December 17, 2014　=========
☆ beauty　美しさ
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The other day at a BBQ (Yes! Another one, this is BBQ season for us in Australia!) I met a woman who was an artist and in love with Japan. She has visited many times, and has a friend in Kobe, but she has never stayed more than a few weeks. She said her and her husband have got “living in Japan” on their bucket list and they are planning when and how they can make their goal come true.
I was interested to know what attracted her to Japan and she said that it was the beauty of Japan; the beauty of the culture, of the historical places and of course the people. I told her I agreed completely, Japan has such beauty everywhere, the cherry blossoms, the autumn colors and all the old shrines and temples co-existing with the modern day architecture. I love it!
One thing I noticed though, after returning to live in Australia is the beauty of Australia! Because I grew up here, all the beauty surrounding me was just natural – I didn’t appreciate the beauty of the beaches, of the jacarandas, of the old brick buildings and so on, until I returned from living in Japan. Appreciating the beauty of Japan has really helped me appreciate the beauty in Australia too. 🙂
Where do you think Japan’s beauty lies? Does it lie in the culture? The customs? The people? All of this and more?
Bye,
Chris