When you travel to foreign countries, you are usually in search of the unknown, of something unfamiliar that you can't find at home or in your own land. Here in Japan, there is plenty of that, not only in the big bustling cities, but also everywhere else in the country. Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, old samurai castles and much more create a unique, exotic feeling, especially when you visit here for the first time.
But if you take a closer look, there are also many familiar things to discover in Japan. The large metropolitan areas are ultimately just big cities in which a whole lot of people live, work, eat and love. And even in the countryside, you sometimes come across places that could make you think you're not in the Far East, as they seem so intimate and familiar to you.
When I took a trip to Nagano Prefecture a few years ago, we visited a wasabi farm where the Japanese version of the horseradish is grown. This requires a lot of cold, clean water, which is diverted from a nearby river. And it was precisely at this river that at one point I was overcome by the aforementioned cozy, homely feeling, which almost made me doubt whether I was really in Japan.
The calm river ran around a small bend and both banks were lush with trees and bushes. There was also a small watermill with a wooden water wheel, which was probably the main reason why this place was able to create such a homely atmosphere.
If someone had shown me only one photo of this scene, I would no doubt have believed that it was taken somewhere on a dreamy little river in England or France maybe. Suddenly it didn't seem typically Japanese at all, at least at first glance.
And I enjoyed what I saw. Everything seemed so calm and peaceful, almost as if it had fallen out of time. It would have looked exactly the same here a few hundred years ago. Nothing seemed to have changed and you immediately wished that nothing would change in the future either. Some sights and scenes you just want to preserve and keep exactly as you find them. And this place is definitely one of them.
We often think about coming back here one day again. It would take some effort, but I would like to see it looking exactly as it did on our last visit. In these fast-moving times, sometimes it's good to be reassured that some things don't change and will retain their charm and appeal forever.
But perhaps it's good to just remember this place as it is. We often have too high expectations and end up being disappointed. A journey back into your own past doesn't always turn out the way you hoped and dreamed.
But well, a little risk is probably just part of it. And if there should be an opportunity to come back here in the future, we'll probably go for it. And whatever we get to see then, I think I'll bring home some new material for my dreams....
