This post was written in 2006. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.
I used the weekend to go leaf-peeping at the Tachikue Gorge, which is close to where I live. Once I got there, though, it didn’t look like autumn-leaf season yet. -_-;; It’s November, is this really okay…
I’d left home in the morning, so I was starving by the time I arrived. There was a hot-spring inn right in front of the gorge, so I ordered the set meal.
You eat in a tatami room, and inside there’s a hearth like this.
It seems to be used more for cooking than for heating. That kettle is just for decoration ^_^ The actual tea water came from an electric hot-water pot..
The set meal.
It’s the classic traditional Japanese set meal you usually get at a hot-spring inn. They put care into every single side dish. The food has to be good for guests to come back, so they really make the effort.
For example, the couple of slices of sashimi
Not just the presentation, the freshness was seriously impressive. You can’t write it off just because it’s a hot-spring inn up in the mountains.
The side dishes.
Of course, every side dish was delicious. They even went as far as adding a single maple leaf as an accent.
Unrolling the bamboo-leaf wrapper…
I don’t really remember what it was called, but it tasted pretty good. They told me to eat it while it was warm, but I missed my chance because I was busy taking pictures.
Well.. I didn’t get many good shots that day, but..
These are the groups of stone Buddhas at the Tachikue Gorge, including the Five Hundred Arhats (Gohyaku Rakan).. Apparently there are more than a thousand of them, but I didn’t try counting..
Just a shrine bell..
Just a wind turbine
Wind turbines are set up all over the place. On a clear day the view is really great.
Waves crashing in the sea
After this it got dark, so I gave up on taking pictures.