I, Kagami, and Koko were pretty much clueless about the Japanese region.
I learned a bit in school. I know roughly where the cities are, and I tend to forget everything after the tests, but I vaguely remember some local specialties.
But knowing things in theory doesn’t really help when you actually go there. Honestly, I’ve barely been to any other region in Korea besides Seoul.
Even though I acted like I knew better than Kagami, we were both blank slates on this.
Still, now that we were in Nagoya, I thought I should at least take one picture.
We took a photo in front of Nagoya Castle, had some tonkatsu for lunch, and set off around 1 PM.
Looking at the road map that Kagami prepared, the distance from Nagoya to Osaka was much shorter than the distance from Tokyo to Nagoya. Thinking about yesterday’s experience, it wouldn’t take more than two and a half to three hours.
“…Driving.”
“Pardon?”
After zoning out for a moment in the moving car, I suddenly said that, and Kagami responded. This time, her eyes were properly focused ahead.
“Driving seems to be getting a bit easier for you.”
Well, after driving for several hours, it’s only natural to improve. She had practiced hard before, and she must have learned a lot at the driving school too.
“Really?”
Kagami seemed to be in a good mood from my compliment.
“Koto Ne.”
Suddenly, Koko, who had been sitting behind me, leaned forward and thrust a bag of snacks at me.
Though Koko gobbles up anything without hesitation, she somehow developed specific preferences after being force-fed various things.
Basically, if people say something is “delicious,” she’ll almost always like it—snacks, bread, and meaty foods. She likes vegetables and eats them well too, but when both meat and vegetables are available, she tends to eat the meat first. It seems Koko doesn’t yet have the concept of “saving something she likes for later.”
And maybe it’s the same with snacks—if I let her choose, she tends to pick sweet snacks over salty ones. It seems she doesn’t care much about texture.
Kagami treated Koko to a bunch of snacks. What Koko was offering me now was one of those.
Hmm, wait, looking again, it does seem a bit odd for a snack.
I think it was called a “snack” where I bought it, but it looked more like a rice cake.
I recalled the excitement when the attractive mom brought in two cute girls, and the clerk explained things about it. Honestly, I barely understood most of it, but I do remember that it’s made by steaming.
A specialty of Nagoya, huh? It seems to be a traditional snack of the region, like what Mako brought me after her trip to Sendai last summer.
It’s a bag containing five small square-shaped rice cake-like things lined up, labeled ‘Uwiro (ういろう).’
Though they called it a rice cake, they did seem somewhat similar to yokan. Well, it’s still a rice cake, but yokan is something you can’t call a rice cake. In the end, they’re both snacks.
“Is it tasty?”
“Yep!”
Just to ask, I probed Koko, who seemed to be chomping away, probably having stuffed a few in her mouth at once.
She must have offered it to me because it was delicious, right? Though, I can’t fully trust her taste, considering how broad it is.
I tore one open and tasted it.
It had a flavor somewhat like what it looked, slightly akin to yokan. It was a little less sweet than the factory-made yokan sold in Korean supermarkets.
If I had to judge whether it was delicious, I’d say it was decent, but typical local specialties aren’t necessarily something that would make me travel just to eat.
After chewing on the one in my mouth, I opened another. The one I had was bean-filled, so it had a strong red bean flavor, while this one was black and looked much more like yokan.
“…Want some?”
I showed Kagami and said.
At my words, Kagami almost turned her head fully toward me, but she seemed to hold back, stopping at about a 15-degree angle. At least her eyes were looking straight ahead, thank goodness. This made her expression a bit comical, though.
Hmm… It seems that since Kagami is still a beginner, it wouldn’t be a good idea to let go of the steering wheel.
Thinking that, I brought the snack closer to Kagami’s mouth.
It wasn’t too big, so it fit in her mouth. Once I put it in, her cheeks bulged out a bit.
With a happy look while munching on the not-so-yokan, she seemed immensely satisfied.
“Koto Ne, Koto Ne!”
I heard Koko’s excited call from behind, turning slightly to look back.
Koko had her mouth wide open toward me like a baby bird, and it was adorable.
I opened another package and placed it in her mouth. Koko happily munched on the snack with a pleased expression.
This trip really feels like the right choice.
I wiped my slightly sticky fingers on my pants and turned on the camcorder, filming the two still enjoying their snacks.
Then, I widened the angle to capture my face and made a peace sign with my fingers.
“…….”
Not knowing what to say, I pondered for a moment before saying casually.
“On our way to Osaka.”
I mumbled that without a care.
*
During the trip to Kyoto City, we briefly chatted in the car, deciding to visit Osaka first and then Kyoto instead of the other way around.
