A good friend of mine is in Japan... and I'm jealous of him!! But him being there brought back so many memories to me... I've always been fascinated by this country, partly because its history goes way back (further back perhaps than that of my own) and partly because its culture is so absolutely different than the one I come from... or perhaps because I was very young when "Shogun", that TV series from the 80's, was on and I got charmed by those images of the geishas and the tea ceremony and the katanas and all... I don't know and I don't care... The important is that when I visited the far east a couple of years ago, I fell in love with it :)
That trip, I can tell you, cost me a lot of pairs of shoes... but it was money worth spent, every cent of it! And I cannot wait for the day that I will go back there and though it is a big world and there are so many places that I want to see, Japan stays at the top of my list!
When I was there, the most beautiful place I visited was a garden... not a very big one and I guess not a very famous one either because there were not that many visitors... a garden in the heart of Tokyo, a stone's through from Ropongi Hills for those who have been there, surrounded by sky-scrapers and the faint sound of the city noises...
When one passes the gate and enters the garden, it's like what has been described to me as entering Eden... and if Eden does exist (and I do not have any proof of that, obviously...) I bet it would look like that garden... the peace and the quiet and the smells of spring (I was a lucky visitor...) and the sounds of the birds and the images of the trees and the ponds and the magnificent koi carp swimming in the water and coming out to greet the people who would take a moment to tell them "konitchiwa" was an experience I will never forget!!
I bought my bento box of sushi from the food plaza of the nearby office building and got into the garden... sat on a bench under a tree and had my lunch... then took a walk in the garden, to discover every corner of it... and then got back to "my" bench and... I had a nap... and that whole experience was better that any shoe I ever wore or coveted and would always be preferred over any, and I repeat ANY, foot treasure I could be offered :)
I don't know how to end this piece of text, I guess suggesting you visit Japan and my dream garden is too obvious and expected... so I won't... I will just post a picture of it for you...
That trip, I can tell you, cost me a lot of pairs of shoes... but it was money worth spent, every cent of it! And I cannot wait for the day that I will go back there and though it is a big world and there are so many places that I want to see, Japan stays at the top of my list!
When I was there, the most beautiful place I visited was a garden... not a very big one and I guess not a very famous one either because there were not that many visitors... a garden in the heart of Tokyo, a stone's through from Ropongi Hills for those who have been there, surrounded by sky-scrapers and the faint sound of the city noises...
When one passes the gate and enters the garden, it's like what has been described to me as entering Eden... and if Eden does exist (and I do not have any proof of that, obviously...) I bet it would look like that garden... the peace and the quiet and the smells of spring (I was a lucky visitor...) and the sounds of the birds and the images of the trees and the ponds and the magnificent koi carp swimming in the water and coming out to greet the people who would take a moment to tell them "konitchiwa" was an experience I will never forget!!
I bought my bento box of sushi from the food plaza of the nearby office building and got into the garden... sat on a bench under a tree and had my lunch... then took a walk in the garden, to discover every corner of it... and then got back to "my" bench and... I had a nap... and that whole experience was better that any shoe I ever wore or coveted and would always be preferred over any, and I repeat ANY, foot treasure I could be offered :)
I don't know how to end this piece of text, I guess suggesting you visit Japan and my dream garden is too obvious and expected... so I won't... I will just post a picture of it for you...
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