A couple years ago I actually added up the number of countries I have been to. I think it was around 35, give or take (and what a privilege that is!). Most countries I have visited only once, a few I have lived in for a year or two, and a few I have visited a handful of times. Japan is the one country I can say I have visited countless times throughout my life, having experienced it during probably every month of the year. And from that, something I want to talk about is my love for Japan’s love for its seasons.
I am a summer girl, no doubt about it – and my travel preferences are proof of that. I typically choose tropical climates or just anywhere warm. At home, in the SF Bay Area, I dread the winters, mild as they are. I find springtime to be a frustrating tease and autumn to be a long, sad descent into the cold, dark days. But in Japan…I whole-heartedly love every gloriously distinct season it has to offer…even winter. Why is that? Well, it’s not just because of the undeniable beauty each season provides there, although that alone is certainly reason enough. It’s because the Japanese embrace each season like an old friend. They don't simply tolerate the passing of time; they find reasons to celebrate it. They anticipate the first blossoms of spring, make a ritual of summer evenings, look forward to the fiery colors of autumn, and welcome the quiet beauty of winter. There is a term for this concept, this appreciation of the fleeting nature of things: mono no aware — a gentle awareness that beauty is inseparable from impermanence.
Part of the magic is how seasonal awareness finds its way into even the most ordinary corners of daily life. It appears in the ingredients on a restaurant menu, the sweets in a shop window, the decorations hanging above a shopping street, the patterns on a kimono, and the flowers arranged at the entrance to a little neighborhood café. There is an attentiveness to the present moment, a recognition that certain things are special precisely because they won't last. The plum blossoms will give way to cherry blossoms, the lush greens of summer will turn to brilliant reds and golds, and eventually even those will disappear beneath the bare branches of winter.
With that being said, I will always favor the summer there – the unapologetic cacophony of cicadas, the sweet humidity, the emerald green mountains, the sight of yukata-clad women boarding the subway to get to the hanabi matsuri. But for those planning a trip to Japan, particularly as the country grapples with overtourism, let me hype up winter a little bit. Picture this: far fewer international travelers, wild monkeys bathing in an onsen, pampered capybaras bathing in an onsen (at the zoo of course, with mandarin oranges), you bathing in a beautiful outdoor onsen, enormous ice sculptures, steaming bowls of ramen (and countless cups of hot green tea), world class skiing and snowboarding, vibrant persimmon trees, and the sight of snow softly falling on the roof of a temple.
Alright, enough of sounding like a travel agent. Japan has something remarkable to offer in every season, and I think there's something to be gained by experiencing it outside of whatever your favorite travel season happens to be! You might just discover a different side of the country and a new appreciation for a time of the year you never thought you’d love. If there’s one place that has taught this sunchaser to find beauty and joy in every season, it is unmistakably Japan.
