[Travel] 🚗 I visited the Stone Museum Hakuiseki-kan in Nakatsugawa City, Gifu Prefecture

Thinking it would be a bit of a waste to just head home straight from Ryujin Falls,

I decided to make a detour to a place I'd been curious about for a while.

This decision might have been the right one in the end 😎✨

🍰 An unexpected encounter at Kurikuri no Sato Nakatsugawa

On the way, I happened to find
Kurikuri no Sato Nakatsugawa.

Here, they were selling things like
・Bento boxes
・Cakes
・Vegetables

so I bought a few things.

Honestly, I didn't expect them to be selling cakes in a place like this, but...

👉 When I tried it, it was actually delicious 😋✨

It was a complete surprise.

I really regret forgetting to take a photo...
I reflect that I should have recorded such an 'unexpected win' 😇

🥁 The Japanese drum I played on impulse

In front of the shop, I discovered a drum of an unusual size.

👉 Before I knew it, I was playing it (lol)

The last time I played a Japanese drum was at Kiyosu Castle.

It had been way too long, and of course, I had zero practice.
Honestly, it was a bit embarrassing to play in front of people, but...

But this 👇
✔ If there's a mountain, you want to climb it
✔ If there's a microphone, you want to sing

It's the same feeling as that.

As for the result of playing it...

👉 Rhythm all over the place
👉 No dynamics
👉 "Just someone hitting things" level

Completely low self-evaluation 😂

But I felt refreshed after I finished.

👉 This might actually be quite excellent for stress relief.

🏛️ Arrived at a mysterious facility... an otherworldly vibe

Kept driving and headed to the destination 🚗

There were several parking lots, but I parked in a spot that looked easy to pull into.

And, the moment I got out, I thought.

👉 Something feels a bit off here... (in a good way)

A slightly strange atmosphere.
It feels more like "some kind of facility" than a tourist spot.

🔺 A pyramid suddenly appears

After finishing at the reception and going inside...

👉 A pyramid right away

Wait, this is Japan, right? (lol)

It's completely different from the scenery I imagined.

I don't dislike this kind of gap 😏

🪨 Stone exhibits and my excitement for "obsidian" went through the roof

Inside the building, various stones were on display.

Among them, what caught my eye was...

👉 Obsidian

Wait... I've heard this name somewhere...

The moment I thought that,

👉 It's "Chrono Trigger"!!!🔥

My memories came flooding back all at once.

・Akira Toriyama designs
・A dream collaboration between Square and Enix

The impact at the time was huge.

I've forgotten the detailed story, but
it's amazing that the feeling of "it was incredibly fun" is the only thing that remains.

👉 I really love experiences that act as "memory triggers" like this.

(After looking it up later, it's Dark Matter🪨)

🧠 The choice to want it but not buy it

Honestly, I really wanted this stone.

But this time, I intentionally passed on it.

The reason is simple👇

👉 Memories over material things.

There's no end to it if I keep increasing my possessions, and
memories alone have real value.

In fact, that's lighter and I can take it anywhere.

(Both physically and mentally, that is 😎)

However

...I want it 🤤 lol

🐉 Healed by a mysterious ornament

While walking through the corridor, I discovered an intriguing ornament.

👉 A turtle?
👉 Yamata no Orochi?
👉 A Shisa?

The identity is unknown, but it has such expressive features that I felt a bit healed 😂

These kinds of "things that are hard to identify but catch your eye"
actually stick in your memory quite well.

🌀 The inside of the pyramid was a maze

Since I was there, I decided to go inside.

👉 A complete maze

The atmosphere is good and it feels exciting.

However...

The kids who went in ahead of me were saying

"This way is a dead end!"
"You can go this way!"

👉 They were navigating for me 😂

It was kind of them, but I had a complex feeling since I wanted to explore it myself (lol)

I proceeded with a slightly heavy heart 😅

🔚 Summary: Detours are the essence of travel

This is what I felt this time 👇

👉 Unplanned actions are the most fun

・A shop I happened to find
・A drum I hit on impulse
・A mysterious pyramid
・An experience that brings back memories of games

Everything was "unplanned."

But these kinds of experiences are what stay in your memory the most.

It seemed like a place you could visit regardless of the season, so
👉 I want to come back again when I've forgotten about it

It was that kind of place 😌✨