My Childhood: Getting Sick After Moving to Tokyo…
When I was in elementary school, my family moved from Kurashiki, Okayama, to company housing in Tokyo due to my parents’ transfer. The company housing was along Kanna-nana Dori (Loop Road No. 7), and the windows were double-glazed. But still, if you hung laundry outside, it sometimes got a bit black, probably due to exhaust fumes. And back then, photochemical smog was common, making it hard to breathe. It wasn’t long after that I developed hives all over my body and couldn’t go to school.
We went to several hospitals and even tried Chinese herbal medicine to improve my constitution, but nothing really worked. Ultimately, my parents had to make the tough decision to move out of the company housing and leave Tokyo. Even as a child, I strongly felt like I was causing them trouble, and I still remember that feeling.
Actually, what led us to the conclusion that we should leave Tokyo was a trip my grandmother took me on to Kishu for about a month, just to get a change of scenery since we couldn’t find a breakthrough in my treatment. During this trip, my hives astonishingly stopped appearing all of a sudden. And what remained most vivid in my memory from that time was the place name “Atashika” and the beautiful sea view from a friend’s house of my grandmother’s (I think?) which was located on a hill reached by a narrow, small staircase right outside the station.
The memory of climbing those stairs in Atashika and seeing that beautiful ocean view became a cherished memory for me, as it was a turning point that changed me from being a sickly child who couldn’t even go to school. I had always wanted to revisit that memory someday. Then, last year, I learned that I could easily cross over to Mie from Irago via the Isewan Ferry. So, I decided to drive to Atashika in Kumano City, Mie Prefecture, combining it with one of my New Year’s resolutions: taking my eBike out of the prefecture for a cycling trip!
When Inspiration Strikes!
On Friday night, Atashika suddenly popped into my mind. Saturday’s weather looked great, so I got ready to leave early in the morning. My eBike’s front wheel is pretty easy to remove, but I was worried about getting it into the car without scratching it, especially since the rear wheel can’t be removed and it’s heavy. But I managed to load it, so we set off! The roads were clear, and it was a pleasant drive; we reached Irago Port at the tip of the Atsumi Peninsula in no time. Ferries really are such mood-boosting forms of transportation!
Memories Matched with Astonishing Clarity
From Toba, about an hour by ferry, it was another 1.5 hours by car. As soon as I exited the highway, which was slightly inland, the deep blue sea and the gentle, white crescent-shaped sandy beach spread out before my eyes. It matched the scenery in my memory with astonishing accuracy! I don’t recall playing on this beach, but I distinctly remembered seeing it as a view. The area around the station also remained in my memory, so I quickly parked the car and set out to explore the vicinity a bit on my eBike.
Atashika Station, which I believe was small and probably unmanned even back then. Behind the station, there was a small staircase leading up to a hill, and this too was quite vividly etched in my memory, making me happy to see it. The path was steeper than I remembered, and I didn’t go all the way to the top (it was too narrow and steep for my eBike…), but the view of the platform and the sea from a little way up was exactly as I remembered it.
To See My Favorite Columnar Joints – Tategasaki
Since I brought my eBike, I wanted to cycle along the coast a bit. While looking for interesting spots nearby, I found Tategasaki. It’s a place where you can see a slightly mysterious sight: an entire small island jutting out into the sea, composed entirely of columnar joints. It’s just over 10 kilometers one way from Atashika, so it’s perfect for a bike ride.
The scenery along the undulating coastal road was truly beautiful, and I was so glad I brought my eBike. It’s a narrow road that would be a bit of a hassle to drive by car, but with the eBike, the ups and downs were relatively easy. Also, as I cycled, I learned for the first time that there are also pilgrimage routes of the Kumano Kodo nearby, which renewed my desire to walk them someday.
To get to Tategasaki from the coastal road, you need to walk a promenade for about 40 minutes one way. It’s quite a mountain path with many stairs, so it’s a bit challenging. Even so, there are several spots where the beauty of the sea color is so captivating that you won’t get bored at all.
Tategasaki, where the entire small island jutting out into the deep blue sea is made of columnar joints, is quite impressive. The spot from which to view Tategasaki is a wide-open rocky area called Senjojiki, which itself was quite a sight to behold. There are also ways to approach Tategasaki and the nearby Blue Grotto by boat, but it seems reservations are required. Since this trip was mainly for cycling, I gave up on that this time. But if there’s a next time, I’d love to approach it from the sea to see the Blue Grotto too.
Irago’s Famous Fried Oysters (Kaki Fry)
After returning to Irago on the last ferry, I was completely starving, so I stopped by a restaurant called Tonkai near Irago Port. Initially, I thought about ordering the “O-asari” (giant clam) set meal, which is famous around here. However, the owner told me that O-asari are hard to catch and expensive now, and that the specialty here this season is oysters, so he recommended the Kaki Fry (fried oysters). He asked if I wanted 3 or 5 pieces, and I’m so glad I ordered the 3-piece set… Each single fried oyster was super massive, containing about 3-5 oysters! It was piping hot, juicy, and the flavor was incredibly rich. I was completely satisfied. It was truly a dish that made me understand why people would specifically come to this restaurant to eat it.
Atashika, a place I’d been curious about for a long time. It was a bit of a hectic day trip, but it was truly wonderful to revisit it. This place changed me from being a sickly child, and looking back, it might have been one of the major turning points in my life.
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