My Girlfriend Is Very Good To Me [EN]: Chapter 106

Ep. 105

“Yeon-hoo! Let’s get a picture here, too!”

“With the mountain in the background?”

“Make sure the mountain is in the shot! Lower the selfie stick a bit!”

Excited, we hopped off the bus and started snapping pictures of everything, our eyes wide with wonder at the Japanese being spoken around us and the architecture so different from Korea.

I hadn’t really felt it on the way, but as soon as I stepped off the bus, it hit me: ‘Ah, I’m in a foreign country.’ I probably wouldn’t have felt it as strongly in a place like Tokyo. The unique atmosphere of this hot spring town made it so palpable.

For some reason, it reminded me of *Spirited Away*, a movie I loved as a kid. Maybe it was the mountain setting, but the air felt so clean. After taking dozens of pictures near the terminal, we finally moved on.

“The ryokan [traditional Japanese inn] is this way, right?”

“Yeah. They said they could send a shuttle if we called, but it’s not too far to walk. It’s not too much for you, is it?”

“Not at all! I saw a restaurant on the way; let’s eat there before we go.”

“Hmm, it’s almost check-in time… but since it’s check-in, I guess we can take our time.”

Hee-na and I held hands and turned into the alley next to the wide main road visible from the terminal. Before us lay charming wooden buildings, various restaurants, and a pretty street.

We strolled along, looking around. As expected of Japan, there were shops selling merchandise from animated movies, and various food stalls and street vendors catering to tourists.

With so many delicious street foods, there was no way I could just walk by.

“Hee-na! That! Can’t we get one of those?”

I stopped and pointed to the dango [Japanese sweet dumpling] being sold at a small stall. When you go on a trip, you have to try the local food!

“Oh, really… We’re supposed to eat soon… Just this one, okay?”

Hee-na pinched my cheek as I got excited, then smiled helplessly and approached the stall.

Soon, she returned with a skewer holding three round dango, jingling coins into her pocket – Japan uses denominations down to 1 yen.

“Wow, it’s really sweet.”

“I can’t eat too much. It’s so sweet~”

The dango was as sweet as I expected, but it wasn’t the kind of sweetness I was hoping for; it was a bit… intense, you could say. A sticky sweetness that wasn’t quite to my taste.

Since there were only three to begin with, we quickly shared them and started walking again. Besides the dango, there were many other things I wanted to try, like soft-serve ice cream and takoyaki [octopus balls], but since all I had eaten today was a triangle kimbap [Korean seaweed rice roll] and dango, I needed a proper meal.

We walked a little further, taking our time like a leisurely stroll, when Hee-na turned into another alleyway. She led me to a restaurant she had found online. From the entrance, it looked like an izakaya [Japanese pub], and as we entered the dimly lit restaurant, the staff greeted us.

I didn’t understand a word they said, though.

“What kind of place is this?”

“Hehe… just wait and see!”

Without even looking at the menu, Hee-na placed an order right away, as if she knew exactly what she wanted. Her Japanese was fairly clumsy, but the staff seemed used to it, understood her perfectly, and bowed politely as they took the order.

But what is *unagi*? That was the only word I caught.

I looked around, but there weren’t any other customers nearby, so I couldn’t tell what they were selling. It was hard to guess from the smell, too. Hee-na also glanced around the inside of the restaurant and let out a small sigh of relief.

“I’m glad it’s not too crowded! I was going to suggest somewhere else if it was packed, since it’s a pretty popular place.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I think we picked a really good time to come.”

We left as quickly as we could, but it still didn’t seem crowded at all in the tourist area, so I guess our timing was good.

As we waited and chatted, side dishes were placed on pretty plates on the table, and various sauce containers were set out. Soon, the main course arrived.

A very large rice bowl with rice at the bottom and fish and sauce on top was placed in front of me. Next to it was Japanese miso soup, which I knew well.

Before eating, I wondered what kind of fish it was and poked it with my chopsticks a few times. Hee-na, who had been taking pictures of the food, finally told me what it was.

“It’s a donburi [rice bowl dish], Yeon-hoo.”

“I know that… but what kind of donburi?”

“Eel~”

“Ah, eel… eel?”

“Yeah!”

I didn’t know much about fish, but I had heard rumors about what eel was good for. They said it was really good for men.

Wondering if that was why she brought me here, I glanced at her and saw her beaming.

–Thump

With a bright smile, she put a piece of her eel on my rice bowl and said,

“You have to eat a lot and get energy~ Tell me if you want more!”

“…Okay. Thank you.”

“Make sure to eat your vegetables, too. This looks delicious~”

Looking at her pushing the side dishes closer to me, neglecting the donburi in front of her, I began to feel a strange sense of pressure.

