A bath first, then tofu and Hossawa Falls in Hinohara
The bath came before the walk, which felt like the wrong way round at first. In the end, the quiet time in the water was a happy start to an afternoon of shopping, soy milk and a waterfall in Hinohara.
A personal outing preserved in Haruru’s record saved on 2 July 2023, edited with her existing permission.
A quiet bath before the walk
After lunch, Haruru and her companions went to Janoyu Onsen Takaraso. They arrived at about one in the afternoon and had the bath to themselves at that time.
Bathing before the stroll had seemed a little back to front, but everyone was pleased that they could take their time. The photographs show the inn’s name on a wooden sign, with green hills and the building’s roof behind it.
Konjac, tofu and very rich soy milk
After the bath, they bought sashimi-style konjac and offcuts at a nearby factory’s direct-sales shop, then headed towards Hossawa Falls. Before the waterfall, they stopped at a tofu shop whose sign reads Chitoseya.
Haruru bought tofu, aburaage and okara doughnuts, and drank soy milk. It was so rich that it felt like drinking tofu itself; she joked that she wanted to add soy sauce straight into her mouth. She had never had soy milk that concentrated before.
A green walk after the rain
The rain had stopped by the time they went for their walk. Instead of feeling humid after the bath, the air felt a little cool to Haruru, and she found it pleasant to walk.
Her note says they reached the waterfall after about fifteen minutes. The photographs keep the small details of the way there: blue and pink flowers around a sign for the waterfall, green leaves overhead and a path beside a mossy slope.
Time to sit and watch Hossawa Falls
At Hossawa Falls, Haruru sat on a rock and simply watched the water. The photographs show a white stream falling between green-covered rock walls, then a closer view of the water splashing into the pool.
Just sitting there felt soothing to her. She was happy to find that Tokyo still had places like this to enjoy.
Back to town for the next stop
The plan for dinner was a local Chinese restaurant, so they headed back towards home. On the way, they stopped at Kikkogo, the soy sauce shop in Itsukaichi mentioned in her note.
They reached the Chinese restaurant at about seven in the evening. A bath, several shopping stops and time beside the waterfall had filled the afternoon.
Sources for this account
Edited with Haruru’s existing permission from her past personal record and its saved photographs. The afternoon timing, purchases and impressions come from that record. Legible signs supply the inn and tofu shop names; official tourism sources are used only for English place-name spellings.