1. Komorebi
“The light coming through the foliage”
Nature has a special place in Japan, as I’ve already written here. 70% of this country’s area is forested mountains, and so we can understand how a word like komorebi exists. Whenever you walk under the trees and see light shining through the foliage, you now have a name for it.
2. Unkai
“Sea of clouds”
When we climb a high enough mountain, the clouds spread before us like a wavy, woolly sea. That’s the meaning of the picturesque word unkai, which is also closely related to Japan’s nature. It’s a word you can use if you’re exposed to the spectacular sight of a “sea of clouds” when you hike in the Japanese Alps.
3. Shinrinyoku
“Bathing in the forest”
This word describes something broader than its literal translation. The idea is to go for a walk in nature in order to disengage, cleanse oneself, and avail oneself of the calming atmosphere that prevails in nature as a kind of therapy. I’m sure that some of you can relate to this kind of feeling after you’ve been walking in nature.