We planned to stay in Osaka for two nights.
When we arrived, it was still around 4 PM, and after dropping our luggage in the hotel room by the beach, we quickly started searching for famous things in Osaka.
We decided to visit Osaka Castle tomorrow. It was simply too close to closing time to go now.
Universal Studios Japan was also around at this time, but if we went there tomorrow, we wouldn’t have time to go anywhere else. While I didn’t mind spending a whole day at an amusement park, we both felt it was somewhat… disappointing.
Let’s save the amusement park for another time; we agreed on that. After all, once the spring break ends, there’ll be Japan’s unique Golden Week, plus summer and winter vacations.
I wasn’t sure how hard I would study for my exams, but it wouldn’t be impossible to carve out some time during the 3rd year’s break.
Kagami was eager to explore Osaka as a whole, so we settled on that. I wanted to do the same.
Our first stop was Dotonbori.
Living in that area, the busy streets can feel tiresome if you visit too often, but from a traveler’s perspective, it felt invigorating.
Even if all the buildings look somewhat similar, that unique atmosphere always exists, even in a different city within the same country.
Dotonbori was just like that.
As the sun set and the area darkened, Dotonbori sparkled just like any lively commercial district.
The most prominent feature was the giant sign of the marathon man. The neon lights blinking around the border were incredibly dazzling.
I recognized the background; it was a location frequently shared in blogs of those who travel to Japan.
Kagami seemed to know it too, her eyes sparkling.
We all took photos there.
It was too dark for disposable cameras, so we started with the camcorder and phone. Though the digital photos taken in the dark were heavily noisy, we figured it would be better to shoot again in the daylight tomorrow.
We bought takoyaki to eat while wandering around, observing everything around. The people passing by were chatting in unfamiliar dialects—perhaps it was the Osaka dialect I had only heard about?
Tokyo is vast, and it would take quite a bit of time to check out all the famous streets in it, but just being this far away was enough to enjoy the atmosphere.
For dinner, we had udon.
Apparently, udon originated in Osaka, but honestly, I couldn’t tell how much it differed from the udon served elsewhere.
Regardless, it was enjoyable.
Without any worries or thoughts.
Just walking with family.
How long has it been since I felt like this?
“…….”
Suddenly, I stopped walking.
Koko and Kagami took a few more steps before realizing and looking back at me.
“Koto Ne?”
Their voices overlapped.
Since Koko had been calling me by my name until now, there wasn’t much surprise. But when I think about it, Kagami’s way of addressing me has changed somewhere along the way.
Previously, she used to refer to me with pronouns like “you” more frequently, but now she simply calls me by name.
Maybe it’s because Kagami has started recognizing me as family. It’s hard to call one’s daughter “you.”
“Is something wrong?”
I wondered if there would come a day when Kagami would speak to me informally?
After briefly pondering, I shrugged my shoulders.
Well, whether that day comes or not doesn’t really matter. If I were to dictate that, the relationship as family would be strained from that moment on.
Moreover, I don’t really have a preferred method.
What’s important is how I change.
Would it change naturally and slowly, like with Kagami and Koko? Without me even realizing it?
Who knows, but…
It seems like it wouldn’t matter all that much either.
“Nothing.”
I spoke my thoughts out loud and stepped in between them, causing Kagami and Koko to tilt their heads in confusion.
The way they looked reminded me so much of a mother and daughter.
However, if I said that now, I’d probably find myself wrapped up in Kagami’s arms for sure, so I decided it was better not to say anything.
*
At the hotel, Kagami seemed intent on reading a picture book to Koko, which she did yesterday, and it looked like she wanted to read it to me today, so I quickly went to wash up. In fact, I was the last one to wash up today. Was she planning to put me to bed without a wash?
…Was her heart so anxious?
I heard there’s a solution for kids with behavioral problems who didn’t receive enough parental love—revisiting educational phases from baby to young child stage. It seemed like Kagami was instinctively applying that solution to herself.
She recognized me as family, and while we’ve broken down a pretty good number of walls, it still felt a bit off to read a picture book at this age.
It would be better if Koko took on that role. Koko doesn’t mind and enjoys it.
“Phew.”
Soaked in the bathtub, I dozed off a little while, and the bath product had a pleasant scent.
After dozing off and waking up, I found myself smiling slightly.
Knowing that I had the money to stay at such a hotel, I still strangely clung to living in that house. I could easily move to a place in Tokyo to cut down on commute time and live closer to my friends if I wanted to.
But somehow, I didn’t want to.
It wasn’t because I wanted to endure discomfort. I also didn’t dislike the idea of living near my friends.
It was simply that I had come to recognize that place as home.
