idyllic iwate p2

I still get responses from the post I put up on Craigslist. But I'm glad I made that decision to trust in God instead. On hindsight, it would have not been worth the trouble and effort.

On top of that, I decided on the spur of the moment to take up my professor's invitation to visit him and his wife in Iwate prefecture. They have kindly hosted me when I first visited Tokyo, and now that they have built their retirement home in Iwate, they wanted me to enjoy the countryside too.


It's been some time since I took the bullet train. Getting to Iwate was twice the distance from Tokyo to Niigata. Strangely, taking normal trains would not have cost significantly lesser, but that would have meant 10 switches! But at least, I got some student discount through my friend in Waseda Uni, so that was not too bad.


As soon as I reached Shizukuishi station, I could feel the difference in the air. It was so fresh, I thought I had become healthier suddenly. To my delight, Prof Komiya was already at the station waiting for me. He drove us back to his home.


Along the way, everything we passed by reminded me of li'l Urasa. The acres of rice fields, snowy mountains, meandering rivers, idyllic shops, all the rustic characteristics of the Japanese countryside.


For some time, it felt very natsukashii*. As if I was back home.


All the worries of what had happened began to disappear as I took in the beauty of the ruralness around me. It did not matter that I had to spend so much to get there, because being there was what I needed.


I had missed the winter snow so much and had not taken any trips out of Tokyo like what I had previously done, so this was a much-awaited treat. Being there brought back memories of a slower and stressless lifestyle.


The best part was it snowed the whole time I was there. Just the week before, the snow was beginning to melt and everyone was preparing to welcome in spring. Surprisingly, it snowed so much that everything was blanketed in white.

It was God's way of telling me to trust in Him, because He is my Sustainer and Provider. It was as if God had blessed me with this, knowing how much I had craved for real snow and that I needed to get away from the madness of the metropolitan. Soul therapy indeed.


*懐かしい 【なつかしい】 (adj-i) dear; desired; missed;

Continued from : idyllic iwate