At a restaurant called “Stone Oven Pizzeria & Cafe La Terra,” I ordered “Truffle Mayonnaise Pizza with Yukiguni-Maitake Mushrooms” from Niigata Prefecture and enjoyed it.
I did not choose the “Mozzarella Margherita,” which is the restaurant’s most popular dish, because it was too simple to be a traveler’s delight.
When I travel, I have a desire to eat food that accompanies a true sense of travel. If I were in a state of enlightenment, I would probably bring onigiri (rice balls), but this time I chose a pizza made with “Yukiguni-Maitake” mushrooms produced in Muikamachi City, near here.
This time, however, I chose a pizza made with “Yukiguni-Maitake” because it is produced in Muikamachi City, near here.
Although maitake mushrooms are artificially produced in a factory, they are definitely a local ingredient. In the first place, maitake mushrooms were chosen because they are delicious.
The maitake mushroom pizza is more expensive than other pizzas. So I decided to get the medium instead of the large. But I ordered fried chicken and a panini instead, so it ended up costing me a lot.
It may sound silly, but it is important to prepare meals in different ways. It’s important to prepare a variety of meals because even parents don’t know what their fickle children will want to eat. Parents are not sure what their children want to eat, because even parents do not know what their children want to eat. Why don’t you eat it? They may say, “No, I don’t want to eat it. So it is too risky to bet the farm on pizza for our family dinner.
There is a saying in the investment world, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It means diversify your investments, and that is exactly what we should do with our children’s lunches.
As a result of my parents diversifying their lunch, my son Takeh was able to have three different kinds of rice. He liked them all!
12:12
By the time we got in the car after lunch, he was feeling groggy.
At the day care center he attends, nap time is usually from about 12:00 to just before 3:00. He is so used to this schedule that he gets sleepy at noon, even on holidays.
It would be nice if parents could give him a nap, but this is not so easy when traveling. If you try to put him down at 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon and say, “Come on, you can go to bed, we don’t have any plans later today,” he will be wide awake by then and won’t take a nap. As a result, he has trouble sleeping every weekend, which is hard to deal with.
So lately I have been trying to say as much as possible, “On weekends, if we go out, we leave early in the morning. He will be home by 2:00 p.m. at the latest.
12:21
We came to Kiyotsukyo Gorge.
Kiyotsukyo is located on the route from Echigo-Yuzawa and Ishiuchi to Tsunan, and is called “one of the three most beautiful valleys in Japan. I have been there several times, but since it was Ishi’s first time, we decided to go.
We had originally planned to go to the Ushidaya farm guesthouse in Joetsu City today, but the entire Ushidaya family had been stricken by COVID-19, so we were unable to meet them. So we had no choice but to go to our lodgings in Muikamachi City later today. So we can take our time to see Kiyotsukyo Gorge.
In a snow country and with children, there is only so much you can do. We can’t plan everything for the convenience of the parents, as the child is still at the age of begging to be held.
To Takeh, who is crying and screaming, Ishi says, “It’s the law! If you don’t buckle up properly, your life will be in danger!” She calms him down and puts him in the car seat. In the back seat, there is a struggle between the two of them.
I shouldn’t just say, “Let’s stop by because I’m a little curious about this place.
Kiyotsukyo was full of tourists.
We were lucky enough to be able to park our car in the first parking lot near the entrance to the gorge, but if that lot was full, we were told that we would have to park in the second lot, which was much farther away. Since the distance between the two parking lots was quite different, it was a matter of luck which one we could park in. Still, it was unexpected that the parking lot was so crowded with people when there was still some snow on the ground.
The canyon extends to the back of the picture.
One of the peculiarities of the Kiyotsukyo sightseeing tour is that the entire trip is spent walking through the tunnel. You can see the gorge from inside the tunnel without stepping out. So we could hardly enjoy the nature and just walked through the tunnel surrounded by concrete. I think it was about 800 meters one way, so the round trip took about 20 minutes.
The reason why so many tourists come to the tunnel is probably because of the modern art that is exhibited in the tunnel. In short, it is a place that “looks good” and people come here to take pictures. It is a unique tourist attraction in the age of smartphones and social networking.
The stroller was immediately put to good use.
I took Takeh from the car to the tunnel entrance in the stroller after he woke up from his sleep. He hates car seats like they are his natural enemy, but he does not resist being strapped into the stroller. He seems to enjoy being in the stroller.
We went into the tunnel and I asked Takeh, “How do you like it? Do you want to try walking?” And he was thrilled when I let him down from the stroller. “Ahhhh!” he shouted as he started to run down the tunnel. He seemed to find the straight tunnel unusual and interesting.
The stroller would then fold up and be carried by the parents. Unlike a stroller, it is convenient to fold up and carry around. And it’s light. Well, this is good.
Halfway through the tunnel, we stopped at a point where we could see the canyon.
In front of us was a towering wall of diagonally striated rock called a “columnar joint,” but it was too far in front of us to fully appreciate the dynamic nature of the canyon. But it was too far in front of us to fully appreciate the dynamic nature of the canyon.
Frankly, if you want to enjoy the beauty of the canyon, Kiyotsukyo is not the place for you.
Rather than observing the columnar joints, it was more interesting to watch the huge chunks of snow falling from the cliffs and rolling down the river below. It is a dynamic sight that is unique to this season. The super huge iceberg-like chunks were swept downstream in an interesting way, and every time they hit a rock on the way, they were crushed.
The tunnel is decorated with various artworks.
We arrived at the end of the tunnel, Panorama Station.
Here, the tunnel hole is located exactly where the valley in front of the tunnel can be seen. Conversely, this is the only place in the long tunnel where the deep V-shaped valley can be seen.
Now this place is very popular as a photogenic spot. The ground is covered with a very thin layer of water, and the surface of the water reflects the scenery like a mirror.
Young people take pictures in groups. They lifted a leg, did a banzai, and came up with all sorts of ideas.
As you would expect from a generation accustomed to smartphone photography, the posing was very slick. They struck poses that I would never have thought of, and I was impressed as I watched them take picture after picture.
I, on the other hand, was too embarrassed to imitate them and could only take pictures of my wife and children.
I planned to let Takeh walk the rest of the way home. I wanted him to get as much exercise as possible during the day and sleep well at night.
I urged him to walk, but he got tired. “Hold me,” he said, and he grabbed my leg. I couldn’t carry him, my arms would get sore after carrying her for 800 meters. At least put me in a stroller. I recommended a baby carriage, but he refused to accept it. As usual, my attempts to persuade him to accept an alternative plan usually failed.
I had no choice but to carry him on my shoulders and head for the exit.
If I tried to force him into the stroller, he would cry and scream. We don’t want him crying in a noisy tunnel, so let’s put him on our shoulders. This was a suggestion that seemed to make sense to him. He accepted it with me in a very mature way. But I was quite heavy.
(continued)
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