because of the flowering of cherry blossoms in spring, the flourishing of the mountains in summer, red and orange leaves in autumn and snow in winter.Whatever place you choose to visit, Japan will impress you with its landscapes, culture, food and hospitality
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