京都把过去保存得很好，却没有把自己锁在过去。像未来飞船一样的车站提醒我们：真正有生命力的传统，不是拒绝改变，而是在改变以后，仍然记得自己从哪里来。

Kyoto protects its past without becoming trapped inside it. A station like a spacecraft suggests that living traditions can change while remembering where they came from.

以前没有GPS。远行的人不知道前路是否安全，于是把对丰收、生意和平安归来的盼望留在鸟居之间。狐狸不是神，而像沉默的信使，守护那些无法寄出的愿望。

Before GPS, travellers could not know whether the road ahead was safe. They left hopes for harvests, prosperity and a safe return among the torii gates. Foxes became silent messengers for wishes that could not be posted.

没有吊车、卡车和电钻，人们却把木头运上山，在悬崖边搭起舞台。也许他们不是为了征服山，而是想在高处安静下来。城市变小以后，烦恼也可能暂时变轻。

Without cranes, trucks or electric drills, people carried timber uphill and built a stage beside the cliff. Perhaps they wanted not to conquer the mountain, but to become quiet above the city.

动画里的旧街不是凭空出现的。画家先看见屋瓦怎样接住夕阳，木门怎样藏住故事，石路怎样通往看不见的转角。今天，用画家的眼睛寻找一条能让故事开始的路。

Imagined streets begin with careful observation: roof tiles catching light, wooden doors hiding stories and stone lanes leading towards unseen corners.

以前，一盏灯笼只能照亮眼前很小的一段路。回家的路，是一小段、一小段被照亮的。白天属于阳光，灯笼亮起后，另一座京都才慢慢醒来。

Long ago, one lantern lit only a small part of the road. The way home appeared one pool of light at a time. When lanterns glow, another Kyoto slowly wakes.

一千年前，京都的贵族也来岚山。没有手机、视频和即时消息，人们只是看山、看水、听竹叶与风交谈。也许安静并不等于无聊，而是让心里被遮住的东西慢慢出现。

A thousand years ago, Kyoto’s nobles came here without phones or instant messages. They watched mountains and water and listened to bamboo speaking with the wind.

日本有全世界最快的火车。嵯峨野这一列，却是故意开慢的。有的车厢连玻璃都没有，风和水声直接跑进来。快车让你早点到，慢车让你看见路上有什么。

Japan builds the fastest trains on earth. This one is slow on purpose. Some carriages have no glass, so the river comes straight in. Fast gives you the destination. Slow gives you the way there.

即使看不懂日文，奔跑的姿势、突然停下的背影、放大的眼睛和安静的空白都在说话。漫画把时间切成一格一格，再邀请读者把空白连接起来。

Even without reading Japanese, movement, expressions and silence speak. Manga divides time into panels and invites readers to connect the spaces between them.

一枚十日元硬币藏着一座真实建筑。很多人每天把它递出去，却没有认真看过。到了平等院，硬币忽然变成藏宝图。世界并不缺少秘密，只是我们太习惯手里的东西。

A ten-yen coin carries a real building. At Byodoin, ordinary money becomes a treasure map. The world may not lack secrets; perhaps we forget to observe what is familiar.

人们相信神明骑白鹿来到奈良，于是鹿被保护下来。面对疾病和不安，人们又建造大佛，把和平愿望变成看得见的东西。鹿教我们共享城市，大佛提醒我们共同托起一个愿望。

The deer tell a story of humans sharing a city with nature. The Great Buddha turns a collective hope for peace into something everyone can see.

寻找写着“五、大、力”的三颗小石，象征体力、智力、财力、福气和长寿。愿望实现后，人们会归还原石并增加新石。后来的人找到的，也许是陌生人留下的感谢。

Three pebbles marked Go, Dai and Riki represent five kinds of strength. When wishes come true, people return the stones and add new ones, passing gratitude to strangers.

地铁把我们快速送到目的地，但小电车不着急。它让我们看见房子、商店和普通人的生活。有些交通工具是为了到达，有些是为了让我们看见过程。

Some transport gets us there quickly; slower travel can help us notice homes, shops and everyday life along the way.

有些城市希望显得优雅，有些希望显得强大。大阪更愿意逗人开心。招牌可以巨大，食物可以夸张，灯光可以不害羞。幽默也可以是一座城市面对生活的方式。

Osaka seems serious about making people smile. Signs are enormous, food is exaggerated and lights are never shy. Humour can be a city’s way of facing life.

大阪烧把面糊、蔬菜、肉、海鲜和酱汁放在一起。看起来有点乱，却变成大阪最有代表性的味道。

Okonomiyaki brings many ingredients together. It may look untidy, yet the mixture becomes one of Osaka’s most recognisable flavours.

白天的大阪是一座城市，晚上却像一本突然打开的漫画。每块招牌都在介绍自己，每种颜色都怕被旁边遮住，连河水也把灯光复制一遍。

At night, Osaka can feel like an opened comic book, with every colour competing for attention and the canal copying the lights.

水豚不着急，也不比较。热了就入水，累了就休息，信任同伴便安静靠近。它们提醒我们：真正需要的也许不多，舒服的水、可信任的伙伴，以及不必一直证明自己的时间。

Capybaras are never in a hurry. They rest when tired and stay close to trusted companions. Perhaps we need less than we imagine: comfort, trust and time without proving ourselves.

缆车挂在一根很细的绳子上，慢慢把你提到山上。上升的时候，马路、大楼、整个神户都一点一点变小，山和海却越来越大。下面的东西没有变，变的是你站的地方。

The cable car hangs from one thin wire and lifts you over Kobe. The street, the tall buildings, the whole city shrink. The mountain and the sea grow. Nothing down there changed. You did.

照片保存光，气味保存时间。多年后，一种香草的气息，可能突然打开今天的下午：缆车、山风、远处港口和眼前的花。

Photographs preserve light; scent preserves time. One future fragrance may reopen this afternoon: ropeway, mountain wind, harbour and flowers.

有些饭只是让人不再饥饿，有些饭却在庆祝：我们走了很远，看见很多风景，仍然坐在同一张桌旁分享晚餐。珍贵的不只是牛肉，也是愿意和你一起记住它的人。

Some meals remove hunger; others are celebrations. The precious part is not only the food, but the person willing to remember the evening with you.

从新加坡到日本只需几小时。很久以前，船离港后可能几星期没有消息。离开的人需要勇气，留下等待的人也需要勇气。每艘船都装着告别、期待与再次相见的可能。

A harbour holds departure, waiting and the possibility of meeting again. The traveller needs courage, and so does the person who remains.

走进市场，可以把一点决定权交还给好奇心。先看颜色、闻香气、问价格，再选择真正想尝试的东西。旅程最值得记住的，也许是转过街角后偶然遇见的一口味道。

Inside a market, curiosity can make some decisions. The most memorable flavour may be one discovered after turning an ordinary corner.

金阁曾是将军退休后的宅邸，后来成为寺院，也曾被火毁损后重建。岸上是一座金阁，水里也是一座。也许美不是物件独自完成，而是它与天空、树木和水相遇时发生的事情。

One pavilion stands on land and another in the pond. Beauty may not belong to an object alone, but emerge when it meets sky, trees and water.