Itsuki goes to visit Yahiko-sama.

Yesterday, I took my parents out for a trip around Yahiko.

Ever since my father's health declined, it has become difficult for him to go outside.

Because his illness makes it hard for him to control his emotions and the volume of his voice, it is quite difficult to take him out to shops or tourist spots unless it is a weekday when there are few people around.

The rainy season has begun, and the weather was unfortunately gloomy.

However,
it was a weekday when my father's health was relatively good, my mother still had energy, and I was available to help with his care.

I couldn't let this chance slip by, so we set off in high spirits.

Originally, my father was just like me and loved going outside on sunny days, so he was very happy about this outing.

We headed to the 'Osugi Rose Garden' in Nishikan-ku, Niigata City, a place I had never been to but was curious about.

It is a rose garden that local residents carefully tend to and open to the public for free,
and it was a place recommended to me by an acquaintance who said you can enjoy very beautiful roses when they are in season.

Just hearing about how it was established made me feel it must be a gentle space, and it was a place I had wanted to visit for a long time.

When we arrived, there was a well-maintained parking lot.

It was a lovely place with clean accessible restrooms and a beautiful grassy plaza with a wisteria trellis and benches.

Since I had heard it was created by local residents, I had imagined something like a private field or garden, so this was a surprise.

It was a well-established park that felt like it was being maintained by the city as a tourist destination.

They have collected famous varieties from around the world, with 660 types and 1,350 plants, which bloom sequentially from late May to the end of November to delight visitors.

The main peak times are early June, early August, and mid-October, so it seems our timing was a bit off this time, and there were only a few roses blooming.

But even though there were few roses in bloom, each one was lovely.

When the wind blew, there was a nice fragrance.

It was a peaceful place with no worries about restrooms.

Since it was a place where my physically disabled father could enjoy nature without feeling self-conscious, I thought I would like to visit again when we go out.

Originally, my father gets tired easily, so we had planned to return home after just the rose garden.

But because there were only a few roses blooming and my father seemed so happy to be out, I felt it would be a waste to go home right away.

We decided to try going to Yahiko Shrine, which I had given up on due to the rain forecast.

That is to say.

On the way, despite the sky looking like it might rain at any moment, as we headed toward the grand torii gate on the way to Mount Yahiko, the thick clouds began to break.

Mount Yahiko, draped in thick clouds at its peak, looked even more mysterious, and I felt as if the god of Yahiko was welcoming us, parent and child alike.

Encouraged by that intuition, I decided to head to the shrine, thinking that if it rained, we could just go home.

Very gratefully, the tourist information center near Yahiko Station lends out wheelchairs for free.

I had borrowed one before, so I decided to borrow one this time as well.

However,
Yahiko Shrine is located at the foot of Mount Yahiko, and there is quite a distance from Yahiko Station to the main approach and the grounds of Yahiko Shrine, and the path is a gentle uphill slope.

A path that is nothing for an able-bodied person is quite a tough journey in a manual wheelchair that isn't electric.

While panting, at times I was cheered on by an old man saying

“Do your best!!”

and I climbed up.

Thank you, sir, I did my best (laughs).

At times like this, I feel grateful for my own sturdy body that can muster the horsepower ←

I did my best and arrived at the shrine grounds.

I apologized in my heart for entering from the path we were supposed to leave by, instead of the front entrance where we were supposed to enter.

I arbitrarily concluded that Oyahiko-sama, who has been watching over me since I was small, would surely forgive my rudeness, and I offered my prayers.

Yahiko Shrine is a precious place that my parents and I have visited at every major turning point in our lives.

Every time I go, the thought crosses my mind that this might be the last time I can actually bring my father up to the shrine grounds.

That is why this time, too, I had a strong desire to stand on that ground with my mother and father as the three of us again, so I worked up the grit and sweat to make it happen.

Even when choosing a back route without stairs to reach the shrine grounds, it is difficult to navigate a wheelchair over asphalt seams, damaged and cracked sections, gravel paths, and gutters.

It is only because my father can stand up from his wheelchair with assistance and walk a short distance that we are able to cooperate and go to this place.

Although it seems that barrier-free access is improving year by year, for those of us who actually need it, my impression is that it is still far from being completely barrier-free.

This time as well, there was a kind person who noticed we were in trouble when the wheelchair got stuck and offered to help, for which I was truly grateful.

When I was young, before my family member's health failed, I remember being concerned about the aesthetics when I saw the elevator at Osaka Castle.

Thinking about it now,

As people grow older, they each develop landscapes they want to see again and landscapes they want to show to their loved ones.

I believe the joy of actually being able to stand in those places is immense.

Even if it doesn't look good in photos or on TV, or if it detracts from the artistic or historical landscape.

If there are people who wish to spend the time and money to actually visit a place and see that scenery with their own eyes.

Even if, for those with physical disabilities, I wish for them to be able to go to those places.

I have come to strongly wish for barrier-free access to advance in that way.

With those thoughts in mind,
Visiting Yahiko Shrine with my father has become something of great value to me every time.

I am grateful to my father for maintaining his physical condition well enough to go up to the shrine grounds together, and to my mother for her devoted support nearby.

We achieved our goal safely this time as well, and the return trip is a somewhat easier downhill path.

I enjoyed Yahiko's gourmet food and souvenir hunting with my mother while my father looked bored (lol) on the way back.

This Yahiko trip, taken during a break in the rain—
though it doesn't come across well in photos, the air felt as if it had been washed by the rain, and the vivid mountainsides and lingering mist created an atmosphere even more mystical than usual.

I was so happy that it stayed clear until the very end~

I used up all my energy driving and pushing the wheelchair, so I passed out the moment I got home.
I ended up sleeping straight through until the next morning (lol).

This time, it was the story of Itsuiki going to visit Oyahiko-sama.