Sitting half asleep on a hot stuffy bus. Watching the sun glisten playfully on the turquoise plane of the Japanese sea. Otherwise the landscape is bland – isolating noise reduction shields around the highway. And then suddenly, I see it. The familiar shape of mountains in the distance. The eye rests on every beloved crease and rise. I am home. For many Niigata associates with food or sake or other bodily pleasures. For me, it is one thing only – Nature. In coming to Niigata I found the love of my life, the thing that keeps me here in this country despite everything. The lazy roll of old mountains, raising … Continue reading I am home.