After Traveling to Seventy Countries, I Finally Wanted to Travel Around Japan

Today, a client came to see me from Yamagata.

She had attended a workshop I held in Sendai about three years ago.

As we talked, I remembered the time my wife and I stayed in Yamagata.

We had traveled to the Tohoku region for the workshop in Sendai and spent one night there.

The food was delicious.

The hot springs were wonderful.

It was only one night, but I still have fond memories of Yamagata.

We spent some time talking about those days.

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After the session, she seemed pleased with the changes she felt.

As she was leaving, she said,

“I’ll keep trying.”

Without thinking, I replied,

“Please don’t.”

Then I added,

“It’s all right to take it easy. People in the rest of the world are much more relaxed about things.”

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Many Japanese people are already trying hard enough.

And yet they keep trying harder.

Their bodies are tired.

Their breathing has become shallow.

Pain has begun to appear somewhere.

Still, they say,

“I’ll keep trying.”

I cannot tell someone whose body has been worn down by all that effort to try even harder.

What they need is to release some of that effort.

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I once lived in Mexico.

While traveling through Latin America, I often felt a completely different sense of time.

People were much more relaxed about schedules and plans.

By Japanese standards, they sometimes seemed rather casual.

There were moments when I thought,

“Perhaps they could try a little harder.”

But many Japanese people need to hear the opposite.

You have already tried hard enough.

It is all right to be a little less serious.

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I have traveled to more than seventy countries.

I used to find great joy in going abroad and encountering things I had never seen before.

Walking through an unfamiliar city.

Hearing a language I had never heard.

Eating something I had never tasted.

Talking with people who lived there.

I danced tango in many countries and made friends around the world.

I was able to visit almost every place I had once wanted to see.

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Recently, however, what I want from travel has begun to change.

Simply going somewhere far away no longer holds the same value for me.

Instead, I want to travel slowly through Japan.

Eat what belongs to that particular place.

Soak in a hot spring with water flowing directly from its source.

Return to my room and do nothing.

For me now, that feels like a great luxury.

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My work has also become my highest priority.

It may sound strange, but I am happiest when I am doing bodywork or teaching at a workshop.

Sometimes the hours I spend working feel more fulfilling than my leisure time.

I observe someone’s body and consider what may be happening within it.

I listen to a student’s question and search for an answer together.

In those moments, I still feel that I am encountering something unknown.

Perhaps it is similar to what I once felt while traveling abroad.

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Another great source of joy is tango.

I engage my core, listen to the music, and dance one song with another person.

When I dance with my whole body, I do not think about anything unnecessary.

Doing bodywork.

Teaching.

Dancing tango.

These are the three things that matter most to me now.

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Of course, as I grow older, my interests and priorities may change again.

I may not always care about the things I love now in the same way.

That is also something to look forward to.

For the time being, I want to continue my work while traveling through Japan.

Eat what each place has to offer.

Soak in its hot springs.

Then return to my sessions and workshops.

After traveling so far, the places I want to visit have moved a little closer.

After seventy countries, I finally want to travel around Japan.