This is our second trip to Japan and it is quite different from the first. This time we know where we are going and what to expect at the various places.
The cherry trees are not in bloom yet but we know that they will not take long to flower. The buds are already there and the cold is almost gone. In fact, today is the first day of spring.
it is difficult to be in a country where you don’t understand the language. But fortunately many of the signs are written in English. However much you may know about a culture theoretically there is always a point where the everyday experience counts. Visually one is at home because the outer appearance of things is so European but behind that there is a way of thinking that is not.
The National Museum was a wonderful experience and the new exhibits were interesting. It is very tempting to see the temples but one can’t see everything. The best is to plan and see only that which interests you. But in all the sight-seeing and admiration of man-made beauty the happy note is when one catches the beauty of Nature.
Outside the Museum we saw a little yellow bird sucking the honey from the first plum blossoms. I can not say which I found more fascinating, the larger than life bronze statues and the exquisite paintings on silk or that little yellow bird.
