Japan Visualization Journey: Take An Unforgettable Trip

In this dream journey to Japan, we'll explore Tokyo onsens, restaurants, shopping districts, Kyoto bamboo forests, and many more surprises. You'll integrate the beautiful Japanese spirit into yours and bring it back into your daily life. Please use headphones or a speaker for the most immersive audio experience.

Transcript

Hey,

I'm Cyrus.

Welcome to the Japan vacation visualization journey.

I highly suggest putting on your favorite pair of headphones now,

Or connecting to a speaker,

To get the full immersive audio experience.

Starting by eliminating any distractions in your environment,

And then sitting or laying down in a comfortable position,

And closing your eyes.

Starting by taking a deep breath into your belly,

Leading your breath.

And exhaling slowly through the mouth.

Taking another big full breath into the entire body.

And releasing stress and tension as you exhale slowly through the mouth.

Now let's do two breath holds.

Breathing in slowly,

Holding the breath at the top for a moment,

And feeling your body as you hold.

And slowly breathing out through your mouth.

Let's do that one more time,

Breathing in deep into the fingers and toes.

Holding at the top,

Feeling the body and the space around you as you hold.

And now slowly with control,

Breathing out through the mouth.

Gradually releasing tension,

Letting the air out of the balloon.

And now allowing the legs and feet to release into the support.

The arms and hands relaxing,

Being totally at ease.

The pelvic floor dropping any tension.

The chest and stomach opening,

Blooming with the breath.

The back unclenching its muscles and sinking.

The neck and shoulders becoming supple.

The tongue gently resting at the floor of the mouth.

Allowing the facial muscles and the little muscles around the eyes to soften.

And staying alert and awake in your mind now as you start to feel the whole body head to toe,

And the breath as it drops down all the way to your feet.

Tracking it as it goes down and back up,

Body head to toe and breath,

That rotation of oxygen.

The airplane ride to Narita airport in Tokyo already starting to fly by as you guide your attention deeper into the body and the breath.

As it goes down to the feet and pleasantly all the way back up on the exhale.

This breath opening and softening things already starting to lead yourself into that easeful open vacation mode.

Ready for all the creative delights and splendors that await you.

Feeling every cell of your body dancing with aliveness and anticipation in this moment.

As the breath enlivens the body even further for just a few more moments before the plane lands.

Your imagination beginning to drift and dance wildly.

And as you arrive in Japan you notice that there's something special about this place.

It's almost as if you've landed on another planet.

There's something so unique that you can't quite put your finger on yet.

But seeing it in movies and TV just never did it justice.

There's something about the vibe,

The energy,

Already transporting you to an alternate dimension and completely capturing your imagination.

As you're checking into your capsule hotel you file away the one piece of luggage that you brought in this little nook that you aptly selected to get in the spirit of Japanese minimalism.

And on your way to your first destination you notice as you amble down the Tokyo street that there's something interesting about this city.

It feels peaceful and familiar like the spirit of a small town transported into the middle of a busy metropolis.

Your limbs loosening as you soak up this easeful ambience.

And making your way into the onsen,

The traditional Japanese hot spring,

Paying your admission fee and making your way into the change rooms,

And putting on your bathing suits as you buzz with pleasant expectation for your first Japanese cultural experience.

And emerging into the onsen,

This public bathhouse hot spring hybrid,

And seeing everyone in their birthday suits.

I guess we didn't get the memo,

No matter.

Sliding into the hot springs,

Spewing the bubbles,

Geysering up around you.

As you sink into this mellow mass of mizu,

The blissful warmth blanketing every pore of your body.

A local gestures you over to the Denki Buro,

The electric bath,

Where perhaps you partake in this polarizing practice.

A low buzz of electric currents cascading across your skin,

As though you just sank into a giant bath of seltzer water.

And older Japanese individual points indicating you've been in the hot end of the pool for too long,

Giving you the impetus to reluctantly tip toe over to the freezing lake that provides the perfect balance.

