同じ九州に住む人間のくせに、別府に行ったことがありませんでした。もともと、自分からはあまり旅に出たがらない性質です。しかし、関東に住む友人が以前から、次に帰省したらやまなみハイウェイをドライブしてみたいと言っていて、自分もそれを楽しみにしていました。そして先日、ついにその機会が訪れました。
Even though I live in Kyushu, I had never been to Beppu until this time. I’m not the kind of person who willingly travels around. However, I was looking forward to this trip because one of my best friends who lives in Kanto region sometimes said that he wanted to enjoy driving on Yamanami Highway, a famous scenic road running between Kumamoto and Oita, next time he comes back to Nagasaki. We finally did it the other day.
前夜の雷雨が嘘のような好天に恵まれ、長崎の自宅から別府へと出発しました。最初の目的地は、やまなみハイウェイ付近にあるカレー屋さん「tanetone（種と根）」です。ネットで下調べをした際に、心惹かれたお店でした。
開店時間の11時ちょうどに到着しました。ログキャビン風の素敵な店構えです。店内もやはり木材がふんだんに使用してあり、天井の梁が見えています。お勧めはカツカレーとローストビーフ丼とのこと。一瞬迷いましたが、心に決めていた通り、カツカレーを注文しました。出てきたカツカレーは、その佇まいと香りで、もう美味しいとわかります。まずは、カレーとライスを口に運びます。ひき肉たっぷりのカレーは、ミートソースのような食感で、カツとの相性のよさがすぐにうかがえます。いよいよカツにカレーをよく絡めて頬張ります。旨いです。絶妙のハーモニーです。好みでスパイスを足すこともできます。もうスプーンは止まりません。あっという間に掻き込んでしまいました。
Despite the thunderstorm the night before, the weather was good, and we left Nagasaki for Beppu. The first destination was a curry restaurant called tanetone (seeds and roots) located in a place just a little off Yamanami Highway. I was interested in this restaurant when I found it on the Internet.
We arrived there at its opening time, 11 a.m. It was a lovely log cabin-style restaurant. Wood was also used inside, and I could see the open-timbered roof. The restaurant has two specialties, one is pork cutlet curry, and the other is roast beef on rice. I wavered between them just for a while, but I ordered pork cutlet curry as I originally planned. The appearance of the dish and the delicious smell already made me feel sure that it must be tasty. I took the first mouthful of curry and rice. The texture of the curry was like meat sauce, and I was sure it must go well with the cutlet. I finally took a bite of the cutlet putting enough curry on it. It was so good. They really went well together. You can add some spice as you like, too. I could not stop eating it, and I ate it up in a few minutes.
お腹いっぱいになったところで、お店の方にお勧めのスポットを尋ねてみました。由布岳から道をそれたところに明礬温泉があるとのこと。実は下調べした際にも、その独特な泉質に惹かれて行ってみたいと思っていたところでした。立ち寄り湯で検索し、向かった先は「奥みょうばん山荘」です。
ナビが示す細道の入り口を何度か見逃し、行ったり来たりしました。ようやく入ったその道は離合しづらい幅しかありません。秘湯めいたものを感じてちょっとワクワクしながら500mほど登ったところに建物と看板がありました。駐車場は広く安心して停められます。車から降りて受付に向かうと、店主の方が外まで出迎えてくださいました。料金は550円で、室内と露天の両方を備えた貸し切り風呂が1時間使用できるとのこと。シャワーにシャンプー、ボディーソープ類も備え付けてあります。湯の花がたっぷりと入った湯はちょうどよい温度に保たれていて、長時間ゆっくりと浸かることができました。湯上りには、温泉横の建物で、手作りのプリンを頂きながら店主の方のお話を聞きました。温泉施設は手作りであること、口コミで次第に訪れる人が増えていることなどをうかがいました。秘湯感を味わいたい方には、心からお勧めできる本当に素敵な温泉でした。
それから向かった先は、予約していたホテル、「白菊」です。続きは次回で。
After finishing lunch, I asked the shop owner to tell us about some spots to visit around there. He said that there was a hot spring called Myoban Onsen off the main road on Mt. Yufu. Actually, I was going to visit there because I was intrigued by its characteristic spring quality when I checked it on the Internet. We googled some facilities we could stop by and found a place called Okumyoban Sanso, so we set out for it.
We missed the path leading to the hot spring, which the navigation system showed us, several times and went back and forth on the same road. We finally found the path and it was so narrow that two cars cannot drive at the same time. I had a feeling that it might be a little-known hot spring, so I was a bit excited, and we found some sheds and a signboard after going up the path about 500m. The parking lot was spacious and easy to park. We got out of the car and went to the front counter, but the owner welcomed us outside. He said that the fee was 550 yen an hour and we could use two private baths, one was inside, and the other was an open-air hot spring. There was a shower, shampoo, and body soap as well. The water, full of mineral deposits, had just the right temperature so we enjoyed bathing for a long time. After that, we went to a house beside the hot spring shed and had a handmade pudding while listening to owner. He said that the hot spring facility was handmade, and the number of visitors has increased by word of mouth. This hot spring is so good that I can recommend this place to anyone, who feels like enjoying a little-known hot spring, from the bottom of my heart.
Then we set off for a hotel I booked, and its name was Shiragiku. To be continued.
turkeyrice.hateblo.jp
turkeyrice.hateblo.jp
turkeyrice.hateblo.jp
turkeyrice.hateblo.jp
