✈️Walking with Family, A Trip to Ise ⑦ ~ The End of the Journey, and On to the Next

The trip has finally reached its last day.
While having breakfast at the hotel, I found the Ise udon I had eaten yesterday.

This time, it was hot Ise udon.
"Since I'm here, I might as well try it again."
Thinking that, I took a bite.

Then, contrary to yesterday,
it was very delicious.
The aroma of the dashi spread softly,
and the gentle flavor soaked into my body.

When I asked the restaurant staff about it out of curiosity,
they said, "Hot Ise udon is more delicious than the cold version."

It seems that
the way I chose to eat it at first was wrong.

And so,
Ise udon successfully redeemed its reputation.

After leaving the hotel,
the last place we headed to on our trip was Atsuta Jingu Shrine.
We got off at Jingu-mae Station, and as we were walking,
from somewhere came a "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
sound of a chicken crowing.

Since it was a bit late to be called morning,
"They crow at this time?"
I thought, and continued on toward Atsuta Jingu.

During our travels, my father always walks in front.
On this day too, as my father was walking while checking the path,
suddenly, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!!"
Right behind him,
a loud crowing sound rang out toward my father.

When I asked him later,
he said he was so surprised he couldn't even make a sound.

At the time, I just thought, "That's one energetic chicken."

However, once we entered Atsuta Jingu,
we saw chickens here and there.

When I looked it up later, I learned that these chickens are called "Shinkei" (divine chickens) and are cherished as messengers of the gods. It is said that meeting one brings good luck.

Knowing that,
that crowing sound started to feel a little special.

Due to time constraints, it was difficult to see everything, so we first headed to the main shrine to pray.

After that,
we walked along the "Kokoro no Komichi" (Path of the Heart) to the Shimizu-sha Shrine.

It is said that if you pour water three times with a ladle onto the stone in the center,
your wish will come true,
so I gave it a try.

......but I couldn't really tell until the end if I had poured it correctly.

The next place we visited was the Great Camphor Tree.

The massive tree, said to be over 1,000 years old, had an overwhelming presence when viewed up close.
Both its thick trunk and its widely spread roots make one feel the long years it has quietly lived through.

Nearby, a taxi driver guiding tourists was saying, "There is a white snake inside this."
Apparently, eggs are always offered to the white snake.

It seems you rarely get to see it, but
“Even if we can't see it, I'm sure it's there.”
Listening to that story, we decided to leave Atsuta Jingu.

……However.
It was only when we were about to leave that we discovered the large torii gate.

“Huh?”
Thinking about it, it seems we had entered the shrine grounds without passing through the torii gate.

We couldn't exactly start over from the beginning, so I felt a little guilty, thinking, "Maybe they thought we were trespassers..."

On our way out, while passing through the torii gate,
I quietly apologized in my heart.

And then, I suddenly thought.

Perhaps the sacred chicken that was crowing earlier,
might have been trying to tell us, "That's not the way."

Thinking of it that way, it somehow became a little amusing.

We had actually planned to eat
hitsumabushi at "Atsuta Horaiken."
However, it was a regular holiday that day.
We didn't have much time, so we decided to give up on it.

So, we decided to have a slightly late lunch at "Maruya Honten" at the airport.

It was my father and mother's first time trying hitsumabushi.
While looking at the instructions on how to eat it,
they savored it one bite at a time.

“This is delicious.”
I was able to hear those words many times.

My mother said, "Hitsumabushi is easier to eat than regular unaju (eel over rice)."

Even now that we have returned from the trip, it was a flavor that left such an impression that we still talk about how delicious that hitsumabushi was.

On this trip, we were able to experience a lot of nature,
meet animals, and taste many delicious things.

Of course, that alone was a sufficiently enjoyable trip.

But perhaps what stayed in my heart the most
was the time I spent with my father and mother.

Even though we live together every day,
when we travel, time flows differently than in our daily lives.

I learned sides of them I don't usually notice, laughed together, and gazed at the same scenery.

Those casual moments
felt very special.

At the same time, I also felt that this time we have to travel as a family of three won't last forever as a matter of course.

That is exactly why I want to cherish every single trip.

Actually, this autumn,
we are planning a trip to Yokohama.

And, even while we were in the middle of this Mie trip, the conversation of "Where should we go next year?" had already begun.

The first thing my father said was, "Okinawa!"

I don't know if it will happen yet.

Even so, I was somehow happy that we started talking about the next trip before this one had even ended.

I hope that next year, too, I can see new scenery with my father and mother,
eat delicious food, and laugh a lot.

With that excitement in my heart, the 5-day, 4-night trip to Ise came to a close.

Thank you for reading until the end✨

✈️ Bonus
The mountain seen from the window of the plane on the way home.
When I looked it up, it seemed to be Mount Chokai.

I love the scenery at my destination,
but the view from the airplane is also special.
Being able to see a view like this at the end of the trip made me feel like I got a little extra.

On the fourth day of the trip, we went to the Ise Jingu Naiku.
I am writing about the day we spent slowly enjoying Oharai-machi and Okage Yokocho while wrapped in the sacred atmosphere.

These are gentle bird LINE stickers that look like they were drawn with flower petals.
I'd like to introduce these at the end, while remembering the sacred chickens and swallows I met on this trip.

Thank you always for adding my articles to your magazines and for your warm comments😭🫶
Whether you add them to your magazines
or send me your thoughts, I read every single one with true happiness.
With gratitude, I would like to introduce a few again this time🌿

🫧 Magazine Introduction
※I am introducing the magazines that were added in the previous article.

💬 Comment Introduction
Thank you always for your warm comments☺️
From the comments I received, I would like to introduce one🌿

🌻Rei Kurosaki-san🌻

This time, I would like to introduce this article by Rei Kurosaki-san😊

“[Read in 2 minutes] Life is determined not by what you start, but by what you end.”

Rei-san's articles often include "Read in X minutes" in the title, and I think it's wonderful how that shows consideration for busy readers✨

What left an impression on me in this article was the phrase,
“People whose lives change are not those who started something, but those who ended something.”

I also tend to think only about "continuing things," but this made me realize that sometimes, the "courage to end things" is also important🍀

After finishing it, this article gave me the opportunity to quietly think about "what things should I end?"

And finally, the way it concludes with Rei-san's signature
“Very nice✨😆👍”
really gives me a boost of energy as well😊