(The following is the English translation of the e-mail sent to our Japanese customers.)

This is Kanako Yoshida from YOUYOUANG.
I hope you have been well.

It is such a splendid season, when the flowers that brighten gardens and small paths seem to change week by week. Here, the cherry blossoms have completely finished, and now the tulips are taking center stage.

About two weeks ago, I went on a business trip to Tohoku (Morioka, Hanamaki, and Genbikei Gorge). Although it was for work, meeting the people who always support us and having time to talk with them is one of my great pleasures. I also enjoy driving around in a rental car and following the navigation system along unfamiliar roads. It feels like a little journey and always gives me a sense of excitement.

My free time comes in the morning. In the clear morning air, I jogged to Chuson-ji Temple’s Konjikido Hall in Hiraizumi. The cherry blossoms there were in full bloom, and I felt as if I had received an unexpected gift. Within the temple grounds, wrapped in the silence of the morning, the flow of a thousand years seemed to continue as naturally as if it had only begun yesterday.

I felt the same atmosphere when I visited before, but Tohoku seems to possess an unwavering flow of time. There is something here unlike anywhere else, as if traces of the Fujiwara clan still linger in the air. Though they disappeared from the stage of history, perhaps they never truly vanished from this land, but continue to dwell quietly in the mountains, rivers, and temples. At least, that is how I imagine it. Unlike cities that continue to change in dazzling ways, Tohoku felt like a place where memories from a thousand years ago are still naturally alive today.

I hope to visit again in autumn, before the snow begins to fall.

Now then, the day before yesterday, I took part in the Suzu Ultramarathon.

The full course is normally 102 km, but because the effects of the earthquake and heavy rain still remain severe, with many roads not yet reopened, the course was shortened this year to 55 km.

Participation was also reduced to only 230 runners, and it was such a popular race that all places were filled just over an hour after registration opened.

The course is famous for its elevation gain, and once again it did not disappoint: 830 meters of climbing!

There were several extremely steep hills with gradients of around 11%, so I walked many of the uphill sections. Even so, it was quite tough. (laugh)

Somehow, I managed to finish the race. At the finish line, I received a commemorative medal drawn by children from local preschool. Even though many local residents are still facing very difficult circumstances, some of them cheered for us from temporary housing. There were moments when I had to hold back tears while running.

I also visited Suzu and Noto last autumn for the Nakanoto Trail Journey (a mountain trail-running race), and once again I felt that it is a place of calmness, quietness, and deep dignity.

What Suzu and Tohoku seem to share is this:

When a land has accumulated time, it gains the power to quietly embrace human life while nurturing a dignity found nowhere else.

This April taught me that true richness is not glamour, but something quietly cultivated over a long span of time.

Ah, dear heavens, may this lesson somehow take root within me...