September 7, 2024 : In Summer It Is the Nights
© 安岡喜晴 (JoyShine)
Google Map shows 10 minutes to go, but I'm too scared to go any further. The atmosphere changes spooky from here on.
Sei Shonagon said, in spring it is the dawn, in summer, the nights, in autumn, the evenings, in winter, the early morning.
I also think that, in summer it is the nights, because at night the temperature drops, the ultraviolet rays weaken, and we can go to many places we can't go during the day.
So we decided to go to a place famous for its night view in summer, so we searched for it on the Internet and went there.
We walked up Nene Road east toward the mountain, but the atmosphere suddenly changed on the way, so we all stopped here.
A foreign couple walking in front of us also turned back.
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"Let's see the famous night view today!" I was so excited to see the famous night view, but everyone stopped here.
My parents have taught me since I was a child to stay away from places that scare me and not to go to haunted places just for fun, so I don't feel like walking in a place I'm too scared to go.
But I've been walking this far for a long time, so what do I do? Keep going? Turn around?
Then I saw two men working at a nearby ryotei restaurant and asked them, "How can we get to the observatory from here?"
He replied, "Well, there is a path that leads to the observatory, but..."
The two men looked at each other, looked as if they were wondering what to say, looked as if they did not recommend taking that path,
and said, "Well, there is a path, but we've never been there ourselves, and there have been a few people in the past, but it's kind of like walking through a cemetery..."
I turned back without hesitation the moment I heard that.
I wasn't sure whether to go or not, but there was no hesitation anymore, and she also made the same decision, she said, "Let's go back."
When we reached Higashioji Street, "Do you want to take a taxi? We could take a taxi through Higashiyama Driveway to the observatory."
So we decided to take a taxi. I told the taxi driver what had happened so far, He said, "Oh, that street?",
I said, "Do you know that road?" and he said, "Yes, I know that road. I don't like to go there."
He continued, "I go to many places as part of my job, but there are some places that are scary to pass through."
It seems that this man hasn't had a specific frightening experience yet, but he instinctively senses frightening places.
So he doesn't want to go through there, everyone feels scared there, and stops there.
We reached a lookout point, but it's pretty creepy, even on the driveway.
The night view was beautiful, and this magnificent view reminded me of the night view from Fushimi Inari's Yotsutsuji.
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