Saturday was my day out in the countryside – back to nature! It started with some voluntary work playing games and barbequing. After this hard work! what better way to unwind than take a walk up the Tama River. After that, how about a spot of bouldering to round off the day?
The morning and half of the afternoon was taken up with volunteer work. This was my reason for being out here in the first place. It was an enjoyable and heart-warming experience – I’m really glad that I got this opportunity to give something back to the community.
By mid-afternoon my volunteering has been done and I had time on my hands. Everybody else was heading back into the city but I’d noticed a riverside trail signposted further up the river. I bid my goodbyes and set off.
I can tell that I’ve already survived one summer here in Tokyo. Last year I would have described it as a hot day, now I’ll just say that it was warm and sunny.
All morning I’d been seeing canoeists and rafters going by while I’d been busy having fun. It appeared that this part of the Tama River was a centre for water sports which meant that there should be some interesting white water up here. Indeed, while I was walking I saw white water rafting, canoeing, and even paddle boarding. That’s something I’ve only seen on the sea before, and I can’t help but think that it’s the most dangerous way to attempt the river. There you are, standing up on a board, waiting to throw yourself head first into some poor unsuspecting rock. At least they were wearing helmets – so that’s okay then!
Those who know me well will know that I come from a walking family. My parents still go out for 30 plus km walks. While I might not have appreciated this as a child, okay I hated walking, I grew to love it as an adult. Something about walking with my girlfriend seemed more appealing than walking with my parents. Sorry mum and dad!
Living in a mega city means that walks have to be planned more carefully. I haven’t done enough with the children since we arrived here. I’m doing something wrong, that’s for sure: They still love going!
When they stop enjoying it then I’ll know that I’ve done enough.
It has been a while since I’ve been out of the city, and the water looked so inviting. I loved just walking beside it. I hadn’t brought my camera so I had to rely on my phone, something I must rectify the next time I come out this way. Even though I didn’t have much time, I could take my time as I didn’t have a set goal to reach.
I have been a follower of Shinrin Yoku all my life – I just didn’t know it
Walking and natural are in my DNA. This was further enhanced after my time Canada and then again in Sweden. Here we lived in the countryside: never far from a forest, a river, a lake, or the sea.
There is a body of research being done now into the positive effects of nature on us humans. It was my brother who pointed this out to me. Shinrin Yoku is the act of heading out into the forest, moving slowly, and soaking up nature. It started in Japan and is really an extended example of mindfulness. It has become a topic for health research. I expected the benefits to be purely down to the relaxing effect of being in nature, but it appears to go much further than this. I will let you decide for yourself – I’ve included a link at the bottom of this post.
At one point I came across I rock on an island in the middle of the river. To get to in meant crossing over a small wooden bridge – no more than two planks of wood. This was something I had to explore. A moment later I sat atop of my rock – basking in the sun. Life can’t really get much better than this. I spent time soaking up the atmosphere, the sound of the water gurgling its way down the river before I decided that my adventure for the day was coming to a close.
I’ve since found out from a colleague that the rock, my rock, has a name. So I guess it’s not really my rock after all!
As I left the river the afternoon was drawing to a close and evening was beginning to set in. I had one last look at a signpost pointing to “Mount Mitake” – only 5km away. Mount Mitake was my family’s favourite walk so far. With this river walk I may just have found something to top it with!
(All photographs used in this article are mine and I retain the copyright to them all)
The link I promised: Shinrin Yoku information
Link
Learning Till I Die 
There’s a study just out from the University of Derby (fellow blogger Miles Richardson about forest bathing and both how and why it can influence us on an emotional and physical level. It even uses a three circles analysis. https://findingnature.org.uk/2017/07/12/how-forest-bathing-keeps-us-well/
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Thank you for the link – I will check it out.
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