Traveling from Numazu to Shuzenji in Izu is like hopping on a time travel machine and going back in time. On a perfect sunny day a few years ago, a friend and I took the local train from Numazu to Mishima, then transferred to the Izuhakone Sunzu line for Shuzenji, the final station on that line.
The moment we went through the exit gate of the station, a sense of nostalgia washed over us, as a picture of Japan more than a decade ago was conjured up in our minds. The ambience took us fifteen years back; it was like something we saw on TV. The roads were almost deserted except for a few elderly people doing their daily routine. Mixed emotions of loneliness, emptiness yet tranquility surfaced as I walked past several old fashioned buildings.
