5月5日（日） May 5th (Sunday)
朝早く渥美半島から出発し、 フェリーに向かいました。何も時間を調べずに行ったら、フェリーが出発する３０分前に着いて、切符を買って、早速バイクをフェリーに載せました。この旅の初フェリーとなりますが、これから何度も乗船する予定です。
I left the Atsumi Peninsula early in the morning, and headed for the ferry. I didn’t look up the ferry times, but I somehow arrived perfectly 30 minutes before take off, just enough time to buy a ticket, and get my motorcycle loaded on the boat. While this is my first ferry ride this trip, it will not be my last.
思い出の三重県（前職の工場が三重県の四日市にあり、研修で1ヶ月半滞在したことがあります）に到着し、早速南に向かいました。三重県海沿いの景色を一度でも見たく、三重県のうにゃうにゃしている海岸沿いを走り、最高なツーリング道を開拓しました、260号線は45キロ程度の道で、信号は一つか二つのみ、GWなのに、車も全くありませんでした。自分と道と最高な景色でした。一言でまとめると、ドライブ日和でした。
I arrived at Mie Prefecture and headed south. Mie Prefecture has a rather special place in my heart. After joining my previous company, I spent a month and a half doing new employee onboarding training at the factory. Mie prefecture has a very interesting ocean scape. A series of inlets that stretch on in a snake like fashion for miles and miles. The road that ran parallel to this also happened to be amazing for touring. Road 260, stretched on for about 45 km with only one or two stop lights. It was as if the road myself and the amazing scenery acted as one. It was really the perfect drive.
ツーリングがこれで楽しくできたため、観光も少しすることにしました。まずは、穴場スポットです。深い谷の底、子連れ家族が優雅に遊んでいる美しい川のそばに、種まき権兵衛の里という入場無料の庭園がありました。山から自然に落ちてくる水を利用し、滝や池等を造り、新緑の中、真っ赤な紅葉が混ざり合い、大変おすすめの場所です。
Now that I had a good motorcycle ride, it was time to do a bit of sightseeing. First off, I went to a lesser known park. It was nestled in the basin of a deep valley, near a stream where families and their children played. Tanemakigonbe-no-sato, a wonderful garden, that was free of chage. The garden masterfully crafted a naturally falling waterfall into a beautiful pond. The amazing thing was, that even though it was the beginning of May, there was the most deepest red leaves on some of the trees in the park. Their red color juxtaposed over the luscious green of the park really makes this one of my favorite gardens I’ve been to in Japan.
その次は、三重県から和歌山県の最南端に向かって、所々止まりました。まずは、鬼ケ城にとまりました。崖に沿った一キロもの道が創られており、快晴の日には最高なハイキングコースでした。そのすぐ近くの海岸にも、鯉の旗が沢山並んでいて、風で吹き垂れ、長い海岸の良いアクセントになりました。
After the park, I headed for the most southern part of Wakayama Prefecture. I stopped at a few places along the way, including Onigajo (devil’s rock), which consists of a pathway built into the side of a cliff face overlooking the ocean. It stretches on for about a kilometer on the coastline. It’s a wonderful hiking course. The next beach after Onigajo, I saw a long line of Japanese Koi flags flailing in the wind, which perfectly accented the long curvature of the Japanese coastline.
また、三重県及び和歌山県は熊野古道で知られており、その一部となる熊野速玉大社に立ち寄り、まあ、綺麗な神社でした。この時点で影が少しずつ伸びてきて、日が落ち始めました。まだ、当日の目的地である熊野那智大社は40分先でした。頑張って、何とか5時過ぎに到着しました。
Mie and Wakayama prefecture are known for the Kumano Kodo (an ancient trail which connected many temples). I decided to stop at Hayatama Taisha, which is a part of the Kumano Kodo Temple chain. It was a small but beautiful temple. At this point, the shadows were starting to get a bit longer, and the sun was starting it’s descent. I still had another 40 minutes to my main goal of Kumano Nachi Taisha. I picked up the pace, and get there a little after 5pm.
熊野那智大社は那智市から20分山奥でしたので、着くには少し時間がかかりますが、逃せないパワースポットです。山奥にまず、落差133mもある那智の滝があり、その底で健康を祈り、その滝からの自然な水を飲みます。滝から更に山を登り、神社そのものにたどり着きました。5時過ぎでしたので、お土産売り場や飯処は全部閉まっていて、観光客も帰る流れとなっていました。山上の神社を一人で巡り、その静けさを浴び、その場所に深いパワーを感じました。
Kumano Nachi Taisha is located about 20 minutes up the mountain from the city of Nachi. It takes a bit to get there, but it’s a temple complex you should not pass up. First off, the temple is graced with a over 133m waterfall, which pears over the top of the mountain. At the base of that waterfall there is a place where you drink the spring water symbolizing a prayer to good health. A bit further up the mountain is a massive temple complex. Since I got there a little after 5pm, all of the stores and souvenir shops were closed and most of the tourists had gone home for the day. I had the whole place to myself, taking in the serenity of the location, I felt that I understood why you would make a temple here.
那智市はマグロで有名で、夕飯は町中のまぐろ三味那智というレストランでマグロ尽くし定食を頂きました。店員さんの対応も非常に丁寧の上、マグロかつ、マグロ刺身等は非常に美味しかったです。おすすめです。
The nearby city of Nachi is famous for bluefin tuna. I went to a local eatery, Maguro Aji Nachi, and had their Maguro Deluxe special. The employee’s were very polite, and the Tuna Cutlet and Sashimi were delicious to boot.
Link: https://tabelog.com/wakayama/A3005/A300502/30004822/
暗くなってから、太地という隣の町のAirbnbに向かいました。太地は鯨料理で有名です。太地の港にある、直販売所が夜8時まで空いていて、残っていた鯨のおかずを少し買ってみて、翌日の朝ごはんで挑戦することしました。
After it got dark, I headed towards next town over, Taiji where I had reserved a Airbnb. Taiji is famous for whale. The fishing association runs a supermarket near the port, and it was open until 8pm, so I stopped by to see what if any whale they sold. Ended picking up three different kinds of whale products, and decided to try them for breakfast the next day.
Airbnbにつき、ワンちゃん3匹のワンで歓迎されました。超かわいい超フレンドリーなちわわでした。太地にずっと暮らしているおばさんが週末でこの一年前から運営している民泊でした。ビールや軽食で歓迎され、翌日の旅計画に大切なローカル情報をたくさん与えてくれました。ヘルシーな朝ごはんもしっかり作ってくれ、非常に丁寧な方でした。週末に太地にたちよることがあれば、宿泊をお勧めします。
I was greeted by the woofs of three little cute chiwawa puppies when I arrived at the Airbnb. The Airbnb was run by lady who had lived in Tiaji her whole life, and had started hosting guests just the year before. She greeted me with beer and some mixed nuts, and helped me to plan my next days travel. She made a delicious and healthy breakfast for me in the morning, and was very hospitable. If you ever stop at Taiji on the weekends, I recommend looking up her Airbnb.
※朝ごはんにその前夜に買った鯨３種類を食べてみましたが、醤油、生姜、酢味噌をかけても、まずくてしょうがないです。犬すら食べてくれなかったです。ごんどうのテッパ（ごんどうというのが太地の人にとっては鯨という意味だそうです）だけはマシでした。強い酒と一緒ならいけるやつですね。
Side Note: I attempted to eat the three whale dishes I bought for breakfast. I used soy sauce, ginger and vinegar miso to no avail. They were not good, hell, even the dogs turned their noses in disgust. The only one I could kind of eat was the Teppa, which I am not really sure what it was.