By
Dora Machado
Mount Fuji at Sunset
We landed in Japan during a fiery sunset that promised beauty, adventure, challenge and reward. We were not disappointed. Traveling has always been a fundamental source of
inspiration for my stories and my trip to Japan was no exception. It was an unforgettable experience, a journey that I will always treasure personally and professionally.
The journey lasted seventeen days and it took us to
Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Kinosaki and Hakone-en at the foot of Mount
Fuji. It's not easy to summarize my experiences in a single post, but here are five ways in which the trip was especially valuable to me as a writer and, of course, lots of pictures.
1. From the moment we set foot in Tokyo, I was
struck by how gracious the Japanese people are. The majority of the people
I met in Japan were poised, dignified and polite. I enjoyed the sense of
propriety that permeated each contact. The contrast between the modern and the
traditional was vivid, common and intense. I have a feeling that my character
development skills will benefit greatly from my exposure to the Japanese people.
Geishas in Kyoto
Shoppers in Tokyo
Tokyo's modern landscape, including the famous Sky Tree
Osaka's modern landscape
2. Japan was a huge discovery session to my
palate, so many new flavors, so many interesting tastes! Tokyo is full of
amazing restaurants. I tried many new foods while I traveled throughout Japan.
I made an effort to taste regional and national delicacies and had some amazing
meals in the process. Yes, sure, I did have to stretch my comfort zone a few
times, but on the upside, my writer's taste bank has been duly expanded.
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Delicious dumplings in Tokyo
Out of this world Ramen, also in Tokyo
Awesome Yakitori, chicken skewers in Kyoto
Melt-in-your-mouth Kobe Beef
Amazing snow crab from coastal Kinosaki
Crunchy shrimp tempura in Kyoto
The best tuna Sushi in Tokyo
Out of my comfort zone: pregnant squid
Out of my comfort zone again
Takoyaki, octopus balls
Okonomiyaki, savory Japanese pancakes
Sake: Excellent liquid courage
3. My trip to Japan reminded
me that beauty is in the details. As I traveled through Japan's most famous
and majestic sites, I realized that these places were beautiful not only
because of their history, but also as composites of the striking level of detail.
I started to think of these amazing temples and stunning gardens as novels,
composed of chapters, paragraphs and sentences, enriched by the level of detail
that history and art add to masterful craftsmanship.
Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto.
The exquisite garden of the Shoren-in Buddhist temple in Kyoto
Prayer tablets at Meji-jingu, Tokyo's
grandest Shinto temple
Carps swimming in the pond of the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, also known as the Kinkaku/Rokuon-ji temple
The Sanmon, the largest surviving structure in Japan, is the gate to Chion-in Buddhist temple in Kyoto
The famous bamboo grove of Arashiyama
The balcony of the Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist temple, an impressive structure, rising on a hillside on huge timbers and offering gorgeous views of Kyoto
The Pagoda of the Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto
The cherry blossoms beginning to bloom at Tokyo's Hamarikyu Gardens
Every path was a work of art at the beautiful gardens of Okochi Sanso in Kyoto
The Buddhist Temple of Todai-ji in Nara was one of my favorites
The giant Buddha of Todai-ji in Nara
Kyoto's Golden Pavilion, also known as the Kinkaku/Rokuon-ji temple
Stunning!
4. My contact with
the Japanese culture also reminded me that even in a modern world, rituals,
small and big, are important parts of the human experience. Rituals have
always been an important part of my stories. In Japan, ritual is an active part
of many of the daily experiences. The very specific way in which an authentic
Japanese breakfast is served in a ryokan (the equivalent of a Japanese inn or a
bed and breakfast), the process of taking a bath in one of the many onsens (public
bathhouses), and the traditional tea ceremony are just some of the rituals I had
the opportunity to experience and appreciate while I was
there.
First Course of our meticulously served dinner at our Ryokan in Kinosaki
Tea and sweets during a beautiful afternoon in Tokyo's Hamarikyu Gardens
Detail of a Shinto Shrine in Tokyo
The town of Kinosaki has seven public baths or onsens
The sign of the Ichinoyu Onsen
5. I also learned
that efficiency is at the heart of a thriving society. Japan's public
transportation system was incredible. From buses, to metros, to local and
bullet trains, all of the cities I visited impressed me with easy-to-use, fast,
reliable and extremely punctual transportation. Now if only I could write with
the same speed and efficiency of a bullet train!
The Shinkansen, Japan's famous bullet trains
Inside view of the The Shinkansen, fast, clean and dependable.
During our last three days in Japan, we traveled to
Hakone-en, where we got snowed in at the foot of Mount Fuji by one of Japan's
worst blizzards in the last hundred years. With the roads closed and the snow
piled high, we had no choice but to stay put in our hotel and reschedule our
flight back to the United States. Very few guests populated the hotel, which is
really a summer destination, and since we couldn't get out of the front door,
there wasn't much to do. The experience of being trapped in the semi-deserted
resort may have been inconvenient—not to mention expensive. The experience of
writing non-stop with a stunning view of a snow covered Mount Fuji? Priceless.
Mount Fuji from our balcony.
Want to know more about our trip to Japan? Visit http://marianaonthemove.com/
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Dora Machado is
the award-winning author of the epic fantasy Stonewiser series and her newest
novel, The Curse Giver, available
from Twilight Times Books. She grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she
developed a fascination for writing and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime
of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to
her stories. She lives in Florida with her indulgent husband and three very
opinionated cats.
When she is not writing fiction, Dora also writes
features for Murder By Four, an award winning blog for people interested in
reading and writing, and Savvy Authors, where writers help writers.
To learn more about Dora
Machado and her novels, visit her website at www.doramachado.com or contact her at Dora@doramachado.com.
For a free excerpt of The Curse Giver, visit http://twilighttimesbooks.comthingsTheCurseGiver_ch1.html.
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