Our summer vacation
Mariko Tagami
It's already the last day of July.
The kids are in the middle of summer vacation.
My family went on a week-long trip last week and we had a hot, intense time that truly felt like summer vacation.
After the art exhibition that concluded the spring and summer season on Kagetsubi, we leisurely headed to a guesthouse run by the Oak family, who are familiar faces on Utsushiki and live on Shodoshima Island.
The Utsushiki YouTube channel has been a hot topic for their primitive tent living, and we rushed over to celebrate the pre-opening of the cafe and lodging that they have built over the course of two years.
The cafe and inn were truly wonderful, allowing you to feel the nature of Shodoshima with your whole body, including the sea, mountains, wind, and sky, and the Goemon bath with a panoramic view of the ocean, all of which were carefully designed by the inn's owners, Hiro and Ayaka.
Meanwhile, there were still tents remaining at the back of the inn, and memories of the two years leading up to the pre-opening were there.
By standing there, I was able to understand not only the harsh conditions that I would not have been able to experience if I had not actually been there, but also the struggles and joys of everyday life that these people experienced.
Once again, I am filled with gratitude for being here.
Even though they have built the inn, their lives with only the bare necessities give me a lot to think about and I still can't find the answers, but this has given them an opportunity to reassess what is necessary and what is not in their lives, and I can't help but admire the strength of Hiro and Ayaka as they face these issues one by one.
Growing up in this environment, Yoh-chan (4) and Yasei (2) add even more color to the life of the Touto family.
My son had many valuable experiences with the two of them, playing tag and running around, swimming in the beach, watching fireworks, and camping in a tent for the first time.
As a parent, I was able to see a new side of my son that I don't usually see, and it made me happy, but also made me regret the way I'd raised him up until now...
No, no, I think they are all the best ways to raise their children.
For us, the summer vacation was full of realizations.
The day after we returned from our trip, I saw my son, who looked a little stronger and more energetic, wiping his sweat with a white towel and clad only in his underwear, and I thought to myself that my son must have picked up on that realization.
Being in an extraordinary environment for a whole week makes your everyday life feel like a completely different world, and it can be a little scary.
But then I looked at the calendar
7/31 The words "Utsushiki Blog Duty" appear.
I realized that this was where my daily life was, and it felt like a relief.
Starting today, I'm going to slowly get back into the rhythm of my daily life.
Mariko Tagami
