105 - A Hot Spring Trip─Not a Baby Making Trip (3)
TL/Editor: looloo
Status: ongoing
Illustrations: posted in discord
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"Yeonho! Let's take a picture here too!"
"With the mountain in the background?"
"Make sure the mountain is in the frame! Lower the selfie stick!"
We got off the bus and, excited, started taking pictures everywhere. The sound of Japanese around us and the architecture different from our country's made our eyes sparkle.
It was hard to feel it while we were on our way, but as soon as we got off the bus, it really hit us: 'Ah, we've come to a foreign country.' If we had gone to a place like Tokyo, we might not have felt this way. The unique atmosphere of this hot spring village made it all the more tangible.
The village somehow reminded me of "Spirited Away," which I watched when I was younger. The air was clear, likely because we were in the mountains. After taking dozens of photos near the terminal, we finally started moving."The ryokan is straight up this way, right?"
"Yes. They said they could send a shuttle bus if we called, but it's not far, so I thought we could walk. Are you okay with that?"
"I'm not tired at all~ There's a restaurant I found while searching, so let's eat there on the way."
"Well, it is almost check-in time... but it's just check-in, so we can take our time."
Holding Heena's hand, we entered a side alley off the wide main road in front of the terminal. Cute wooden buildings, various eateries, and beautiful streets spread out before us.
We walked slowly, admiring the sights. As expected of Japan, there were shops selling merchandise from animated movies, various stalls, and vendors catering to tourists.
With so many delicious-looking street foods around, I couldn't just pass by.
"Heena! Look at that! Can I have just one?"
What I pointed to was a small stall selling dango. After all, when traveling, you have to try the local food!
"Oh, really... We're about to eat... Just one, okay?"
Heena, seeing my excitement, pinched my cheek lightly and laughed, then approached the stall.
A moment later, she came back with a skewer of three round dango. Since Japan uses even --- yen coins, she put the clinking coins into her pocket.
"Wow, it's really sweet."
"I can't eat much. It's too sweet~"
The dango was extremely sweet, just as expected. However, it wasn't the kind of sweetness I anticipated; it was deep and sticky, not quite to my taste.
Since there were only three, we quickly shared them and continued walking. Though there were other tempting foods like soft serve ice cream and takoyaki, we needed to eat a proper meal since we had only had onigiri and dango today.
After a leisurely stroll, Heena led us into another alley. She took me to the restaurant she had found while searching. As soon as we entered the slightly dim, izakaya-like establishment, the staff greeted us warmly.
I didn't understand what they were saying, though.
"What kind of place is this?"
"Hehe... You'll see!"
Before I even opened the menu, Heena had already placed our order. Her Japanese was clumsy, but the staff seemed used to it and kindly acknowledged her.
But what is unagi? That was the only word I caught.
Looking around, there were no other customers, so I couldn't tell what they served. It was hard to judge by smell too. Heena glanced around the interior of the restaurant and sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness~ I was going to go somewhere else if it was crowded since it's famous."
"Really?"
"Yes! I think we picked the perfect time to come."
We had just started as early as possible, but it seemed we had indeed timed it well, as the tourist spot wasn't crowded at all.
After some small talk while waiting, side dishes were served on pretty plates, along with various sauce containers. Shortly after, the main dish arrived.
In front of me was a large bowl of rice topped with a sauce and something that looked like fish. Next to it was a bowl of Japanese-style miso soup, which I was familiar with.
Before eating, I poked at the fish with my chopsticks, trying to figure out what it was. Heena took a few pictures of the food and then told me the answer.
"This is a donburi, Yeonho."
"I can see that... but what kind of donburi?"
"Eel~"
"Ah, eel... eel?"
"Yes!"
I didn't know much about fish, but I had heard that eel was supposedly good for men. I wondered if that was why she brought us here. Glancing at Heena, I saw her face lit up with a big smile.
She cheerfully placed a piece of her eel onto my rice bowl and said,
"Eat a lot and get energized~ If you want more, just tell me!"
"...Thanks."
"Make sure to eat your vegetables too. This looks delicious~"
Seeing her push side dishes toward me while neglecting her own meal made me feel a bit pressured.
With a pleased expression, she watched me take each bite, and I could feel her genuine care.
