Same Place, Same Hour
Nobody needs convincing that Japan is a country unlike any other - it holds no end of things that can surprise and astonish. Whatever human hands have made there, be it a temple, a castle, a bridge or a garden, settles into the surrounding landscape without ever breaking the beauty of nature. This spring tour focused on the unusual rice terraces on the island of Kyushu. Terraces like these, giant steps walking down a slope, are not found in Japan alone. What makes the Japanese ones singular is that they come down to the ocean, where the sun rises or sets. In spring, before the rice is planted, the terraces are filled with water and turn into enormous mirrors reflecting the sky and the clouds. This enchantment lasts only a short while, then the rice comes up and the magic is gone.
The tour also took in the seascapes from the top of the island, where you can see the “99 Islands” (though there are actually 208 of them!) Those are the views that open the film The Last Samurai. And all around there are plenty of waterfalls, unusual forests, gardens, temples. None of it was overlooked.