February 19, 2024
On this very rainy day, two years ago, the Rapaci family flew me to Kawazu , Shizuoka Prefecture, with the idea of a day trip out of the city. It was raining then, too. We drove along the volcanic cliffs and immediately stopped at the Kawazu open-air cherry blossom display.
The tourists were mostly Japanese, and they marveled at every single pink branch. "THIS IS THE PINKEST ONE OF THEM ALL!" exclaimed an overly excited panda cub. His parents were trying to pry him off the branch with the same force as someone plucking a snail from its leaf.
The fact is that that was the only season to admire the cherry trees in Shizuoka, and I would only understand after a month that I would not have another opportunity to see them again.
Along the side of the houses, there was a kilometer-long row of stalls selling local steamed delicacies. I was thirsty. The Raptors and I reached a soda machine isolated in a green flowerbed: for 60 cents (about 100 yen), I got a can of red bean tea, and only then did I realize I was truly in Japan. I was overwhelmed by the efficiency of that talking machine, with the cherry blossoms in the background like something out of a commercial.
Some time later I understood the purpose of the trip: the impromptu excursion included a one-night stay in a family village in the middle of the Itō hill forest.
The Rapaci family marveled at the cherry trees, and I marveled at their approach to life. Their lifestyle, adventurous just the right amount.
In the evening, we reached the Kiranosato Forest Bathing Village (杜の湯 きらの里): it included a private spa for each room, a public spa ( onsen ), a traditional restaurant, a shop, and a traditional entertainment area with traditional games—all made of wood. The local specialty was a piping hot sweet potato baked in foil, offered by a very kind elderly capybara. Sinking your teeth into that steaming delight was like a dream.
❀ Note ❀ "Forest bathing" ( Shirin-Yoku ) is a philosophical practice that helps one achieve one's Ikigai . It consists of fully immersing body and mind in nature, merging with it in a state of balance and inner peace. Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy that aims to discover one's self, through a cultivated balance between passions, talents, needs, and contributions.
An even more lucid dream came when my adoptive sister, Ranocchia, later told me she'd rather go to the public spa with her mother than use the one in our room. That meant I'd have the spa all to myself! So I opened the cabin door: it truly was a forest bathroom. It overlooked the bamboo garden outside and was protected by a wooden partition. Who would have thought? When I actually tried it, I too felt like a capybara pampered by its cubic meter of tub, while from outside I could hear the clop of villagers' hooves and the rain hitting the foliage.
After the spa, we were supposed to don some sort of uniform (Jinbei - 甚平) complete with wooden flip-flops (Geta - 下駄) and meet for dinner. The restaurant was a real luxury: I discovered grilled shabu shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ) and that the Rapaci family didn't just order one dish each, but...
...appetizer, soup, first course, second course, third course, fourth course, and fifth course ─ a tender wasabi to grate, and dessert.
Back in our room—which consisted of an apartment all to ourselves, complete with a living room, a hallway with a meditation area and garden view, a dining area with a mini-fridge and coffee maker, and a double bedroom—Ranocchia Rapaci and I retreated to our futons, satisfied with the day. We'd both eaten quite a bit.
Around 12:30 am.
꒰ Frog… are you awake?꒱
꒰Yes?꒱
I can't sleep. I ate too much.
꒰Watashimo.꒱ (me too)
Ten minutes after we said that, we fell asleep.
The next morning we woke up to the same pleasant drizzle and joined Mom and Dad Rapaci at the restaurant, still in Jinbei clothes, for breakfast, which was almost more substantial than dinner.
blackcurrant pudding, miso soup, boiled fish soup, coffee, meat fillets, omelette, etc.
To digest breakfast, we took one last look at the cherry blossom parade in the drizzle. Then, on the way back to Nerima City, Ranocchia took me to his favorite museum: the KawaZoo Frog Museum ─ a sort of joke and pun about the town of Kawazu that came true, namely that they actually did build a frog zoo there...
❀ Note number 2 ❀ When the Japanese have an idea, they simply put it into practice.
It was raining in the museum too, meaning the central area was an open-air courtyard, and the museum and display cases were all spread out around it. This allowed the frogs to splash around happily in their muddy, reassuring habitat. However, we had to be careful where we stepped to cross the central courtyard, as there might have been a few small jumping frogs nearby.
⤷ Where is the frog in this photo?
The KawaZoo museum had been very interesting, and at the end of the visit we stopped by the souvenir area. Ranocchia helped me choose a travel buddy. I picked one who wouldn't stop babbling about a princess locked in a tower far away, a tower that didn't belong to that world but to another. and blah blah blah… I adopted him just to shut him up once and for all.
Anyway, the trip had been fantastic! It didn't feel like just one night, but ten, perhaps because I'd seen so many unexpected things in such a short time.
As our last stop, Mama Rapaci absolutely had to stop at a small local bakery, where they baked Abekawa Mochi and soft sweet buns in the shape of wild boars with red bean paste (Inoshishi Monaka) , typical sweets from the town of Itō. They bought me one to eat on the way home, insisting I try it. Now I understood why we had to stop by. The woodsy flavor and the texture were dreamy.
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