Iriomote Island

Finally, I set foot on the long-awaited Iriomote Island, and then took a rickety water buffalo cart ride to Yufu Island. This was probably the slowest and most therapeutic thing I've done this year. Sitting in the cart, listening to the old man on the island playing folk songs on a sanshin (a three-stringed instrument), the buffalo slowly waded along the beach, crossing the shallow water. The salty sea breeze blew by, and at that moment, time seemed to soften; even my phone's timer stopped working—who cares about a few minutes? What surprised me most were the butterflies I encountered on the island. Their wings were like a palette of colors spilled by nature, fluttering up and down around me. One playful one landed directly on my hand, as if greeting me. This must be Iriomote Island's unique welcoming ceremony. Oh, and I must mention those big water buffaloes. Their eyes were so gentle they seemed to drip with water, and they walked at a leisurely pace, as if saying to me, "What's the rush? Enjoy the scenery slowly." Each cow had a particularly docile nose, occasionally flicking its ears, as if shooing away flies or perhaps playfully teasing me. The short stretch of water felt like stepping into another time and space. There were no bustling streets, only the sounds of waves, the clatter of a three-wheeled vehicle, and the splashing of water buffalo wading through the water. Arriving at Yubu Island, stepping on the fine white sand, and gazing at the red-tiled rooftops in the distance, I finally understood: when you slow down, the world becomes so vast and so beautiful.