The high temperature today is 19 degrees.
Won't need more than one jacket.
Spring is finally here after a long winter.
This must be what Grandpa was talking about...
You wouldn't know since you just got your license,
but the best time to go touring is when the seasons change.
There's just a brief window.
When the seasons change? So around April?
Yeah. It depends on where you go, too.
Around here, it's a little earlier than April.
Right around when you won't break a sweat wearing a jacket nor feel too cold.
It does get pretty sweaty in April.
That really is a short window, huh?
Now's that brief moment.
Today's my first solo camping trip in ages.
Untouched Valley Ryuzenkai Entrance Jikkoku Hot Spring Campsite
(3) Episode 9 Touring and Checking Out the Cherry Blossoms
The campsite is down past there?
It's so freaking steep.
Yikes.
Still further down...
And here we are at the campsite.
It's small, but it's a nice, quiet spot with cherry blossoms.
I heard that nobody knew about this place, but wow. There really is no one here.
The entrance is small, and it's steep.
Getting down here must be tricky for most people.
But thanks to that, the place is all mine.
Heck yea—
Well, whatever.
I should set up camp and relax.
There.
It looks like they're car camping.
I wanna try that out someday.
Teardown must be a lot easier.
March 31st \hFujikawa City
I left just past noon and it's only one.
I think I'll go for a walk.
Think she's in middle school?
The camping boom is really catching on if middle schoolers are going out camping.
Nah, a middle schooler wouldn't be on a moped.
So she's in high school?
The boom isn't crazy enough to convince a high school girl to go camping.
A college student, then?
All right. Let's settle on a petite college student.
Here you go. Shrimp fried rice.
Thanks.
Time to dig in!
Camping is really something if it can make your cooking taste good, Kotani-kun.
Oh? Wanna live here for a while, then?
Ryujinkyou Bridge
Ryumonkyou Bridge
That's an odd bridge.
Ryujinkyou Bridge
This path leads to the hot spring at the top.
Not that I'm going. It looks like too much work.
This is awful.
This place doesn't have a manager, either.
Aw, jeez!
What do you think she's up to?
I can't fit it all in the garbage bag I brought.
And I don't think I can carry it on my scooter...
Hello there. Whatcha doing?
Hello.
Ah, someone left their trash behind.
You came on a scooter, right?
Want us to take that home?
Really?
Yeah, of course. We drove here.
And we'll have trash of our own anyway.
This campsite doesn't even have a manager.
Isn't it obvious that it'll get shut down eventually if people keep littering?
Maybe it's not that obvious if you're a beginner,
unless you have someone around to teach you.
Things like what to do with your campfire.
That was pretty bad, though.
She talks big, but we're actually new campers ourselves.
We've only been doing it for a year.
Oh, really?
I guess we're lucky we knew an avid camper who was willing to show us the ropes.
There's a saying that they taught us, too.
"Leave no trace when you go. Pretend you're being hunted down by a hitman."
A hitman?
That is pretty persuasive, though.
By the way, do you go to college around here?
No, I'm in high school.
I do live nearby, though.
Huh, you're a high schooler?
We were just saying you must be in college since you seem so used to camping.
Really?
Bitter...
Coffee (Black)
Oh, sorry, is it too bitter?
I have sugar.
Th-Thanks.
I've heard you only start to appreciate bitter foods as you age
and your palate dulls to bitterness.
I guess that means you're young.
Wait, Ogawa-san, I thought you preferred black.
Come to think of it,
Grandpa taught me to take everything home with me
when I first started camping, too.
I hope more campers think that way.
Anyway, I guess I'll make some camp grub.
Today's lunch is single-burner stove pasta with spinach and plenty of tomatoes.
Hello!
Rin, we have some gifts from when we went camping in Mizugaki.
The pizzas and stuff we made with these tomatoes was really good.
R-Right.
And so begins cooking.
First, put some bacon on the stove and fry until crispy.
Next, add a tablespoon of olive oil, minced garlic,
chopped chili peppers, and a medium-sized tomato in quarters.
Break it apart and let it simmer.
Minced Garlic
Girl!
Girls!
Garlic!
In any case, once the tomato is broken up,
throw in the spinach, 200 cc of water, and herb salt. Then bring it to a boil.
Snap 100 grams of pasta in half and boil it.
No Italians watching, right?
Just before the pasta finishes boiling, add two diced medium-sized tomatoes on top.
Let them soften a little on high heat.
Three tomatoes seems like a lot.
Finally, flavor with half a tablespoon of olive oil and herb salt, and it's done.
Single-Burner Stove Pasta with Spinach and Plenty of Tomatoes
There.
First Outdoor Meals
100 Easy Recipes
Yo!
I haven't used this recipe book in a while.
Okay...
Let's eat.
The well-cooked tomato and the semi-raw ones drench the pasta.
