late last summer my girlfriend and i had made plans to get out of the sweltering, treeless urbanity of osaka and visit a country inn in mie prefecture, which she sought out and booked. a week before the planned excursion we broke up, but decided to go anyways, not only because we still liked each other despite the change in official status, but also, and i suspect primarily, because the prospect of abandoning the long anticipated escape from osaka's oppressive concrete was just too disappointing.
she was honest, unpretentious and naturally beautiful. having ceased to consider ourselves a couple actually made it easier for us to joke at each other's expense and engage in humorous sparring that had never passed between us previously, but the feeling that we were only pretending something hadn't ended also imparted a soft bittersweetness that haunted the edges of our sparkling moments.
the inn was situated on a rural island off the coast, accessible only by boat. we traveled as far as the coast by train, passing beyond the suburbs of osaka and into a mountainous wilderness regularly interrupted by picturesque tile roofed villages and rice fields. i tried to imagine life in each place as they passed beyond view; envisioning successions of unhurried afternoons, earthy smells, birdsong, abundant tree shade.... my thoughts wandered far from the sweat and concrete grittiness of the city we had left behind, but what i imagined was mostly fantasy no doubt, a picturesque cliche never involving boredom or blaring televisions.
after a short ocean crossing in a boat loaded with produce and other people bound for leisure we were met at the landing by a woman displaying a purple flag with the name of the inn embroidered on it. the woman was aloof and quite curt with us, her good nature possibly disturbed by the unexpected appearance of an towering foreigner and a korean when she'd likely been expecting a nice japanese couple, but she was very kind towards us the next day. the red carpeted lobby featured delightful muzak, a soft, tinkling, nostalgic music of bells, or maybe some keyboard approximation thereof, creating (for me at least) an atmosphere of contentment and stirring vague childhood remembrances of happy moments that had forever receded into the gauzy, rose colored past. the effect was cozy and a sense of perfect well being settled on me as i considered that relaxation and the enjoyment of refined sensuality were the only tasks of the immediate future.
if you've never had a japanese country inn experience the basic premise is this: a spacious traditional japanese room (straw mat flooring, sliding doors, ect.) and a nice view. the staff prepare a luxurious evening meal and a respectable breakfast which are served in the room. also there are open air hot baths and various other amenities depending on circumstances. our view was very nice, overlooking a verdantly forested hill and the ocean; the air was cool and clean, filled with the sound of breaking surf and forest insects. after briefly settling our bags and resting for a short while, we went down to the ocean and i swam (she never learned). there was a group of school children camping under the supervision of teachers on the beach, which seemed perfect for swimming, but unpleasantly windy for camping. a square wooden platform floating not far out at one point was surmounted by three naked boys belting out some ridiculous song, arms over shoulders chorus line style, hips gyrating to swing penises in a circular arc. they laughed irreverently and fell sideways into the water after the display, and my girlfriend commented only country folk are uninhibited enough to do such things. darkness fell and we set of fireworks on the sand, saving a few choice items as parting gifts for the children.
returning to the inn we soaked in the open air bath, she ridiculously covering her body from my sight with a towel on account of our official status while i made great light of her pointless but determined modesty. afterwards we put on light summer robes provided by the inn and settled into the room in expectation of our delivered meal, without a doubt the most opulent i've ever experienced. there were about 25 different items, each served in a separate dish. mostly the food was exceptionally fresh seafood and local specialties, various sashimi and grilled shellfish, fresh seaweed and seasoned rice, smoked fish eggs and deliciously pickled vegetables, subtle tofu and mildly sweet pudding, all truly decadent and perfectly matched to the cool sake we repeatedly dialed down to request more of. while bringing the meal, the staff asked if we'd like to see the "sea fireflies" later on in the evening. curious, we accepted the invitation and were instructed to be in the lobby at a prescribed hour.
when the hour arrived only a few other guests had gathered, all young people dressed in summer robes like ourselves. the inn was mostly empty that evening and the staff seemed happy to have such a small group to chaperone. we piled into a van and a young brother / sister pair took us on a brief tour of the island, pointing out a scenic harbor and enjoining us to momentarily enjoy the cool evening breeze passing refreshingly over a certain bridge (a pleasure all the guests enjoyed in contented silence). we were taken to another harbor and led onto the deck of a shrimp cultivation ship (a low, flat ship with a shallow, closed hull and hatches all across the top of it). i expected we would soon set out to sea in this vessel, but instead the young guy threw open a hatch and we saw the water inside was filled with some sort of visually electric plankton, sparkling to a brilliant 3 dimensional effect. everyone crouched down around the open hatches and gazed childlike into the glittering blackness of the water, something very much like staring into the farthest depths of a brilliantly starry night sky, except the "stars" weren't constant, they were flaring into existence and extinguishing rapidly, creating a dazzling, psychedelic shimmer. the brother thrust a pole in and stirred the water around, leaving behind a sparkling trail of light to a chorus of amazed sighs and soft exclamations of "sugoi!" (amazing!). the sister apologized because evidently the effect was fairly weak that night, but it was still very beautiful and created an atmosphere of magic and mystery. then she told how at certain times the entire harbor sparkles like this and continued with various anecdotes of coastal country life, relating how some miscreant had stolen most of the shrimp from this boat earlier in the summer. i could have stayed there for a very long time staring entranced into the infinite hull, but we eventually closed up and returned to the inn, intoxicated by the surprising resplendence of nature revealing her secret beauties.
that evening we pretended briefly that we would sleep in separate futons before dozing off together reflecting back on an unconditionally delightful day.
the next morning after a hearty breakfast of grilled fish, rice, eggs, miso soup, and pickled vegetables we returned to the mainland and made our way back to osaka on the train, passing in reverse through the previous day's villages and towns, holding hands discreetly and content in the success of our shared getaway. we said nothing of the future at the grimy train station where we parted.