Sakura Season

Journal entry — April, Kyoto & beyond

桜の季節 — sakura no kisetsu.

The season of cherry blossoms.

I wandered the Philosopher’s Path one morning, before the crowds came. Petals were already falling, drifting into the canal like pale confetti. There’s a silence here that doesn’t feel empty — only present. The kind of silence that lets you listen inward.

At a quiet corner near Ginkaku-ji, I found it — the perfect ceramic chawan (茶碗). Earthy glaze, just the right weight in my palms. I had no plan to buy anything that day, but the bowl felt like it had been waiting. Objects, like places, sometimes choose us.

After, I biked through the outskirts of Kyoto, along narrow lanes and sleepy riverbanks. The rhythm of pedaling, the scent of earth, the shadows of blossoms overhead — everything slowed.

I found a soba shop just outside of Arashiyama, tucked between two cypress trees. One elderly woman ran the whole place. I ate quietly. Cold soba, green onions, dipping sauce with just a trace of yuzu. No photos. Just steam and silence.

Outside of Kyoto, Japan changes. It opens in quieter ways. You don’t need a destination. You follow the scent of incense from a temple. A lantern flickering at dusk. A potter shaping clay by hand.

Sakura reminded me: not all beauty is meant to be held. Some is meant to be felt — and then released.

道の途中 — michi no tochuu.

Still on the path.