Yup. Simply delicious.
Good tomatoes.
They should be in season now.
What are you doing?
I hadn't noticed until yesterday...
But there's a big puff of cherry blossoms in just that one spot!
You're right.
I wonder what's up there.
I think there was a shrine or temple or something.
I'm really curious.
Maybe I'll bike up there tomorrow.
Are you free tomorrow, Nadeshiko?
Yeah.
I don't have work, either.
Wanna go for a drive to see some cherry blossoms?
Yeah! Let's go!
Going to see the blossoms! Going to see the blossoms!
A drive today,
camping tomorrow...
It's all cherry blossoms this week!
I'm left over.
I'm left over
Yum—
Let's get going.
Yummy.
Onee-chan, I'm gonna take the stairs!
And I'm here!
You sure have built up some strength.
Utsubuna Park
Lilium Japonicum grow here
Mallet Golf
They're in full bloom, Onee-chan!
This must have been what we were seeing from home!
I never knew there was a park here.
It's in a secluded spot, too.
Guess people don't know about it.
It must be. It seems kinda hard to get to by car, too.
Okay, I got a nice picture.
All right, let's keep going.
Aye!
Say, Aki-chan said that Mount Minobu is the place to go around here for cherry blossoms.
Apparently it's famous for big shidarezakura trees.
Huh!
Mt. Minobu Kuonji
It's huge.
Parking full
I'm sorry. The lot is all full.
There's nowhere left to park.
What do we do, Onee-chan?
Understood.
We'll make a right ahead.
I thought we came to see the shidarezakura trees at Mt. Minobu...
Nothing we can do if there's nowhere to park.
We don't need to go to the top.
There are plenty along the road here.
We'll see those as we drive.
Okay, got it.
We don't need to go to the top to enjoy it, huh?
April 1st Fujikawa City
Onee-chan and I are going on a drive to see the cherry blossoms!
A drive... to see the cherry blossoms...
It's better from over here
I fell back asleep!
Guess I'll pack up and hit the hot spring.
The day visiting hours end at two.
Okay.
I guess those two already left.
It's been a while since I had a slow-going solo camp trip.
I should come back when I go solo camping again.
I-It's too steep to climb!
There are a lot of steep hills around here.
Famous Melanterite Spring Touge-no-yu
Touge-no-yu Hot Spring
Hot Springs & Inn
Open
I managed to make it.
Hello, miss.
Are you the one who called about a day visit?
Oh, yes.
It's 700 yen for a bath.
Okay.
The baths are over there.
Thanks.
Enjoy!
Nagame-no-yu
This place really feels like the mountain hot spring.
It's an amazing place for one, too.
I bet the view's even better at dawn and dusk.
At least they have a fence set up.
You'd still get hurt if you fell, though.
I'm going cherry blossom camping tomorrow with Chiaki and them.
Looks like the weather will hold for a while.
Good, good.
Come to think of it, Nadeshiko and I tried to go to that campsite together,
but Nadeshiko got sick and we couldn't go.
Wasn't that when I went to Mount Jimbagata?
So it was four months ago...
I'll invite you next time.
We've been camping a bunch of times, but I haven't been the one inviting her.
I don't think she cares, but...
Once you miss the right time, it gets kind of awkward.
It's almost April already...
Wait, today's the start of April.
Ah, so you're on a tour to see the cherry blossoms now.
Yes.
I'm thinking of wandering around the basin.
In that case, you might want to try doing a lap around the perimeter.
Yamanashi
I passed it when I went road cycling from Shimizu to Saitama last year.
It's a nice route.
There were cherry blossom spots, too.
Road cycling?
Yeah, bicycling.
A sports bike.
With handle bars like these.
You went that far on a bicycle?!
It's no big deal.
It takes time, but you'd be surprised how far you can go.
Road bikes are fast once you get used to them.
Is that how it works?
I did go camping through Motosu on my bicycle until last year...
But now that I'm so used to the convenience of my moped, I never want to do that again.
Ride me for once!
But a road bike, huh?
I bet Nadeshiko would be fast.
Engine Model: Kagamihara Nadeshiko Maximum output: 43 PS Maximum torque: 45.3 N•m Fuel class: Minobu buns Fuel efficiency: 20 meters each * Fuel efficiency estimates are based on sports mode operation
Twenty meters per Minobu bun?
What a gas guzzler.
What a nice hot spring.
Right?
Well, maybe we'll see you around.
Maybe at another campsite somewhere.
Open
Yeah.
Headed northward on our cherry blossom drive!
I should head out on my cherry blossom tour, too.
Next Time
Chikuwa, Trains, Chiaki's Solo Camping
When camping...
Always mind campsite and facility rules. Don't forget to take care of fires and your trash.
The temperature can take sudden turns. Be sure to check the forecast and dress warm if you need to.