I could feel her great sincerity as she watched me take each bite with a satisfied face.

—

In the end, I ate 1.5 servings of eel donburi, including Hee-na’s portion, and we headed back to the ryokan, patting my full stomach. After leaving the alleyway, the area was filled with various ryokans, so there were no stalls, restaurants, or shops, just the clear air of the countryside.

Our destination was a little further in, so we slowly climbed the uphill road at a leisurely pace.

“Should I hold your bag if you’re tired?”

“No~ It’s just around the corner.”

We passed through a lush mountain path and arrived at a ryokan inside a stone wall that looked like it was straight out of a Japanese youth coming-of-age movie. The harmony of the trees, stone walls, and ryokan was so perfect that I couldn’t help but exclaim.

I wanted to look around a little more, but I had to check in first.

Opening the elegant sliding door, an old woman with a kind face bowed politely to greet us.

“Welcome.”

“We, have a reservation.”

Surprised by the level of politeness, I reflexively bowed awkwardly and spoke in broken Japanese. Then, I showed her the voucher I had saved on my phone, and the old woman checked it and immediately gestured for us to follow her.

We exited the building that seemed to be the main building, went around the back, and climbed the mountain path a little. On the way, there were two large outdoor hot spring baths, which seemed to be family baths. You could change the sign outside to indicate it was occupied and use it privately with your group.

We didn’t come all the way out here just to use the bath, so we just glanced at it and didn’t pay much attention.

Our room, which we arrived at next, was a small detached house where one group occupied the entire building.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so pretty~”

“Really… wow, I have to take pictures later.”

The trees around us were beautifully trimmed, and the charming surrounding scenery made me want to take pictures right away. I had already seen pictures in numerous travelers’ reviews, but the feeling of seeing it in person was completely different.

But I couldn’t do that right away, so I went inside with the old woman and listened to her detailed explanation. Rather than listening to the explanation, she handed us a pamphlet with Korean written on it, so we mostly just read that.

It explained what time dinner was, where to eat, how to use the heating and cooling, which items in the refrigerator were complimentary, etc.

Finally, opening the door in the inner corner, there was a wooden shower room and an outdoor hot spring bath with a charming atmosphere surrounded by greenery! The bath was larger than I thought; it seemed like up to 4 people could fit comfortably.

The old woman showed us everything and handed us the key to lock the door. Then, she bowed politely again and left. Now, this charming building with a large living room, a room, and a hot spring was entirely our space for 3 days.

As soon as we confirmed that the old woman had completely left, we couldn’t hide our excitement as we threw our bags down.

“What do we do! What do we do! I love it here so much!”

“This is crazy, really! What should we do first? Should we take pictures around here first?!”

“Let’s do it! Quickly!”

To be honest, I thought I would have lewd thoughts as soon as I came in here, but it was such a wonderful place that I didn’t have any such thoughts. I wanted to write a long review with a perfect score when I got back.

Hee-na and I immediately ran out the door and started taking pictures, striking poses in all sorts of places.

“Here! Can you take a picture so that the whole building is in the shot?”

“I think I can set a timer and prop it up. Just a moment.”

It seemed like half of what we did as soon as we arrived in Japan was taking pictures, but after all, the memories in the pictures are what remain of the trip. Thanks to Hee-na, the countless pictures I had taken were organized by date in my computer folder. It’s fun to look at them sometimes.

Anyway, after making a fuss taking pictures like that for a while, we were exhausted after about an hour and returned to the room.

“Should we take a quick shower? There’s still a lot of time until dinner.”

“Let’s do it. And change into something comfortable… Ah! Should we wear yukata [light cotton kimono]?”

“Oh, right! I think they were next to the refrigerator… Here they are.”

When I checked, there was one set each for men and women. Did they bring them based on the passport information we provided when we made the reservation?

The men’s yukata was a plain type with a white background and navy stripes, and the women’s yukata had a very light pink background with colorful floral patterns. The waist band was also red.

To be honest, I wasn’t interested in the men’s yukata; I really wanted to see Hee-na wearing the women’s yukata. I immediately went to the bathroom, and Hee-na went to the shower room, and we decided to wash up and come out wearing them.

I just washed off the sweat and put on the yukata like a gown over my underwear. I tied the waist band roughly. Then, I waited in the living room for a while, and soon Hee-na came out.

“You came out quickly?”

Her face was slightly flushed from taking a proper shower, and her collarbone was visible between the folds of the yukata.

Even though it was a loose type of clothing, Hee-na’s curvy chest and the lines of her hips were subtly revealed.

In a yukata.