The next morning I went to the forest—not the mini-scale forest but the real one. It extended miles and miles around the house. We were well aware of it when Akiko and I bought the house. In fact, that was one of the main reasons we chose it.
Does the overuse of it make the passage above sound flat and ambiguous? Would it better if I do something like:
The next morning I went to the forest—not the mini-scale forest but the real one. It extended miles and miles around the house. We were well aware of its existence when Akiko and I bought the house. In fact, that was one of the main reasons we chose the place.