Having grown attached to that house after a year, I found myself not wanting to throw away or move many of those belongings.
At first, it was painful because I had nothing at all, but someone kept trying to fill my deficiencies. Everything inside, including the objects and the people who often came in.
Eventually, that would pass too.
It might be hard to live there for a lifetime. There might come a time when I have to move to a bigger house, or there could be reasons to demolish that house.
At this moment, everything will eventually fade away.
“…….”
I can’t hold on to it.
But I want to remember. Everything.
“Shall I go out?”
After drying myself off, I stepped outside to find Koko again resting her head on Kagami’s arm.
What the heck is this?
Does my voice have a sleep-inducing effect? Is it like some sort of magic?
Well, Koko usually has a personality that allows her to sleep anywhere, but it still feels like she’s sleeping a bit too deeply.
As I tried to head to another bed, Kagami patted her side like yesterday.
I seriously wondered why we rented a room with three beds.
Then again, since it’s Kagami’s money, I had no right to complain.
I lay down next to Kagami.
I had been dozing off in the bathroom too. It seems that after hours of driving today and wandering around until late, I had much more fatigue than I thought.
“……Koto Ne.”
As my consciousness slowly drifted away, Kagami suddenly asked a question, startling me awake.
“Uhh?”
Instead of answering, I made a weird noise, but Kagami didn’t seem surprised at all; she didn’t even smile.
She just asked with a serious voice.
“Are you enjoying this?”
I opened my eyes again.
Turning to look, I saw Kagami looking at me.
The room’s curtains were intentionally left open, and the mood light next to the bed was on, so I could see Kagami’s face quite clearly.
Moreover, crammed into the bed that was originally meant for one, her face was quite close to mine.
“It’s fun, even with no plans.”
“Weren’t you the one who arranged it deliberately without a plan?”
I thought it was simply a long drive.
“Deliberately… it is, but still.”
Kagami lay back down, staring at the ceiling.
Her side profile looked a bit dazed.
Kagami must be the most fatigued, considering how long she’s been driving. She had driven quite a long distance for two consecutive days, and right after driving, we hadn’t had time to rest, going here and there instead.
“Honestly, I wanted to make a smarter plan.”
She likely wouldn’t have known how to do it.
Even someone who grew up in an ordinary household might feel confused planning a trip for the first time as an adult.
It’s impossible to devise a perfect plan when going somewhere you’ve never been before. Even in this smartphone age.
They say it can take a few minutes to get from one point to another, but once you get there, it could be too crowded or you could walk too slowly or too quickly, changing the time it takes.
You learn to plan cleanly after visiting several times and gaining certainty about how to continue.
But Kagami didn’t grow up in an ordinary household.
So, she didn’t know that every ‘hardship’ is something everyone experiences. It’s similar to a working couple who often leave the house yet still make an effort to plan their kids’ meals.
“It’s all our first time.”
So, I simply put it like that.
“It’s my first time, Koko’s too.”
Sure, we’ve been on a school trip, but I decided not to bring that up here.
“Next time, we can do better, can’t we?”
When I asked like that, Kagami was silent for a second before finally speaking.
“Yeah, next time…”
She spoke with a tone that seemed to carry an echo.
“Right, even now, it’s quite fun. Like I said, it’s our first time anyway.”
It’s usually fun to do anything for the first time. Just seeing a new place can fill up time. I felt that just a little earlier.
“Is that so?”
Kagami finally sighed as if she felt relieved.
*
The next day.
In the morning, we visited an aquarium to see the fish.
For some reason, Koko drooled a bit while watching the fish swim freely in the water. Maybe she thought they were fish to eat?
Fortunately, thanks to the rigorous training against feeding her cat food, she didn’t attempt to hunt the fish.
For lunch, we grilled meat and then headed to Osaka Castle in the afternoon.
It was larger than I had expected. The place called the Tenshukaku seemed to have been rebuilt recently because it looked more modern than I anticipated.
Well, I wasn’t here to ponder its historical significance anyway.
Koko’s eyes sparkled the whole time. Kagami too, though she was trying not to show it, her eyes were definitely shining a bit.
And my eyes probably sparkled as well. Honestly, I felt like I was on an overseas trip.
I had never felt this relaxed, even when hanging out with friends. Upon reflection, I was always too worried back then about everything.
This was truly a carefree vacation, having cleared away all concerns.
“I want to eat something!”
“Well then, shall we go eat that?”
When Koko suddenly exclaimed about something she wanted, Kagami quickly replied.
Seeing that, I almost burst out laughing, but I bit my lips to suppress the laughter and walked alongside the two.
The three of us walking under the clear sky made a cheerful sound.
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