This weekend I took some much needed away time, 4hrs from Tokyo way up in the mountains where there are only locals, the temperature was much cooler and the pace of life was calm and away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, the over abundance of foreigners and tourists. Having that change of pace to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, enjoy local foods and of course get some digging in was just what the travel doctor ordered. I’ve seen Japan change over the last decade but being up in the mountains where very few speak English and 99% of things are written in Japanese, it felt like “old Japan”, even as most recent as early 2000’s.
Trying to pace myself while enjoying this trip and soak up all of the good energy out before departing is mentally important for me. It’s the balance between peace and chaos of the rest of the places in the world that I’ll be traveling to in the next few months. But life is good, the world is big place and those real world experiences make for so many special memories to hold onto when the plane finally lands and fuel runs dry.