Paradise on Earth

By Emi Tsuruta

The summer after my junior year in Oceanview U. in California, I went back home to Japan to Kamakura to see my family and friends. I was happy to see my mom again, but she had hoped, I guess, that I would just spend a couple of quiet weeks at home with her, cooking, shopping and telling her about my time in the States. I really love my mom of course, but she can be a bit overprotective at times.

That's one reason why I was so happy when my mom's younger sister, Aunt Sachie, gave me a call. Even though Aunt Sachie is the same generation as my mom, she is more of a live wire, joking all the time and really enjoying her life. I've always felt a bond with Sachi, and she sounded so pleased to find out I was back. She told me that her husband, Uncle Yuuzou, had a vacation coming up. They'd made plans to go on a day trip to a mountain in the western wilds of Tokyo, and she invited me to come along.

"Mom, can I? Please!" I pleaded. Even though Mom and Sachi are so different, they get along well.

"Um, yes, I guess that would be alright," Mom agreed.

"Yay! I can go," I told Sachie, all excited now.

The morning of the trip, I got up early, and rummaged through my closet trying to decide what to wear. Even though I didn't know I'd go mountain climbing, I'd brought a pair of khaki cargo shorts with me, but I didn't have my matching safari jacket. I did find a nice powder blue button-down shirt that might work, and took a pair of white panties and a white sports bra down with me to the bath area, and had a quick shower before getting dressed. I heard Uncle Yuuzou pull up outside, so I pulled on a pair of white sneakers, yelled bye to my mom, and went out to their car.

Sachi, Yuuzou and their son Hideki were all there. Sachi smiled, and gave me a brief hug. Sachi is a good looking woman, her black hair curled a bit, wearing dark sunglasses today hiding her eyes. She had on a beige jacket, black shorts and leggings, but just normal running shoes, not really mountain gear.

My uncle Yuuzou smiled, and reached out thanking me for coming. He is a bit of a silver fox (although his hair is black). He must have been quite handsome when he was younger. He still has a puckish grin and steely black eyes, movie star features. I couldn't help but smile when I saw him all dressed up in his best mountain climber's outfit, complete with knee-length shorts and a cap with a feather in it.

Hideki had turned 21. He looked handsome, big black eyes, his hair cut short. He didn't really meet my gaze, maybe feeling guilty for all the times he's teased me over the years. He was dressed pretty normal, a blue sweatshirt, shorts and sneakers.

Anyway, we all piled into the SUV, Hideki and I in the back.

"Welcome, Emi," Sachi chirped. "It's good to see you. You look bright-eyed and beautiful as ever."

"Yeah, I am looking forward to this. I don't think I've been to the mountains in Tokyo. Where's Namie?" Hideki's sister.

"Oh she's in Hiratsuka with Ryoichi, but she sends her love." Namie was a good friend. We'd traveled together to some hot springs the Christmas before I guess it was.

Sachi had brought some drinks and snacks, so we got to try them on the drive there. Hideki kept gazing out the window, but Sachi and Yuuzou quizzed me on what life was like in 'America.' I told them about school and trips I'd taken with Ryosuke et al. They'd all met him the one time we went to the beach, and had supper at their place.

At some point, we crossed over the border between Kanagawa and Tokyo. Even though this was officially Tokyo, this was the mountainous west part. We followed this winding two lane highway next to a river along these valleys with the odd house here and there with the mountain face rising sharply just behind them. This was even less developed than Kamakura, supposedly a country town. The mountains were all covered with green trees, so it was all quite scenic. I didn't see many stores, but we did pass a police box with a patrol car outside. The front was all glass, but it didn't look like anywhere was there. I got out my phone, and checked Maps. This was the only police box for miles, the last one before we reached the mountain. I guess there wasn't much need for police out here in the wilds.

Eventually, we turned onto a brick road with elegant restaurants which all seemed to be closed. We stopped in front of the cable car station, but just so Yuuzou could check his map.

"Oh this is no good," he muttered. "I want to get to the wild part."

Sachi kind of looked at him, so he explained.

"This map has all the secret beauty spots marked, places which most tourists don't know about. There is a magnificent waterfall I want to show you all."

Sounded good to me. He started up the van again, and we went around behind the station on a road deep into the woods. This really was off the beaten track although we did see a hiker or two along the way. I think we were just traveling along next to the cable car tracks although we couldn't see them. Eventually, the road ended, so we had to get out, and hike from there.

