日

本
と
私

By: Natasa
Summary:
As a Malaysian who had never been to Japan, I had only experienced 4
types of seasons. Those are, the hot season, the very hot season, the rainy
season, and the durian season. We never had snow so naturally, I was very
curious of how real snowfall would be like. I then decided to visit Nagano, Japan
last January together with my siblings.
I booked a ryokan in a place called Yudanaka. There wasn’t a lot of snow
when we landed in Tokyo, but as soon as we arrived in Yudanaka, everything
was covered in snow. Since it was my first time seeing such a view, I was very
excited.
The next morning, we went to see the onsen-bathing monkeys at the
famous Jigokudani Monkey Park. To get there, we had to climb a mountain for
15 mins. During our walk, suddenly I noticed that snow had started to fall. With
beautiful tall trees on the background, the falling snow looked like magic. I
wondered if this was the most beautiful thing ever. I could never forget the
view. After seeing the monkeys, we went skiing and then bathed in our ryokan’s
onsen. It was a very fun day.
 From this experience, I recalled a haiku by Matsuo Bashou titled “A
Snowy Morning”. It can be roughly translated as:

“Ah! on the snowy morning,

We gaze even at horses.”

Usually, we take no notice of passing horses, but on a snowy morning, even

horses look particularly beautiful and attract our attention. In other words, all
things look beautiful in snow. I can totally relate with this haiku after
experiencing snow myself. I hope for Malaysians who have yet to witness snow
for themselves, to come and experience them in Japan, especially in Yudanaka.

That is all, thank you.