Family Travelogue | A loose screw keeps the heart healthy. Plans overturned the day before

Continuing from last time.

My family used to take me on repeated trips to Nara, ignoring Kyoto entirely, because I was once 'crazy about Tsuyoshi Domoto.' We probably went as a family four or five times.

We went to see the Nara deer many times. I love the Great Buddha statue. Sometimes my husband would drive us around the elementary school that I thought was Tsuyoshi's alma mater while the kids were in their car seats. We also visited Tenkawa Benzaiten, where Tsuyoshi reportedly recorded, camped nearby, and admired the autumn leaves. (Looking back like this, maybe my husband is kind.)

For a family like ours, this was our first trip to Kyoto and Osaka together.

However, my children don't have many desires. Even though we booked a hotel in Kyoto and bought a guidebook, our destination remained vague. I couldn't imagine how crowded Kyoto was with foreign tourists, as I'd seen on the news, and I was anxious about wanting to avoid getting stuck in crowds.

There was also a plan to go to the 'Minpaku' (National Museum of Ethnology) in Osaka, which my daughter had wanted to visit for a while. But I suggested, 'Since we're staying in Kyoto, wouldn't it be nice to enjoy Kyoto without adding more travel?' Since deciding on a destination was stressful, I left it pending.

My daughter also had a stance of 'anywhere is fine,' not necessarily wanting to go to the museum this time.

We lost the timing to go to Universal Studios Japan after the pandemic, and the kids didn't ask to go this time either. I think the whole family finds crowded places exhausting, haha.

My son would occasionally watch videos of Kyoto's scenic spots on YouTube, but he was indifferent, feeling like he'd already seen them in the videos, didn't know much about history, and didn't have anywhere he really wanted to go. On the other hand, my daughter experienced school non-attendance in her upper elementary school years and didn't go on her school trip. This would be her first time in Kyoto. I worried that special feelings might well up and make her feel overwhelmed, or that maybe we shouldn't go to the classic tourist spots. Ignoring my motherly concerns, she said her wish was to 'eat delicious food and buy cute souvenirs.' Such a girl! I felt relieved.

Now, my husband. He was hiding his desires. (I'll probably get yelled at for writing this. It's for the family, right? Understood.) He maintains a 'wherever everyone wants to go is fine' stance, but when we talk, I can sense places he wants to go in the edges of his words. When I suggest, 'Then shall we go there?', he says, 'No, it's not like I really want to go.'

Is he trying to avoid responsibility by not asserting himself, or is he prioritizing the family? Surely, it's for the family. I decided to put aside my own potentially distorted perspective and watch quietly.

When asked, 'So what are we doing for a destination?', I plucked up the courage and said, 'If no one has anywhere they really want to go, I really want to go to Kurama-dera Temple.'

Over 10 years ago, I won tickets to Tsuyoshi Domoto's Heian Jingu Shrine dedication performance and have memories of going to Kurama-dera and Kifune Shrine alone before the concert. I remember feeling an incredible energy at Kurama-dera, like electricity running through my body. I had been wanting to go again. I suggested, 'Let's go breathe in the good mountain air. We can take the Eizan Electric Railway and get into the travel mood. Isn't that fun?'

The kids were neither here nor there, saying, 'Sure, okay.' My husband also agreed.

We'll go to Kiyomizu-dera early Saturday morning, park the car at the hotel, and then wander around the area. We'll eat delicious food while looking at shrines and temples that catch our eye. On Sunday, we'll go to Kurama-dera early in the morning, and if we have the energy, we'll enjoy a hike down the mountain to Kifune Shrine.

Just as I shared this vague plan with my family,

my husband said, 'It looks like I can book tickets to go inside the Tower of the Sun at the Expo '70 Commemorative Park on Sunday evening.'

Huh? Osaka? I thought, 'I see, so we are going to Osaka after all,' but I realized he wanted to go, so I said, 'Then please go ahead and book it.'

In the end, we couldn't get the reservation at the last minute. But since his desire to 'go see the Tower of the Sun' was confirmed, we decided to aim for the Expo '70 Commemorative Park to see the Tower of the Sun and visit the National Museum of Ethnology on the premises.

So, I moved the visit to Kurama-dera, which was planned for the second morning, to the first day, and moved Kiyomizu-dera to the second morning.

Just like that, the plans were overturned the day before.

The thought, 'So we're going to Osaka after all? I wanted to enjoy the shrines and temples of Kyoto,' crossed my mind for a second, but I felt that if I could just go to Kurama-dera, that would be enough.

We decided on a departure time of 6:30.
“Mom, your departure time is 5:30,”
everyone in the family said in unison, and I laughed. My sense of time is a bit warped and I tend to be late, so it actually helps that they set it early for me, haha.

Because I hadn't reserved a parking spot, my husband grumbled at me the night before, but I ignored him with all my might, haha.

I don't know if it was good to just let it slide, but for now, having a loose screw keeps my heart healthy.

Making detailed plans is tiring, and I wanted to leave things to the flow because I believed it would probably work out.

The reason I was able to not engage even when I was being complained to is because
I let go of the tension and sense of responsibility that I had to be the one to make everyone have fun.
I think.

I also thought it would be nice if my husband could let go of things like that too.

Peacefully and safely.

With such a calm feeling, I took a deep breath and fell asleep.

To be continued