Living in Japan - A foreigner’s point of view (II)
As you might have guessed, that was only one side of the story, because I wanted to keep it short and easy to translate. So now I’ll offer you the balancing point of view; I’ll tell you what I like about living in Japan.
Actually, the number of positive experiences I can relate to makes the hardships all but vanish. It is the beauty of the land, the gentleness of the people, the way how past and present here blend together into an ever fascinating (albeit sometimes contrasting) culture. It really couldn’t get more exciting than this!
Masterfully crafted kimonos – boarding a high-speed bullet train; serious white collar men and women – at the end of the day, passionately hitting the Japanese drums or playing the Japanese flute; shrines and temples without number – yet freedom of religion; and the children’s laughter everywhere: peace is such a wonderful and precious thing!
I could go on and on, but I’ll only say this:
If life’s but a year
Then here, by Kamo-gawa,
I’m living my spring!
or, in Japanese:
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