"The heart dies a slow death. Shedding it's hopes like leaves, until one day there are none"

From Memoirs of a Geisha. I read the book when it first came out, but only saw the film last night. I'd forgotten a lot of the detail - even how it ended, so it was enjoyable! It reminded me how beautiful Japan is though, and how much I love that satisfying clunk of wooden doors closing! (irrelevant, but this my blog and I'll be irrelevant if I want to!)

The parts of Japan I saw had a fantastic balance of nature and technology, apart from Toyko maybe, which is very urbanised (but still a great city). I suppose it has a lot to do with one of the main religions there - Shintoism, which is very much nature based. Thinking back, an overall impression (which may be right or wrong - who's to say?) is that Japan is a pretty balanced country. Stunning natural scenery, which they have harnesed and preserved, but at the same time technologically very modern and clean and practically crime free. It's not perfect obviously, the film just reminded me of all the things I loved about the place, but have never really mentioned.

Before going, I didn't fully understand why my grandad loves the country so much, he's been there quite a lot and his house is full of Japanese crafts and artifacts, but having been there, I think I can understand why that country would appeal to his personality :)