Arriving late to my annual date with Tanabata

This post was intended for July 7- I am late - but the story I want to share is so dear to me, I think it's worth telling , even if it is indeed a bit late. The other option would have been to wait for July 7 of next year.... too long. 

I lived in Kyoto, Japan from April 2002 to March 2005. Three very special years in a truly magical place. Kyoto is one of those amazing places that should be in everyone's travel bucketlist.  I attended Kyoto University for my Master's  Degree in Economics and while there, I made friends from literally all corners of the Earth, many of which I still keep in contact with.
My years in Japan were in a sense, like being on break from  the "real life " of work and responsibility. I am a bit of a nerd at heart, so studying and school are fun to me , and paired up with travel and life in Japan,  I felt truly blessed.

My first summer in Japan, my friends and I decided to visit Amanohashidate, one of the three most scenic sites in Japan, and which is , to put it in Japanese exact terms, located exactly 106 minutes by train from Kyoto.

Kyoto Station  July 2002 - with Patrick ( Malaysia) and Giancarlo ( Panamá)

Amanohashidate means "Bridge in Heaven" , a truly beautiful place where earth meets heaven in a 3  kilometer white sandbar covered by pine trees.
 

Photo: Japan-guide.com

My friends and I stayed at a cabin up a hill from Amanohashidate, and we had a really nice weekend, swimming - in rather cold waters- from the standpoint of a Caribbean girl, hiking, cooking and sharing stories. It was like a mini UN reunion, with representatives of Korea, Panamá , Austria, Philippines , Thailand, Malaysia and of course,  Honduras.

With Christian ( Austria ) and Giancarlo ( Panamá)

Kimmie ( Korea ) Gianca (Panama) Kun (Thailand) & Christian ( Austria)

I saw some stunning views -Japan is a very beautiful country- but what truly grabbed my heart at Amanohashidate is the story of what happens every year  there, on the night of July 7, also known as Tanabata

 

Tanabata 七夕- is also known as  the Star Festival. Tanabata is a Japanese tradition where people write their wishes on tanzaku papers (colorful, small strips of papers) and hang them on bamboo branches. People also decorate bamboo branches with various kinds of paper decorations and place them outside their houses, all over Japan.

 

It is  said that tanabata's origin dates back to more than 2,000 years ago with an old Chinese tale: Once there was a weaver princess named Orihime and a cow herder prince named Hikoboshi living in heaven.  When they fell in love, all they wanted to do was play with each other all the time, talk & talk ,and forgot about their jobs. The king was angry at them and separated them on opposite sides of the Amanogawa River ( what we know as the Milky Way). The king allowed them to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar.  It's believed that Orihime and Hikoboshi can't see each other if the day is rainy, so people pray for good weather to allow for the lovers to meet on a night they  wish would be eternal.

 

 

So each July 7, I remember these two lovers, and how the beauty of a love  story warms a heart, no matter where, and I think about the optimism of dreaming and writing your own wishes , hoping and praying with all of your heart that they will become true.

 

If you are in Kyoto over a long stay, I highly recommend the beautiful Amanohashidate!