Furusato (故郷) means hometown or homeland, but it carries an emotional weight that 'hometown' does not. Furusato is the place you come from — not just geographically, but spiritually. It is the landscape of your childhood, the smell of the air after rain in the place you grew up, the sound of the river or the train or the temple bell that formed the soundtrack of your earliest memories. Many Japanese people who have lived in Tokyo for decades still call their childhood village their furusato. It is not where you live. It is where you are from — and where, in some part of your heart, you are always returning to.

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