Your teeth chattering as you scooch in but slowly realize that it's not too bad,

And your body temperature was so high from the hot end that the cold plunge provides the perfectly satisfying counterpoint.

You admit to yourself that maybe whoever designed this experience was onto something.

As you're doing a slow motion pirouette in the water you turn around and see,

In the distance,

The monstrous Mount Fuji looming over the skyline.

Gazing at its width and breath and snowy peak,

You simply allow yourself a serene moment to float and breathe and take it all in.

Getting off and getting out you relish the crisp dopaminergic flow that you feel from the cold water,

Guiding you on a natural high into Harajuku,

The trendsetting fashion district making your way to Takashita Street,

Shoulder to shoulder on this bustling laneway,

Known for its kawaii style and trendsetting fashion.

Enjoying all the bright colors and costumes,

A feast for the eyes,

Window shopping all the tasty treats,

Wetting your appetite perhaps for lunch.

Purposely bypassing a Michelin star sushi restaurant in favor of a more authentic local experience,

A Kaiken sushi restaurant,

Where you take your seat at the bar for your conveyor belt sushi experience.

You take your cues from the locals as you see this conveyor belt rotating in front of you,

Like a moat surrounding the castle of sushi chefs that prepare an endless variety of mouthwatering options for you.

As the price color-coded plates rotate on the conveyor in front of you,

You shamelessly snatch the maguro and then a shrimp of salmon as you stuff your face in what seems like an endless race of trying to get the best dishes before your neighbors do.

The miso and tea warming your insides after the cold plunge and you pluck an egg custard off the belt,

Polishing it off,

Stacking your plates and heading to the cash register and paying more than you expected as you stand back and stare at this formidable tower of dishware you've accumulated.

Your stomach stuffed to the brim with satisfaction,

To the point of laziness where you choose to simply lay down on the conveyor belts and let it carry you out of the restaurant.

Totally satiated,

You wander around in a daze and stumble into Senso-ji market,

Passing through the famous thunder gate and traversing the endless corridor of shops,

A straight shot to the end where you emerge at the quiet contemplative garden besetting the center of the Senso-ji temple.

Taking stock of this perfectly picturesque location,

With foot traffic dwindling and the garden seemingly all to yourself,

You sit on a peaceful bench at the edge of the garden,

The famously elegant five-story red pagoda of the Shinto shrine looming in your peripheral vision.

The temple bell is rung and the Shinchoku priests begin their prayers and you take this as a cue and an opportunity to have the most peaceful but brief meditation of your life in this perfect moment,

In this perfect location.

Surrounded by nature,

Birds,

Stone bridges and babbling brooks,

Feeling and letting your spirit soak in the sacred energy and history of this spot where you sit.

The Senso-ji temple bell is rung,

Rising from your meditation feeling utterly refreshed and realizing all this peace has you craving the need for speed.

So going straight to the Shinkansen station to ride the bullet train to Kyoto.

Going 177 miles per hour,

Feeling your body on this wave of adrenaline joy,

Appreciating the snowy peaks and forested hills diving past you in a blur,

Lavishing this experience like nothing else.

As you disembark in Kyoto,

Still giddy from the thrill of riding the bullet train,

You amble over to the Arashiyama bamboo grove,

Dreaming your way onto these peaceful pathways,

The thick bamboo forest encroaching from both sides,

The green trees dozens of feet tall,

Stretching towards the sky.

Hearing them gently graze against each other,

Allowing their rustling to calm your nervous system with each step.

And after a hot tea overlooking the skyline and all the beauty that Kyoto has to offer,

You call up some of your new friends from the capsule hotel and decide to go to the arcade.

But not just any arcade,

This is multiple levels.

Starting out on the first floor,

Gambling a few yen on pachinko to fund the rest of your trip.

