Surprise Shizuoka Trip

We left when the sun was just peeking over the ski slopes, slanting light through the morning haze. The sky was a gentle progression of orange to blue, still dotted with stars that twinkled like magic. After less than an hour of driving we could see Mt Fuji, its massive, greyish silhouette rising from the mist as if it intended to block our path. It never ceases to amaze me how this mountain dominates the land around it - and my blog posts whenever I get anywhere near it.

As we hurtled along the highway at speeds of up to 140km/h, my friends sprung a pleasant surprise on me: the destination of our planned daytrip had changed, and we were now heading to Shizuoka Prefecture. Three and a half hours later I found myself in a small greenhouse picking strawberries, dipping them in thick condensed milk, and stuffing my face stupid. Oh yes, it was a terrible morning.


Over 16.5 hours we passed through five prefectures, stopping at all kinds of destinations along the way. This next photo of an ancient agricultural village in the middle of modern Shizuoka City is a great example of a Japanese way of thinking, in which people are able to close out their overall surroundings and just focus on the beauty of the small area around them. It's definitely a good way to value a place for what it is. I'm getting better at it... but still, I can't help but think that those ancient villagers wouldn't've been so interested in their harvest if they could've just walked to the McDonalds down the road.


As sunset turned to black and the stars returned - sparkling in their legions - we headed back to the snow-capped territory that is Nagano, where the mountains are like from a black-and-white photo and the wind bites at your skin. It always feels good to get back home - but this time it also felt quite strange. In six weeks, this won't be my home anymore.