A Note from Chizuru — August 2026
This story was originally written in Japanese on March 4, 2018.
Reading it again now, I realized that it already contained something I still value today: going out without trying to accomplish too much, finding a place that simply feels right, and staying there until my heart feels satisfied.
It was not really a sightseeing trip.
It was a picnic, a walk, some clear spring water, a little art, and a day spent slowly enough to notice the air, the temperature, the people, and the smiles around me.
Rather than rewriting the story completely from today’s point of view, I decided to share it in English while keeping the feeling of that early spring day in 2018.
Picnic Season Before the Summer Heat
Once the real summer heat arrives, the kind of picnic I love has to take a break for a while.
For me, a picnic means having lunch whenever I finally feel hungry.
It means finding a place that makes me think, This feels nice, and spreading out a picnic sheet right there.
I am not very good with strong heat, and I worry about the summer sun.
Once the school summer holidays begin, popular places also become much busier.
So the time between early spring and the beginning of the rainy season feels especially precious.
It is the season when I can put a homemade lunch into a basket and simply go somewhere.
And at that time, I wanted to take in as much of the season as I possibly could.
Even if it meant putting off everything I was supposed to be doing.
Those things could wait.
For now, I wanted to picnic.
Early Spring in Kagoshima — March 2018
Lunch Is Whenever We Get Hungry
Perhaps part of my love for picnics comes from childhood.
There were things I could not do then, and things I remember wishing I could have done more often.
But it is not only about childhood memories.
It is also about landscapes.
And people.
Once something changes too much, we cannot simply return it to the way it was.
The same is true of memory.
As the years pass, some memories become very distant, and I sometimes feel sad knowing that I can never fully return to them.
And yet, the way time seems to move here in Kyushu feels gentle to me.
Perhaps that gentleness has been healing something inside me.
I cannot explain it very well.
Maybe I do not need to.
Maruike Spring — Water, Air, and Time
One of the places I spent time that day was Maruike Spring in Yusui, Kagoshima.
The town’s name, Yusui, is written with the Japanese characters for “spring water.”
And perhaps that makes sense when you stand beside water this clear.
But what stayed with me was not simply the idea that I had visited a famous spring.
It was the whole feeling of being there.
The water.
The air.
The temperature.
The quiet movement of people around me.
Everything seemed to belong together.
There was no need to hurry on to the next place.
There was no need to ask whether I had already seen enough.
I could simply stay until I felt satisfied.
Scenes Around Maruike Spring
For current visitor information about the area, please check the official information provided by Yusui Town before your visit.
The Smiles I Wanted to Keep Remembering
That day, just as on many other days, I noticed good smiles around me.
Some belonged to people visiting as tourists.
Others belonged to local people.
But they were simply good smiles.
There is still so much of this place that I feel I have not taken in deeply enough.
The air.
The water.
The temperature.
The people.
I wanted to keep feeling all of it for as long as I could.
Perhaps that was why I felt no guilt about spending time so generously.
Time did not feel wasted.
It felt like something I was allowing myself to receive.
Kirishima Open-Air Museum — Art Without Rushing
Another part of the day was spent at the Kirishima Open-Air Museum.
This is the kind of place where I think rushing would miss the point.
Art sits among trees, open sky, changing light, and the landscape itself.
You can walk.
Stop.
Look at something for a while.
Then walk again.
There does not have to be a correct order.
By then I had an annual pass, which made it easier to use time generously.
I did not need to think, I paid to come here, so I have to see everything today.
I could simply stay for as long as I wanted.
And come back another day.
Art and Landscape in Kirishima
Until My Heart Felt Full
I think that was what I really meant when I wrote about wanting to picnic until I felt satisfied.
It was not about eating a great lunch.
It was not about finding the perfect picnic spot.
It was not about completing a sightseeing route.
It was about staying with a good moment long enough to actually feel it.
Breathing the air until I felt I had taken enough of it in.
Looking at the water.
Feeling the temperature of the season.
Watching people smile.
And not leaving simply because a schedule said it was time to move on.
Maybe This Is My Favorite Way to Travel
When I think about it now, this is very close to the way I still like to spend a day.
Take some food.
Go somewhere without filling every hour in advance.
Stop when a place feels good.
Stay longer if the heart is not ready to leave.
Have lunch when hunger finally arrives.
There is nothing particularly luxurious about it.
But perhaps being able to use time this freely is a kind of luxury in itself.
A picnic does not need to be impressive.
A journey does not need to be full.
Sometimes it is enough to let yourself stay somewhere until you feel full.
A Note for Visitors in 2026
This story reflects a day I spent around Yusui and Kirishima in March 2018.
Opening hours, admission fees, facilities, access information, parking arrangements, annual passes, and other visitor information may have changed since then.
If you are planning to visit Maruike Spring or the Kirishima Open-Air Museum, please check current official information before you go.
What has not changed for me is the feeling behind this story.
You do not always need to fill a day with plans.
Sometimes a homemade lunch, clear water, fresh air, a place that feels comfortable, and enough time to stay there are more than enough.
And perhaps the best time to leave is not when the schedule tells you to.
Perhaps it is when your heart finally says,
I’m full now.
Originally published in Japanese on March 4, 2018.
Read the original Japanese article →
出張や観光で霧島に来られた方で、
静かに過ごせる場所を探している方は、こちらもご覧ください。