Sprinting up to the second floor to take photos at the sticker booth with your new friends and make a few memories to take home with you.

Moving to the third floor playing pac-man and putting your heart and soul into every moment.

Jumping into a full-on go-kart to rip along Rainbow Road in Mario Kart.

A frenzy as you rise up to the fourth floor and start kicking ass at Street Fighter.

And capping it off by running to the fifth floor,

Seriously how many floors are in this place to cast your pokeballs and become a real-life Pokemon master.

High-fiving your new friends and fellow Pokemasters as you collapse in exhaustion at your capsule hotel.

Saying your good nights and closing your curtain as you lay back and dream about your last day in Japan tomorrow.

And all the places you could go and things you could do during that last pocket of time.

And as you awake it seems your dreams have suggested that you do something you can only do in Japan.

So you buy ringside tickets to go see a sumo wrestling tournament.

And as you sit precariously at the edge of this steeply seated stadium,

You revel in watching the wrestlers starting with their Shiko ritual.

Squatting,

Then clapping,

Then stamping their feet.

Swilling and rinsing their mouth with their strength water,

Their Takara Mizu.

Throwing the purification salt over the ring before they begin.

Finally they launch at one another and you marvel at their massive frames colliding.

300 plus pounds of strength going toe-to-toe in a Shinto ritual to entertain the gods.

The smacks of their body contact their insane concentration palpable as they dance dangerously on this sand covered clay ring.

Desperate to get the other to touch the ground with anything other than their feet.

The epic drama of this simple spectacle never more apparent to you than in this moment of graceful combat.

You watch transfixed in awe as one succeeds pushing the other aggressively out of the ring and in your direction.

But fortunately at the last second you duck and roll out of the way as they powerfully crash into your row.

A truly unforgettable experience.

And as you count your blessings leaving the lobby of the arena ready to go to the airport to leave Japan,

You hear the rumblings of a crowd outside and emerge through the front doors to see you're in the middle of a nighttime street festival and parade.

Magical lanterns abound,

Fireworks lighting up the night sky.

Dancers gliding down the city street in perfect harmony.

And massive neon floats with dragons and mythological deities all rolling along in this energetic festival.

Allowing yourself to move and dance along,

Blending seamlessly with the flow of the crowd,

Losing track of time and space as you take in this memorable smorgasbord of lights and sounds.

And with that final priceless experience etched into your dreamscape saying your final sayonara to Japan.

As you get on the plane and taking a moment of gratitude for the experience reflecting on all the memories that you made.

Taking a moment to reflect on all the politeness,

Kindness,

And helpfulness the Japanese people offered you during your stay in their country.

Appreciating their attention to detail and quality.

Perhaps taking a moment to breathe in some of those qualities to integrate them into your spirit.

That kindness,

Helpfulness,

And attention to detail.

Take as much time as you want reflecting,

Relaxing,

And reminiscing on this plane ride back.

And when you feel ready,

Allow your eyes to open gently and your body to slowly move and get back in the physical groove.

Carrying some of that Japanese spirit and energy back with you into your day and your life.

If you enjoyed this experience remember you can come back to it anytime and please share it with anyone you think might enjoy a trip to Japan.

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Arigato and have an amazing day.

Reviews

This was unbelievable and so different.I really enjoyed this.Thank you

What a lovely idea to make a trip like this one! Are you planning to make another one? Hope so. Grateful you made this one. Thank you so much!

I just got back from Japan yesterday and this was so nice to relive it again from my home in NY. Aside from the bathing suit and non-vegan food and temple, it was an echo of my own experience there. Thank you! In case I ever forget, I’ll come back to this.

Unique, flowing, wonderful.

Cyrus. Such a lovely meditation which took me down memory lane to our amazing trip to Japan many years ago. Thanks so much🙏💖

Love this! Thank you so much! Brought back so many amazing memories of a magical place.

Ahh, what a fabulous trip! 🙏