About 13 to 14 years ago, I experienced a cruise for the first time.
I think my first cruise was on the Nippon Maru, and then soon after, I boarded the Asuka II, where I was given the opportunity to perform on board numerous times, and recently, the Ocean Fuji has been added to my list.
My first cruise was indeed so impressive. My mother was still alive and was having a hard time fighting the illness. She had just started repeatedly going in and out of the hospital, but I was desperate to take her out to sea with me, though I knew it was quite impossible, and said to her, “Come on, mother, let’s go on board together. I’m sure you’ll feel good.”
Mother looked delighted for an instant, and looked at me with happy eyes, but she was in such a difficult situation that the doctors never permitted her to be far away from the specialist hospital. I had a baseless hope that the sea breeze might bring good effects for her health, but I had to board a cruise ship alone without realizing the dream cruise with my mother.
On my very first cruise, I had many concerns about performing on board.
How hard would the ship rock, and would I be able to play the violin in the turbulence?
What if I get seasick? Will the seasick pills work? What is life at sea like? How do I take a bath? What about the food? How do I change, etc.
The boarding day came, and I had to put aside the worries about my mother. From the moment the ship set sail, somehow, my heart trembled, and it was filled with some nostalgic feeling that I had never experienced before.
As I heard the melancholic sound of the whistle that signaled the ship’s departure, I was overwhelmed with some deep feelings.
My mother was in the hospital, and memories of her since my childhood came rushing into me. Naturally, my eyes got hot with tears.
No matter how many times I sail on a cruise ship, I always have that particular feeling.
I have had the chance to perform on various cruise ships numerous times, and this year will mark my 50th anniversary since my debut as a violinist.
It was indeed a real pleasure for me to participate in a concert as part of the Asuka II “Round the World Cruise” on this milestone year.
This time, I embarked from Kobe and disembarked in Singapore, and then flew directly back to Japan, and had a rather long nine-day cruise. I was lucky to have been able to adjust my schedule to enjoy life at sea.
It felt so good stepping out on the deck, feeling the sea breeze, taking deep breaths. Looking at the surface of the water glistening in the sun, with gentle waves, soothed my heart.
Is it just me who keeps pondering my busy daily life and starts thinking about what “living” means?
The ship is a wonder.
I feel it every time.
The flow of time changes completely.
As I receive and sense the slow ticking of time with my body, I recall the past, remembering the days gone by.
At the same time, I feel the miracle of “being alive” and contemplate the present and also the future life.
I am amazed by the vastness of the large cruise ship floating on the ocean of nature, and yet again wonder about the size of the ocean.
It has become my daily routine to go walking around the deck in the morning and evening.
The view in front of me is the vast ocean and the sky. When there are no visible islands around, there is nothing but the horizon. And the horizon, sea, sky, waves, and clouds are constantly changing in forms and sizes, and the shifting clouds in the sky look surprisingly dynamic.
After the sun set, the stars seemed to remind me, “This is Earth.” Then I realize that the Earth is also a star, a beautiful one too…I feel so touched to be able to feel how happy we are to be living here. I wish there were no more wars between us who live on this beautiful, blue planet.