Unwinding in Fukui
After almost six months of oppressive heat and humidity, the weather has finally started to cool down enough to warrant bringing Ayumi on longer drives. With a forecasted mid-afternoon temperature of 28˚C, I threw caution to the wind and decided in the early morning that we would cross over the mountains and head to the west coast of the country to Tojinbo, Fukui. This place is not a popular tourist location, per se, but it does have a rather large park with paths that follow the rugged coast for several kilometres. So, shortly before 10 o'clock in the morning, we hopped into the car, dropped the top, and travelled almost 200km west.
Ayumi and I have been struggling with a little cabin fever over the past half year as a result of Japan's long, humid summer and a crippling lack of income, so this trip was a way to stretch some muscles and enjoy a little fresh air without immediately breaking into a sweat. Every so often we would stop to explore a rest area and, oddly enough, Ayumi made a point to stay awake for most of the drive to Fukui. She generally sleeps when we're in the car for more than 20 minutes, so it was nice to see her sitting up and occasionally leaning over the door to get a better sniff of the mountain towns and villages we passed through.
One of the things that I enjoy on long drives is watching for fellow travellers, vehicles that either lead or follow for relatively long distances. It has often surprised me to see other people with a similar point of origin drive several hours to the same destination. Yesterday was no exception, with a vehicle from Nagoya and another from east Gifu leading the way for much of the way along rural roads after entering Fukui prefecture.
The parking lot for the national park was quite full, but we managed to find a spot near a semi-shaded area. For the number of vehicles, I expected to see more people walking along the oceanside trails, but we rarely saw more than four or five people at a time walk past. This worked in our favour as Ayumi wanted to sniff every blade of grass and I wanted to photograph anything even remotely interesting. The camera gear has been sitting idle for about as long as Ayumi, itching for any opportunity to get outdoors. I wanted to make the most of the opportunity.
Near the southern edge of the park there is a small camping area that people can reserve, pitch a tent, and relax. As Ayumi and I approached, a man was checking the restraining ropes on a shade tarp. His giant Toyota pickup truck was parked beside a tent large enough to comfortably fit a family of five, but there was nobody else to be seen. He called out, beckoning us to come over.
"Can you take a picture of me with my camp?" he asked, holding his phone out to me.
The man appeared to be in his 50s, but his energy was more like a person in their 20s. After taking a few pictures, he pointed to the camera and asked me to take a video.
"I'm a YouTuber," he said. "I'd like to have a short promo video."
Only a mean-spirited person could refuse such a request. I set his phone to record video, held the device by the sides to ensure the microphones were unobstructed, and played the part of a cameraman. Afterwards we had a short conversation about the park, the prefecture, and camping. His personality was perfect for someone making videos on YouTube. There were jokes, smiles, invitations, and everything one might expect from an online extrovert.
The puppy enjoyed the extra attention, too.
As Ayumi and I made our way back to the parking lot we passed by a number of families with small dogs and small children. A young girl, perhaps 3 years old, was trailing behind her parents looking clearly tired until her father asked "Who wants ice cream?" in the exaggerated way that a parent might in order to excite a child. When entering the parking lot, I didn't see any place that was selling ice cream, so decided to follow them to see if they knew something I didn't.
It was a good decision.
To the other side of the parking lot were a number of shuttered buildings, long since abandoned. Their rusted storm shutters looked to have been immobile for years. However, just around the corner ...
... was a busy pedestrian street. Dozens of shops and restaurants on both sides selling everything from name tags to sea weed to canvas bags to ice cream. At least a hundred people were milling about, deciding where to eat and what souvenirs they might buy. Ayumi was overwhelmed by the crowd. We made our way through, heading to the rocky shoreline on the far end of the street. Here there were even more people enjoying the cool temperatures, strong winds, and natural beauty of the area.
We enjoyed a lap around the rocks, taking pictures and stopping for people who wanted to meet Ayumi. We passed by one of the many shops selling ice cream on the way back to the car and a well-positioned flavour caught my attention: いも – sweet potato1.
This was 300 Yen well spent.
After finishing the treat, we made our way back to the car. Ayumi managed to cover about 12km on foot for the first time in six months and was clearly exhausted by the effort. Her eyes were closed within moments of being put in her seat, and she slept most of the way home.
The drive back was uneventful, but not at all boring. The top was down, the sun was up, the temperature was gorgeous. We drove through the mountains along a different route from the morning and I had an opportunity to enjoy the beauty that permeates the valleys of central Japan. Tall trees with impossibly straight trunks covered the mountains while gentle rivers meandered to either side of the road. Birds sang, insects called, and the traffic was absolutely minimal for most of the trip between Fukui City and Gifu City.
Nothing beats clean air and exercise. This was a trip that both Ayumi and I needed.
Sweet potato is usually さつまいも (satsumaimo) in Japanese, but is often shortened to just いも for desserts.