After eating Heena's share as well, making it about 0.5 servings of eel rice bowl, we headed back to the ryokan with full bellies. Once we left the alley, we saw various ryokans, with no stalls, restaurants, or shops, just the clean air and the countryside path.
Our destination was a bit further in, so we walked up the hill at a leisurely pace.
"Should I carry your bag if you're tired?"
"No, I'm fine~ We're almost there."
Passing through the lush mountain path, we arrived at a ryokan that looked like it belonged in a Japanese youth healing movie, surrounded by stone walls. The harmony of trees, stone walls, and the ryokan itself was perfect, making me gasp in admiration.
Although I wanted to look around more, we needed to check in first.
Opening the antique sliding door, we were greeted by an elderly lady who bowed respectfully.
"Welcome."
"We have a reservation."
Her extreme politeness caught me off guard, making me bow awkwardly in response and stutter my way through Japanese. I showed her the voucher I had captured on my phone, and after verifying it, she motioned for us to follow her.
We exited the main building and took a path around to the back, slightly uphill. Along the way, we passed two large outdoor hot spring baths, which seemed to be private family baths. They could be used exclusively by changing the sign outside.
Since we had no intention of using them, we just glanced at them as we walked by.
Finally, we arrived at our room, which was a small detached building meant for one group.
"This is so beautiful~"
"Really... wow, we have to take pictures later."
The trees around were neatly trimmed, and the picturesque surroundings made me itch to take photos immediately. Although I had seen countless reviews from other travelers, seeing it in person was a completely different experience.
However, we couldn't do that right away, so we went inside with the elderly lady and listened to her detailed explanations. Instead of paying full attention to her, we mostly relied on a pamphlet written in Korean that she handed to us.
It included information about when and where dinner was served, how to use the heating and cooling systems, which items in the fridge were free, and so on.
And the highlight was the wooden shower room and the charming outdoor hot spring bath visible when you opened the door in the corner! The bath was spacious enough for four people.
The elderly lady showed us around and finally handed us a key that could lock the door. She then bowed politely once more and left. This cute little building with a large living room, a room, and a hot spring was now our exclusive space for three days.
As soon as we confirmed she had completely left, we couldn't contain our excitement and threw our bags down.
"Oh my gosh! This place is amazing!"
"This is crazy! What should we do first? Should we take pictures around here?"
"Let's do it! Hurry!"
Honestly, I thought I'd have some naughty thoughts as soon as we got in here, but the place was so amazing that none of those thoughts came to mind. I wanted to write a long, perfect review when I got back.
Heena and I immediately ran outside and started posing and taking pictures everywhere.
"Here! Can you take a picture with the whole building in it?"
"I think I can if I set the timer and place it there. Wait a sec."
Half of what we did after arriving in Japan seemed to be taking photos, but that's what travel memories are all about. Thanks to Heena, the countless photos we took were organized by date on my computer. They were fun to look at occasionally.
After taking photos for a long time, we went back to the room exhausted after about an hour. We were a bit sweaty too.
"Should we take a quick shower? We have plenty of time until dinner."
"Let's do that. And change into something comfortable... Oh! Do you want to wear yukata?"
"Oh, right! I think they were next to the fridge... here they are."
There was one set each for men and women. Maybe they matched them to the passport information when we booked.
The men's yukata was simple with a white base and navy stripes, while the women's was a very light pink with bright floral patterns. The waist tie was red.
Honestly, I wasn't interested in the men's yukata; I really wanted to see Heena in the women's yukata. We decided to shower separately, me in the bathroom and Heena in the shower room, and then come out wearing the yukata.
I quickly washed off the sweat and put on the yukata over my underwear, tying the waist tie casually. I waited in the living room, and soon Heena came out.
"You're out quickly?"
Her face was slightly flushed, as if she had taken a proper shower, and her collarbones peeked through the gap in the yukata.
Although it was a loose-fitting garment, Heena's curves, including her chest and hips, were subtly visible.
She was wearing the yukata.
Author's Note:
The next episode will be rated 15-17. The episode after that will be rated 19.
And I have no shame in my preferences. I love erotic stuff!
Sigh... If I had one more 19-coin, I would have written an adult toy play scene too...
It's a pity the hot spring is the last. Too bad.