Yuuzou got out his camcorder, and videoed the scenery, explaining a bit as we hiked. Yuuzou is not very religious, but apparently, mountains had some special meaning in both Buddhism and Shinto. We did see the odd temple coming in.

Even though it's a mountain, the hiking trails are not that steep. Sachi would stop here and there to pick mushrooms. It was quite peaceful and beautiful, the leaves on the bushes a brilliant green. We did pass a few hikers even up here. They'd nod, or raise their hand to greet us, and then walk on by.

Eventually, we came to the falls Yuuzou had mentioned at the end of this narrow valley. It was a beautiful waterfall, very high with a thin curtain of white water spraying down through the dense tropical jungle. There was a pond at the base with beautiful deep blue water. It honestly looked like something out of a movie.

I must have looked disappointed because Sachie looked over at me, questioning what was wrong.

"No, nothing," I assured her. "I was just wishing I'd known we were coming here. I would have brought my swimsuit."

Sachie looked over at Yuuzou, as if they shared some kind of secret.

"We could go in swimming," she suggested, turning back to me.

"But we don't have swimsuits," I protested. Yuuzou scratched his nose, and Hideki avoided my gaze. It was obvious that there was something they weren't telling me.

"It shouldn't matter, should it?" Sachi continued. "We're all family here."

It sounded like she was hinting that we should all go skinny-dipping together! I have to say I was surprised by this. I'd known Sachi my whole life, and I knew of course that she was more open-minded than my mom, but even so... At first I thought it would be seriously weird for the four of us to get naked in front of each other. Was she serious, or just teasing me? Still not sure, I let out a nervous laugh.

"Ha! Yeah, right! That would be pretty funny!"

The expression on Sachie's face was quite serious though. Maybe she isn't joking. Uncle Yuuzou faced the other way, videoing the waterfall. However, I could tell from the way that Hideki was playing with the stones at the waterside, ears half-cocked, that he wasn't surprised at his mom's suggestion.

"Um, what? Do you mean..." I shook my head, still trying to get my mind around this. "Skinny-dip?"

"Sure, why not?" Sachie beamed, all smiles. "It's no big deal really, is it?"

Now it was probably true that Sachie knows me better than most people. She'd seen me run around their house bottomless or naked a few times. I thought that might shock Sachie, but she just laughed, and now I was beginning to see why. Maybe they all are closet naturists.

"Um, have you... um... ever done anything like that before?" I asked cautiously. It must have sounded like I was asking for nudist credentials.

"We've been to co-ed hot springs. Hasn't everybody?"

I'd forgotten how relaxed people are in Japan about nudity. In America, my host mom Loretta is always on me to behave. For Sachi, and probably Yuuzou and Hideki as well, it seemed like getting naked wasn't such a big deal. But even so, I still felt weird. In recent years, my body has developed, my breasts gotten bigger, my black pubic hair quite bushy. Both Hideki and Yuuzou were adult men. Surely they must have desires...

Yuuzou set down his camcorder, and moved to take off his shirt.

"Yeah, it is kind of hot today. It would be nice to cool off."

Hideki just kind of sat there quietly at the pond's edge not saying anything while his parents got undressed. My uncle and aunt are no longer so young, but they didn't seem ashamed about their bodies at all. They'd probably been to many a hot spring, and I guess they must have taken Hideki and Namie with them. Hideki seemed in no rush to get naked in front of me, but apparently, his parents were quite at ease with the whole idea.

One thing that was bothering me about this whole skinny-dipping plan was the other hikers we had seen on the trail on our way here. Someone could show up at any minute. Neither Sachie nor Uncle Yuuzou seemed too concerned though. They both stripped naked, and waded into the water for a dip. They both seemed to be in pretty good shape, toned and fit more than I was expecting.

"Oh the water's great," my uncle cried out. "Nice and refreshing."

My uncle seemed right at home, not embarrassed in the least. I still felt self-conscious about stripping in front of Hideki. He did keep glancing over this way, seemingly a bit excited at the prospect of seeing me naked. Wouldn't it be weird?

