Soba noodles and tempura

“Food is everything you are. It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It’s inseparable from those from the get-go.” Anthony Bourdain

Would it surprise you to know that I cried almost every time I ate anything during my first week in Japan?  Returning for the first time in 55 years, I thought I might feel connected to places, the site of a beautiful temple or garden, or even riding in the bullet train.

Those experiences were somewhat nostalgic but not the overwhelming feeling of coming home that I experienced the first time I lifted soba noodles with my chopsticks, dipped them into the Tsuyu (soy-sauce and dashi-based dipping sauce) and took my first bite of the cold, slightly salty noodles. The feeling of holding back my tears continued as I tasted a piece of perfectly battered sweet potato tempura and then a crispy piece of shrimp tempura.

Rocky and I chose a small soba restaurant near the Asakusa neighborhood that we were exploring on our first day in Tokyo. Determined to avoid any tourist spots with English menus, we ducked into this cute, but slightly intimidating, little restaurant filled with locals.

I hoped that my limited Japanese would allow me to read the menu and be able to order without embarrassing myself too much. After placing the order, I laughed to myself, wondering what the waitress would actually bring us? It had been a long time since I had relied on Japanese to order lunch! When our meals arrived and they looked like what I thought I ordered, I was so relieved.

Taiyaki with sweet red beans

We spent the next couple of days exploring some great neighborhoods in Tokyo. No matter where we went, the food was delicious but the most memorable bites for me were the foods that instantly connected me to my childhood. My first bites of Taiyaki, a fish-shaped waffle-like cake filled with sweet red bean paste, and Dorayaki, a pancake sandwich also filled with sweet azuki bean paste were heaven. Even the onigiri (rice balls), we bought at the 7-11 were yummy! (I could write another whole blog post on the elevated food options at the Japanese 7-11s! These are not the Slurpee and junk food 7-11s of the U.S.)

After a couple of days on our own, we flew to Fukuoka, on the southern island of Kyushu, to visit our friends Kazuyo and Erick who we’ve known since our boys and their son Grant, were in third grade. Kazuyo is Japanese and Eric works for a Japanese company. They moved to Japan from the Pacific Northwest right before we moved to Spain.

When we arrived, they whisked us off on an unforgettable adventure for the senses. No longer concerned with the language issues, we felt spoiled and thoroughly entertained. They took us to some of their favorite neighborhood bars and restaurants where we enjoyed the freshest sashimi, deep fried ginger (an instant favorite), rice with crab, marinated squid, okonomiyaki, miso soup, sake and so much more.

They even took us on a road trip to Takachiho, a town in southwest Japan known for Takachiho Gorge, Amanoiwato Shrine, and the Takachiho Shrine. Surrounded by trees, Takachiho Shrine dates back over 1000 years. The hikes we took in both the gorge along the river and to the shrines were incredible.

We stayed in a boutique hotel in Takachiho called Kamigakure which featured an ofuro (large hot bath) both inside our bathroom and outside on a private patio. They also offered a cold plunge tub and sauna in the private outdoor garden space.

Ofuro tub from my early days

Ofuro and onsen (natural hot spring tubs) have a long history in Japan. Growing up in Japan, we had a large wooden tub in our home that was filled with hot water just for soaking. Following the Japanese custom, we would sit on a short wooden stool outside of the tub to scrub ourselves clean before getting into the hot bath. The same water would be used multiple times by all family members, much as we think of using a hot tub in the West, but without bathing suits.

As I sat on the little stool, now as an adult, washing myself before entering the ofuro, I was transported back in time to when I was a little girl. I remembered my mom carefully washing and rinsing my back before I got into our family ofuro. Soaking and relaxing in the hot bath the first night in the ryokan connected me to my early years almost as quickly as my first bite of soba.

Japan is home to many volcanoes, which is why there are more than 20,000 onsen (natural hot spring) facilities in the country. The following week, when we welcomed our guests and began our Yoga & Hot Springs Retreat, we stayed in Bessho onsen and Kiso, both areas of the Kiso Valley known for their onsens.

Just as with the ofuros, guests of the ryokans that have onsen are instructed to sit on little stools and scrub themselves down from head to toe before entering the hot baths. The communal onsen are separated by gender and have both an area for keeping your yukata robe (provided by the hotel) and towel, and an area for scrubbing. They usually offer several baths with different temperatures which are located indoors and/or outdoors.

