Kaeda Valley

Going to Kaeda Valley wasn't easy without a car but we still went for it anyway. I was quite intrigued to try this place out as it was known to function as some sort of forest theraphy or forest bathing so to say. Getting to the correct station was the easy part but we had to walk a long way to the valley, as in more than an hour worth. It was a good thing the surroundings were so beautiful with mountains and farmlands all around. The sun was overbearing though, soon there were rivers which signalled we were getting close. We stopped by some benches as we approached the park entrance and made our way in to the valley.

The atmosphere changed immediately, everything was much more fresh and serene. The river's color was an amazing hue of aqua blue and there were a lot of diverse flora and fauna. Halfway through, we arrived at an empty campsite. I changed my clothes here and went for a dip at the river, almost losing my eye glasses in the process. The river was so cool and refreshing, it pretty much wiped away all my fatigue. We continued on until we reached the end of our trail and had several choices but we opted to do the hike back instead which would be very difficult but more worth it than just going back the same route. The hike was exhausting with steep uphills but the reward was even more untouched and wild nature. There was even a waterfall. I unfortunately had a problem with my right ear, it somehow got busted a bit and I had though an insect went in which made my brain go on full panic. Joe poured some water in it and tried to check but said there was nothing, it kept on buzzing again and again, it was so scary and annoying. Each buzz would cause me to wince and this continued on the way down. We eventually did reach the starting point again, I took a dip at the river once again while Joe and Sophie stayed above ground to talk.

Soon we were making our way back via the long walk, it was now raining too. We stopped by a convenience store and I grabbed another shirokuma. Now we had to rush a bit to catch the bus back as the trains were done for the day, we did a last zerg rush and caught the last bus back to Miyazaki. Here, we once again went to our favorite and only dinner restaurant. I took my usual bath while waiting for them to come back as I opted to go first to not draw too much suspicion. Joe had some problems with his grandfather as he had to step away for a call with his mom. Turns out he has Alzheimer's.Read more