Urashima Taro rode back to the village on the back of the turtle, but when he arrived, there was no sign of his house or his mother.
He was also surprised to find that the village had changed completely, and he didn’t recognize anything.
At a loss what to do, Urashima Taro suddenly remembered the small box the princess had given him.
Although she had told him never to open it, he gently prized open the lid.
White smoke began to pour from the box, and suddenly his hair turned completely white.
And that was not all. The muscles in his back began to weaken, and soon he was bent over double. He had turned into an old man.
The truth of the matter was that while he was enjoying himself in the palace, several hundred years had passed.
Urashima Taro didn’t know whether everything had been true or a dream, and he spent a long time standing on the beach wondering.