Our family trip is over..

This year, we flew from Komaki Airport to Kochi on an FDA flight.

Come to think of it, when was the last time we flew with this group? Fifty years ago?

We left Komaki at 7:50 a.m., arriving in Kochi at 8:55 a.m.

It was a comfortable flight with a low-sugar Como bread and drink!

After arriving at the airport, we rented a car and drove 20 minutes

We went to Chikurinji Temple. A visit to the temple is an essential part of our trip. We took our time to view the mandala, which is open to the public for a special viewing, while listening to the explanation.

The first highlight of the trip was a visit to the “Makino Botanical Garden” next to the temple.

I had heard about this place from the NHK morning drama “Ranman” and really wanted to visit.

I was impressed by Dr. Makino’s wonderful drawings and was able to actually see the plants there.

It was not too big to be tiring to look at, so my elderly parents also enjoyed it.

Eating was one of the pleasures of trip, and in fact, the restaurant at the botanical garden, C.L. Garden,

has excellent food! Sea bream acqua pazza, pasta, Salisbury steak stewed in a Staub pot, and a tart of shine muscat!

We enjoyed sharing these dishes with each other.

We then walked along Katsurahama Beach, greeted Sakamoto Ryoma, and entered the Japanese inn..

It was a Japanese inn with a rich history, where successive emperors have stayed. (The picture at the beginning of this article.)

The view of Kochi Castle from the lounge of the large bath was wonderful!

Here we saw bonito grilled on straw and decided to have all the bonito we could eat.

Bonito being grilled in these flames. The excitement is superlative!

And the meal that came out.

Bonito sashimi salad, chopped bonito, rolled sushi with bonito, vinegared dish, roasted bonito heads, and a bowl of bonito….

We kept eating more and more while saying, “I can’t eat all of these!

We had a wonderful time and we said., “After all, protein is the source of power!

The next day, we woke up early and after exercising, stretching, and meditating, we took a bath. After a hearty breakfast, we checked out of the Japanese inn at 10:00.

First, we went to see the Niyodo Blue which is the nickname for the Niyodo River. My parents could not walk very far up the hill, so we went to the Niyodo River at the estuary and enjoyed looking at the fresh water and the fish. This is where “The Dragon and the Freckled Princess” was set. In that movie, the river got its nickname, My father also walked across the river.

There is a small souvenir shop there and we found something interesting called “Anashi Kusamochi” (No sweet red beans paste mugwort rice cake)!

The aroma of mugwort is amazing! My mouth was full of mugwort flavor. We savored the very fragrant and handmade cake.

After that, we went to the second highlight, “Monet’s Garden Marmottan” in Kitagawa Village.　It took 1 hour from Kochi Airport.

This place is so beautiful that we felt like we were in Europe. It was modeled after the garden in Giverny, France, which Monet loved so much. It is the only garden officially approved by the Monet Foundation to bear the name “Monet.”

Thanks to the warm weather this year, we were able to see the blue water lilies, which are usually only visible until late October.

The restaurant in this garden also had vegan plates. The food tasted delicious, of course. I was also thrilled to be able to eat such amazing vegan food there.

My parents were very happy with this trip and it was a great success. We were all considerate of each other, and we all enjoyed the trip. I think this is the key phrase for this family trip.

My father said to himself, “I hope we can go somewhere we can go by plane again next year.

Next year, we will be able to take our twelfth family trip.

I highly recommend a family trip. If you read this article, please plan your own trip.