His mom and dad seemed so at ease with the whole nudity thing though that I began to wonder if I was the one who was being too prudish. I kicked off my sneakers, and took off my socks, but when I went to unbutton my shirt, Hideki's eyes shot over this way. He was surprised I guess that I seemed willing to strip in front of him. I must admit that the thought of taking off my clothes with him watching was giving me butterflies. In the past, I'd tried not to tease him. It was kind of strange to be getting naked in front of him 'for free.'

I glared at him, trying to get him to stop watching me, and get undressed himself. He scrunched up his face to signal that he didn't want to, but I wasn't really so keen on being the first of us two. He is maybe a bit skinnier than Ryosuke, but my friend Michiyo thinks he's cute. We stayed there for a while watching each other, both waiting for the other to strip.

Slowly, I began to worry that if I didn't go in swimming soon, other people would come, and I'd miss my chance. My uncle had already come back to shore, and headed for where he'd left his stuff. My aunt was still happily swimming away, so I finally made up my mind to strip down, and go in for a quick dip at least.

Since unbuttoning my shirt had gotten such a big reaction from Hideki, this time I undid the belt on my cargo shorts first. Hideki was facing away from me, but he was kind of watching me out of the corner of his eye. Trying to act like I didn't care, I undid the buttons that run down the front of my shorts, and peeked down checking what kind of panties I was wearing. Luckily, I had on plain white stretch cotton panties that day, but the weave was slightly loose making them ever so slightly see-through.

I didn't really want Hideki to see my panties, so I ended up pulling them down at the same time as my shorts. Unfortunately, this just got me excited as suddenly I was standing here bottomless in front of them all. I don't know why I was getting so worked up. They were my family after all, but the breeze was tickling me down below. I guess getting naked reminds me of sex. Also, you've got to admit, there is something kinky about wearing just a top, but being naked from the waist on down.

I stuffed my shorts and panties into my bag, and then carefully picked my way across the pebbly bank down to the water's edge. The tingly feeling in my nether regions was really ramping up now. I glanced over at my uncle only to find that he'd come to shore, and got his camcorder. Placing my hands on the bare cheeks of my bottom, I glanced down at my pussy, a bit embarrassed to be caught on camera. I did think it was a bit weird for him to be videoing me, his own niece, but Sachi didn't seem concerned, so maybe it wasn't that strange. I guess he just wanted to record the moment for their family album, but to tell you the truth, being filmed was getting me going even more.

I turned back to Hideki to see what he was doing. He quickly turned away from me, and skipped a stone across the surface of the pond, but clearly, he'd been staring at my bare bottom. I did feel strange with the two of them making such a big deal, but I was more or less committed now. I unbuttoned the rest of my shirt. Almost without realizing it, I arched my back to accent my bottom and breasts as I peeled off my shirt. I looked even sillier with just my bra on, so I quickly took it off, and stuffed it in the bag with the rest of my clothes. I was stark naked now in front of the three of them, and boy did it feel embarrassing!

"Hideki, aren't you going to come in?" I taunted as I made my way down to the water's edge. It seems my show of bravery had shook him out of his stupor, and he quickly peeled off his clothes to join me. He was quite slender, his skin so pink, his body almost hairless. I tried not to stare.

Within a minute or two, Hideki was naked, and followed me in, splashing me from behind. I splashed him back, giggling, happy I guess to be doing something that seemed so playful and innocent. I kept backing up to get away from Hideki's splashing, but soon he was almost splashing his mom, so she motioned for us to stop. So as not to bother her, we moved off to the side and into the deeper water where you could swim.

The water nearest the falls was quite deep indeed, so I began to wonder if I could go up the cliff side, and make a dive from above. I climbed out of the pond onto the bank. The cliff was too sheer on that side to climb up. I looked across the pond to the other side, and there seemed to be some flat stones that led to a trail up the cliff side. I was shivering a bit from the cool air, but rather than go back into the water, I walked along the pebbly shore towards my uncle intending to walk all the way around the pond. My uncle, never the shy one, pointed his camcorder right at me, as I walked up to him dripping wet and naked.

"Uncle!" I squealed, a bit embarrassed to be videoed from so close up. He just laughed though, obviously delighted. I'd been swimming a lot in Oceanview, and so was actually happy with how I looked at that time: slender waist, washboard stomach, firm calves and hips. I dabbed my fingers at my nipples which were shining pink in the strange jungle light. My pussy was tingling too, but I didn't dare touch it with all of them looking on.

