Naomi Weisman is a Canadian-Australian and mother of three who loves to Ramble with her dog, cook for family and friends, and laugh whenever possible.
Beyond the Itinerary are stories from the places we’re going — and the things that stay with us. Sole Sister travel adventures take care of the itinerary. The things that happen beyond it are up to all of us.
What if an entire country decided to stop what it was doing and go outside to look at the flowers?
Japan holds a very special place in my heart.
I lived there for two years, in 1990 and 1991, when I was much younger, and the world seemed to be changing almost daily. The Soviet Union was collapsing, there was turmoil in the Middle East, and the news from elsewhere often felt unsettling.
And yet my life in Japan felt wonderfully quiet and safe.
I was fascinated by so much of what I saw around me, but one of the things that stayed with me was the respect people seemed to have for one another and for the natural world. There was a peacefulness to everyday life that felt very different from anything I had known before.
When I wasn't working, I Rambled.
I Rambled through parks and gardens, stopping to watch gorgeous koi gliding through ponds. I visited shrines surrounded by flowers and carefully tended landscapes. I walked simply to see what I would find.
And then came the cherry blossoms.
When the Blossoms Arrived
Until I lived in Japan, I don't think I fully understood how eagerly people could anticipate the arrival of a flower.
Every spring, the cherry blossoms—or sakura—appear across Japan, and people make time to enjoy them. Families, friends, and colleagues gather beneath the trees to eat, drink, talk, and simply look at the blossoms.
There is a word for this: hanami, which literally means “flower viewing.”
At first, I was struck by the spectacle of it. How could you not be? When the trees bloom, entire parks and streets are transformed by clouds of pink and white.
But living there, I began to understand that the beauty of the blossoms wasn't the whole point. It was also that they wouldn't last.
The flowers arrive, reach their peak, and then begin to fall, sometimes within a very short period. People know this, of course. In fact, that's part of why they pay such close attention while they're there.
Back then, surrounded by people who seemed to understand this instinctively, I found myself falling in love with that idea too.
More than 35 years later, I still think about it.
The Art of Paying Attention
There is a Japanese idea often associated with the blossoms called mono no aware. There isn't a perfect English translation, but it speaks to an awareness that things are temporary, and to the feeling that comes with knowing a beautiful moment won't last forever.
In my 20s, I probably understood that very differently than I do now.
Back then, I had so much life ahead of me that two years in Japan felt like one adventure among many. I don't remember thinking very much about how quickly anything was passing.
Midlife has a way of changing that.
Children grow up. Parents age. Careers change or end. Homes that once suited us perfectly no longer do. Relationships evolve. Chapters close, often while new ones are beginning.
Maybe that's why the idea behind hanami resonates with me even more now than it did when I lived there.
The blossoms aren't less beautiful because they fall. Their fleetingness is part of what makes us stop and look.
A Country That Notices the Seasons
One of the things that fascinated me when I lived in Japan was how present nature was, even in cities.
Gardens weren't simply decorative. A carefully placed rock, a pond, a flowering tree, or the changing colour of leaves could invite you to stop for a moment and notice.
I did a lot of noticing in those two years.
Perhaps that's partly because I was young and living somewhere so different from home. Everything was interesting to me. I had nowhere I particularly needed to be on my days off, so I walked.
I suspect some of my happiest memories of Japan came from those days when I had no plan at all.
And now, more than three decades later, a group of Sole Sisters is getting ready to discover Japan during that same extraordinary season.
I love knowing that they will soon be experiencing a country that means so much to me.
Their Turn to Wander
This Ramble will take the Sole Sisters through Japan during blossom season, but the blossoms are only part of what they'll experience.
They'll wander the historic streets of Hagi, once an important samurai town, and cycle through rural villages and countryside. In Kyoto, they'll explore temples, shrines and traditional neighbourhoods, including those famous rows of crimson torii gates.
There is Hakone, with its gardens, mountain scenery and hot springs. Miyajima Island. And Hiroshima, where the group will encounter a much more difficult part of Japan's history and the remarkable city that emerged from it.
Then there is Tokyo.
The Tokyo they'll discover will undoubtedly be very different from the city I knew in the early 90s. That's part of what makes me curious to hear their stories when they return.
I have my Japan.
They'll come home with theirs.
Beyond the Itinerary
More than anything, I hope the Sole Sisters travelling on this Ramble get a chance to experience some of the Japan I remember.
Not simply the temples, gardens and cherry blossoms, beautiful as they are, but the quieter things. The care given to a garden. The peacefulness of a shrine. The respect for nature and for the people around you. The attention paid to the changing seasons and to small moments of beauty that might easily be overlooked.
I hope they wander a little.
I hope they find themselves somewhere that wasn't necessarily the reason they came to Japan and discover that it becomes one of their favourite memories. I hope they notice the details, experience the kindness and courtesy that made such an impression on me, and get a glimpse of the reverence for nature that I came to love while living there.
And when the cherry blossoms appear, I hope they understand a little of what captivated me all those years ago. Not simply that the blossoms are extraordinarily beautiful, but that everyone knows they won't be there for long—and makes time to appreciate them while they are.
Perhaps that's what I most hope they bring home from Japan: not simply memories of everything they saw, but a little of that instinct to slow down, look around, and appreciate what is right in front of them.
Because sometimes the most memorable part of travelling somewhere new is discovering a different way of looking at the world.
Come Ramble With Us
Sole Sister Ramblers is heading to Japan during one of the most beautiful times of year.
The group will explore historic towns and modern cities, walk and cycle, visit temples and gardens, soak in hot springs, experience Hiroshima and Miyajima, eat their way through Tokyo and, if Mother Nature cooperates, see Japan dressed in pink.
And when they finally find themselves standing beneath those blossoms, I hope they'll do something I first learned to do in Japan more than 35 years ago.
Take the time to notice.
Learn More > Sole Sister Travel Adventures
Read More > Beyond the Itinerary
Leave a comment