While guests soaking in the onsen are naked, any feeling of shyness or vulnerability evaporates quickly when you sink into the healing waters. Sharing time with others in the onsen can be silent and meditative or a time for quiet and meaningful conversation.

I will never forget the feeling of sitting in the onsen outdoors in the Kazari ryokan in Kiso. The onsen tubs were bordered by beautiful pink cherry blossom trees and the woods beyond. The deep relaxation I felt when I sank into the hot mineral-filled water, the contrasting feeling of coolness from the evening air on my face and the absolute beauty of the trees filled with cherry blossoms was absolutely transformative. I closed my eyes for a few minutes, trying to imprint the entire sensory experience so that I could return to it in my imagination again and again.

Onsen at Kazeri ryokan (photo: Eleanor Clarkson)

There were so many inspiring moments during our time in Japan that I will continue to contemplate but there’s one more that I want to share with you right now. While we were staying in the town of Bessho onsen, we were invited by a monk and his wife to practice yoga in the Buddhist temple.

Every morning, we would get up early and take a short hike from the ryokan to the temple. Walking through the village, I felt as though I had stepped back in time. The homes, the tile roofs and the path reminded me of a long-ago Kyoto where I lived as a child.

When we arrived at the temple, we removed our shoes and bowed before entering, to show respect. We were taken to a room with tatami (traditionally made of woven straw) flooring and shoji (white paper screen) doors. The doors were left open with a view of a beautiful temple garden. The feeling of peace and reverence was palpable even before we began our practice.

During the class, the bird song was so evocative that several of our guests asked me afterwards what soundtrack I was playing! Later, we discovered that we were hearing Japanese Bush Warblers which none of us had heard before.

On our third and final morning in the temple, we were surprised by a visit from a visiting Buddhist monk who was passing through the area. Not knowing we were doing yoga in the adjacent room, he entered the altar room, sat on a meditation cushion, and started chanting loudly. His mantras were so stirring that I immediately felt the need to be silent. It seemed like even the bush warblers stopped singing.

I continued to lead the class as quietly as I could, all of us grinning at each other out of amazement that we were in a Buddhist temple in a small village in Japan, practicing yoga and being blessed by a monk chanting.

There is a Japanese phrase, ichi-go ichi-e which literally translates to “one time, one meeting.” This phrase speaks to the concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment. The term reminds people to cherish any gathering that they may take part in, citing the fact that any moment in life cannot be repeated exactly. Even when the same group of people gather in the same place again, a particular gathering will never be replicated, and therefore is always a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

While I will never be able to repeat that moment in time, I will cherish it forever. I also know that I will be flooded with memories of those days if I ever hear a Japanese Bush Warbler singing again, or a monk chanting, just as I was transported back in time with the first bites of my favorite childhood foods.

Yoga in the Joraku-ji temple

These food and sensory connections are certainly not specific to traveling in Japan. In fact, no matter where we travel, we find foods and experiences that delight us and help us understand just a little bit more about the world and ourselves.

In Italy earlier this month, we happily “researched” gelato…every day. We also introduced our guests to one of our favorite pastas: assassina, aka Killer pasta. Not everyone is going to love what you love, though. One of our guests said her mom was a terrible cook and always burned the pasta. Pasta Assassina reminded her of her mom’s pasta with its characteristic burnt, crunchy bits.

That’s why you have to make your own memories, food or otherwise. Take a big bite out of life. As the Italians say, “Vivere alla grande.” Live large! Eat life with a big spoon and don’t put it off for later. Be intentional and involve all of your senses.

As poet Mary Oliver taught, “Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

Notes from the author: We are already planning our return to Japan, likely in the spring of 2026.  We will keep some of the things we loved about the first retreat but also offer some things we didn’t get to do this year. If you would like to be on a list of people interested in this type of retreat, please let me know. We will not be taking any deposits until we have dates, places and pricing determined. This is just a preliminary interest list.

In the meantime, consider joining us for another sensory feast…this time a South Africa safari and Cape Town retreat in September of 2025. We currently have one double occupancy room, one single occupancy room and one person looking for a roommate. Tell me more!