Kugami again

Why shouldn't I go home
To my mountain hut
Treading along the cedar path
Growing thick on Mt. Kugami?

-Ryokan

At 6 am this Monday I'll again board a plane for Japan and stay there for three weeks. I'm flying into and out of Narita airport near Tokyo. Beyond that not much is clear. Public transportation is so convenient that not much needs to be arranged in advance. Airports, train stations, subways, buses, taxis ... they're all interconnected and uniform.

In deciding whether to travel again this year, I played over and over again in my mind the experience of out-of-the-way places. When I think of Bunsui, the little town at the foot of Kugami yama, I have a warm feeling that words cannot capture. The thought of returning was irresistible.

At this time last year my concern was what it would be like to travel alone for an extended period. I had never done it. I cannot forget descending Kugami and walking for miles along the rice fields toward Bunsui ... so alone, and yet without the piercing loneliness I sometimes felt.

What will I find this year? Where will I go? Perhaps I should see temples in the Japanese Alps that I missed last time. My only known destination is Bunsui ... will it feel the same, or different? Will the rice shop owner greet me again and offer ocha?