Weekend in rural Japan 🌾

This weekend I went to the most magical place in Tochigi. As the winter fully arrived and the nature seemed to be asleep, I decided to stay at a ryokan in one of the most beautiful villages in Japan. My stay was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Every country has a certain color for me. The nature, buildings and even people shine in a certain light. Japan has a pastel color for me. Soft and delicate is its beauty. And it makes me feel so at peace. I didn't even show you the best part yet. As I was breathing in the fresh mountain air and the sun shined upon the river like dancing crystals, my heart was so full of love it could have burst. The beauty of this world can really move me to tears. I really enjoyed not being on my phone at all this weekend. I noticed how much I usually numb myself with all kinds of influences. I didn't even read a book. I just fully concentrated on my cup of tea in the sun. It's amazing how much joy we can feel when we allow ourselves to fully arrive in the present moment. Then it was time to go to the onsen. A hot bath in the crispy cold winter air is the best. The ryokan looked even more magical in the evening. Since this place only has 10 rooms it felt really personal and cozy. They had many lovely things prepared like infused sake with different health benefits. Of course I tried one, it was really strong but really delicious. I watched the sunset before going to dinner. I think you know how amazing it feels to eat a lovely meal after bathing in the hot onsen water. The dinner was so delicious. They served vegetables from the mountains and fresh fish from the local river. The evening ended perfectly with grilled marshmallows over the open fire. Even though I had such a relaxing evening I only slept for a few hours. So let's start the day slowly with a cup of tea. I felt so nourished from the inside and outside. I'm glad I treated myself and came here. After breakfast it was time to say goodbye to this lovely place. I really want to come back here in spring again and see how the river looks like when it's surrounded by green trees and grass. But for now I have quite a few things planned for today that I'm excited to share with you. One of the reasons I went to Tochigi in the first place was to come to this lovely family-run pottery that is approximately 170 years old. It was my first time trying pottery and I was really excited. Somehow I always felt a little hesitant to try something new after I grew up because I thought I have to follow through and become really good at it. Now I really enjoy trying something new if it's for a few years or only one time. I think there's so much beauty and wonder in making something with your hands. Especially in a time where we are so used to creating everything digitally. It was a lot of fun. I would love to do it again sometime. I hope I can inspire you to stay curious and open to try new things this year. Koisaguyaki is a historic gold-glazed ceramic art from Tochigi. I'm really glad I'll be able to own handmade cups myself. They will be a beautiful reminder of this wonderful time I had here. The ceramics will take around two months to be finished and shipped to me so please stay tuned to see how they turned out. If you are interested in visiting this place I will link everything down below. I always like to visit a local shrine wherever I go and say a little prayer. To be honest winter was never my favorite season but I came to appreciate it more and more. Winter brings a certain kind of magic. A quiet and gentle one but the most dreamy in my opinion. Even though everything looks a little bare it is a beautiful reminder of impermanence and the need of fading for something new to arise. I think we don't have to belong to a certain religion to take a silent moment of respect and thankfulness for this life. I was surprised to see that there was a samurai castle here in the past. I was excited to explore the area a little more. It's really fascinating to think about the fact that many generations before us have walked the same path. Maybe some trees have witnessed the falling and building of castles and villages. Every moment in mother nature reminds me that I'm a part of something much bigger. I hope we as humanity let go of all these illusions of separation and return back into mother nature's arms. And treat her and each other as the unity of love that we are. Being back in the quiet nature felt so good. What a blessing to be alive. Thank you so much for watching the video until the end. I hope I could bring you some comfort. I will see you really soon. Goodbye.