The other day, I fell asleep in Chicago and woke up in Tokyo.
How about that? And I’m here to tell you, the cherry blossom thing is no joke. It’s the season and they’re everywhere. Like in a dream sequence from a Michael Powell movie. Beautiful! And just one of the many wonders to love about this city. Tokyo is a big, sprawling metropolis, like New York and so many others, but with mini oases of natural beauty springing up all over the place, inevitably with cherry blossoms in attendance. Nice! And there are fascinating architectural experiments and eccentricities mixed in, but standing out, among the classic international style skyscrapers, like the colorful, confident third-children in so many families......guessing. And what about the lovely, lovely people?
It’s been a season of change in our household – change and surprises and non-stop everything – so the Muse and I thought Japan seemed like the right idea, beginning with Tokyo. I do believe we were correct. We‘ve just returned from one of the best dinners we’ve ever had. Ever. Anywhere. And that’s saying a lot. Did you know Tokyo has more considered-great restaurants, Michelin-starred and otherwise heralded, than any other city in the world? I didn’t and now I do. Food for thought...literally.
Tomorrow we leave Tokyo and embark on a kinda glamorous cruise, traveling through Japan and stopping at port cities with musical names, lovely people, legendary histories and visual wonders of their own. We look forward to the people, the experiences and the differences in all of it. Stephen Covey said,“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.”and to that thought, I add that beauty and love do, too.
Domo arigato, y’all.
“Tokyo seems the least designed of capitals, not so much contrived as naturally grown.“
– Donald Richie