Strawberry fields forever

Strawberry fields forever (adapted from the Beatles) One day in my garden it all started. I was drawn in by a beautiful wild strawberry. It was full and round and red, the seeds dotted all over the fruit. I took on my hands and the story started to unravel. Across time and space, I traveled into strawberry land, the land of eternal summer. My hosts took me to their home. We had dinner on the terrace of their house and watched the sun going down. A deep red glow in the sky blowing away the last rainclouds. The next morning, I woke up at blue hour and took a walk in the neighbourhood. From here, I could catch a first glimpse on Mount Fuji rising over the plains. It was magic. No wonder people take it as a religious experience to climb that mountain. A song came into my mind “every time she closed her eyes...she…dreamed of paradise, paradise, paradise….” Paradise lost and found? The day continued moving into plain light and my hosts took me for a swim in beautiful Tanuki lake, situated idyllically at the foot of Mount Fuji. I immersed in the reflections of nature and mankind on the surface of the shiny lake. I focused my meditation on a lonely leaf floating on the water. For lunch, we ignited a fire and enjoyed a barbecue feast. Then we marched on to the Shiraito waterfalls that shimmered beautifully in the evening light. For me, it was as if rose wine was tipping over the rocks into a small lake. At night, friends came over for a house-warming party and we celebrated being together all night long. After a day of rest, our city adventure started. We took train and then subway to city center of Tokyo. Steel constructions greeted us, still sweating from an overheated, overfull subway ride. We walked around a lot of headless, stressed individuals that to me merged into a huge homogeneous crowd. After sightseeing, we went to a park to view the sunset over the city. Hungry from watching, we then had a vegetarian stir fry in a small place nearby. When we came out of the diner, a blue half moon was rising over steel city. A glance on it and then on we went to explore the dance floors of the town. We enjoyed some light and dance shows, especially the solo show from a famous local. Then the fog from the fog machine set in, shortsightening us for the moment. Dancing until exhaustion made us feel the holy gral of town…. Deep at night, we found our way back. The day after, I woke up, my vision blurred. I needed some sour drink to recover from a serious dance-over. We all rested for the day at the beach and looked out into the sea, watching boats sailing by. In the evening, after a spectacular sunset over Mt Fuji, we watched TV, completely drawn in by a thrilling movie called “Citizen Kane”. One day, my hosts took me to the Great Barrier Reef along the near the coast of the country. Here, I tried my first ever snorkeling. Orange corals were growing in abundance, in deep blue waters. Another day, we went deep sea diving and miraculous worlds opened up. I encountered squads of bellyfish, some beautiful examples, I must say. My last day in strawberry land, we spent at an alpine mountain range, hiking, picknicking and watching sunset and moonrise. Before leaving the next day, I took a photo of my host family and – as is the tradition in this country - they gave me presents to take home. When I travelling back to my country I took home many good memories.