1920s: Anna in Japan

 

While all this drama is going on in Willow Creek, Anna has an easier time over in Japan. As mail travels even more slowly than it did to Selvadorada, Anna has very little word about what happens back home, but in return she has plenty of time to enjoy her surroundings. She and Omisco loves taking long hikes to the sights so Anna can take photos for the articles she's going to write when she returns. They hike through the bamboo forest, to the temple, the burial grounds, the mountain shrine... Anna already has a title lined up for her article: "The shrines of Mt Komorebi". She's visited the one in town, where she's been told most people marry, the cave shrine (that was her favourite so far), and the historical one deep in the snowy mountains. She is a bit confused as to the names, as the cave shrine looks far older than the historic shrine, but none of that matter to her when she suddenly, on a beautiful evening as she walks in the sunset, encounters the forest spirits she's heard the locals talk about.

Anna's main goal with travelling to Mt Komorebi, however, was to climb Mt Komorebi itself. That is something she knows will take effort and time. She is slowly progressing, however, and is attempting higher and higher walls. The first time she scaled one of the larger walls of the lower parts of the mountain she felt as if she'd just conquered the world, but she was also sore in just about every muscle in her body and well aware that it is not yet time to try the actual mountain. As she writes to her sister:

Dearest Alice,

The mountain still eludes me, though I am getting better. Today I scaled what the locals call the 'medium' wall. I promise you it did not feel medium at all when I was finished. There are muscles in my body that aches that I never even knew I had! Yet the feeling of scaling it, the victorious joy as I could look out over town and see all of it stretch out before me... oh how Maurice would have loved to paint that sight! I can barely imagine what it will feel like when it's the actual summit I've reached.

After an arduous climb it is a fantastic feeling to visit the local bathhouse. I've learnt they call it an Onsen. You undress and submerge yourself into the most glorious natural hot spring, and all those aching muscles get to rest for a moment. It's hot, really hot, but fantastic! It is certainly something I will miss once I return back home. I visit almost daily, and so does the locals. Many bathe here instead of in their homes which do not all contain full bathrooms, but then when this is here, who would need it?

The Japanese are a friendly people. Hard to speak to, as I am a long way from mastering their language, but willing to try either way. I have visited my neighbors, farmers most of them. I find them inviting and willing to put up with all my questions, although to be fair their animals are so sweet and lovely that I spend as much time petting them as I do trying to learn the local tongue. When they learnt that it is my 35th birthday tomorrow, they made sure to invite me out to local lounge. I look forward to it, as I have yet to visit the place. He tells me it's 'quite modern, almost like in Tokyo' which I've come to understand here means a mix of traditional Japanese and western influences. Apparently stained glass is supposedly very popular, but I do not know if that is something they have here. It will be interesting to see now that I have a better understanding of their traditional architecture.

I hope you are doing well and cannot wait to hear from you. 

Your loving sister, 
Anna