When he first came to Rebun Island, wilderness guide and temple carpenter Miyuki Kobayashi was struck speechless with the natural pageantry before his eyes.
In early June this small northern island explodes into bloom, with wild flowers blanketing every plateau, glade and meadow. Glimpsing this cacophony of blossom for the first time, Kobayashi knew he had to structure his life so that nothing would get in the way of being outside, in nature.
It wasn't easy, though, to break the conditioning to overwork he had grown up with and build a livelihood to fit his priorities.