After I passed him, my uncle turned to video me my rear end as well, so I gave my booty a little shake just to tease him.

"Uncle, stop it!" I giggled pretending to object. He just laughed though. Hideki was staring straight at me, riveted. Sachi just smiled, as I made my way to the path, and then disappeared up the trail.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Hideki shouted after me.

"I want to see if there is a place you can dive off from," I told him. The slope was quite sheer, but there was a sort of zigzag path leading up the side of the cliff. I kept slipping in the mud, but I slowly managed to make my way up to a diving platform of sorts higher up the cliff. By the time I got there though, something was going on down below. Uncle Yuuzou was rushing to pull his shorts on, and Sachie had gotten out of the water to get dressed as well. I scanned the valley until finally I saw them. It was a group of four or five hikers coming down the valley this way: one youngish man and a group of ladies all in climbing gear.

I looked down at my naked body, a bit worried. Now what do I do? I guess I could just hide somewhere until they move along, but who knows how long that might be. I couldn't see Hideki, but he must be down there somewhere. What on earth am I doing up here--buck naked--anyway?

My uncle was the first to get decent, but instead of grabbing my bag, and bringing it to me, he just stood there watching to see what I would do. I could climb back down, but these hikers were almost here now. I couldn't make it to my clothes in time.

Anyway, I backed away from the edge of the jump-off trying to keep out of sight as the hikers came up to the pond. Over the roar of the falls, I could vaguely hear my uncle greeting them. Oh come on, guys. This isn't funny! Bring me my clothes!

I put my hand between my breasts, feeling my heart beat. I was worried that the hikers might come up the same path I did. It did seem to be the only way to continue on. After I'd been standing here shivering and naked for what seemed like an eternity, I heard the rustling of bushes, someone coming. I braced myself for the worst, but it turned out to be Hideki. He was wearing shorts now, but wasn't carrying anything for me to wear. He just peered down at my naked body, excited to see me all wet and embarrassed.

"Here! Can you go get me my bag?" I whispered to him. He motioned that I should be quiet as the hikers were right behind him, on the way up the hill now. I couldn't stay standing here, and they'd be on us any second. Hideki motioned for me to continue on up the cliff towards the top. I scrambled up to get away. I could feel Hideki's eyes on my backside, but there wasn't much I could do.

The main path continued along the river bank. I couldn't see a bridge, and the jungle was fairly thick to our right. I looked to Hideki, asking what I should do, but it was obvious we were kind of stuck. We could set out down the river bank, but I didn't want to go too far from my clothes. We finally opted to stop, and just let whatever happen.

I motioned for Hideki to come closer, so I could hide behind him, but he was just staring at my body, drooling. I saw the hikers climbing up. The young guy was in the lead, but he didn't clue in at first. As soon as all of them made it up, I walked past them, and tried to escape back down the path. The guy turned to stare at my bare bottom, but none of them said anything. I don't know what they thought.

Hideki followed me down the cliff-side, this goofy grin on his face. I don't know why I let them talk me into this in the first place. It was all so embarrassing.

The hikers must have kept on walking because when we got down to the jump off, I couldn't hear them anymore.

"Jeez, that was close!" I gasped.

"You're so funny," he smirked. I pushed him towards the edge, but he grabbed my arm and held on, to stop himself from falling.

"Here, can you dive into the pond?" I dared him. He looked down, doubtful. He had this big bulge at the front of his shorts. "Here, go. Just jump. It'll be fine. The water is plenty deep."

I know that Hideki can swim because we'd been to the beach many times near his house. Really though I'm the only one in our family who takes swimming so seriously. Hideki scratched his head, and I finally convinced him to try. He splayed his legs out, and screamed as he fell, entering the water feet first. He came up soon, fine. He looked up at me waiting for me to dive.

My uncle raised his camcorder videoing me again. It felt so weird standing here naked. I looked out trying to tell if anyone else was coming. The red and green leaves were kind of shielding the path we'd come in on, but maybe it was safe. I stepped over to the edge, spread my arms out like an Olympic diver, and then dove hands first, down into the water below. I'm not sure how my form was, but when I came up for air, Hideki and Sachi were clapping, applauding my bravery. It felt pretty good, exhilarating actually, to have completed the dive more or less how you are supposed to.