Top 2 Great Weather Days (Notes from Under the Tatami Mats–75 … My Adventures in Japan)

The quiet rain was pleasant, indescribably restful, and becalming.

Golden tunnels

Each fall, the leaves of the zelkova trees lining my walk into town would turn a flaming yellow, creating a bright golden tunnel overhead. Soon, those leaves would start falling, creating a golden carpet underfoot.

It was truly beautiful, even on cloudy days. In fact, on those otherwise gloomy fall days, the scenery was even more gorgeous.    _{(Image source)}

Spring rain, summer rain, sublime rain

I’m not sure what makes a day of quiet rain so pleasant, but such days are always indescribably restful and becalming. 

And I’m not sure if I’ve ever experienced what the Japanese call "furyu.”  However, I believe furyu  might be what we experience when we sit on tatami mats inside a traditional Japanese room on a warm, rainy day, with the sliding doors opening onto the tiny garden right outside the door.

Outside, a light rain falls gently through the trees and bushes, trickles softly over the eaves and over the small, moss-covered stone monuments, and then drips quietly onto the leaves and twigs scattered randomly on the ground. 

Such an experience is sublime … or maybe it's furyu.*      _{(Image source)} * Furyu – An ineffable sense of beauty that can be felt, but never seen or described. It hints at an ephemeral beauty that can be experienced only in the actual moment.   

   Introduction to – “Notes from Under the Tatami Mats”  _{(right-click on title)}

Top 3 Camps

Top 4 Onsen (Hot Springs)

Top 4 Sento, aka Public Baths

... and more

Links to my Other Series …

      Introduction – "Intro to Vocab-ability"   _{(right-click on title)}
      Guide – "Guide to Entries"   _{(right-click on title)}
      Index– "Index" to all Chapters and Sections   _{(right-click on title)}

      Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 1"   _{(right-click on title)}
      Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 2"   _{(right-click on title)
Images sourced from Google Images, unless otherwise indicated or unless my own.}