[Access] About 30 minutes by car from Nahari Station on the Gomen-Nahari Line
[Webpage] Kitagawa Village Onsen – Yuzu-no-Yado (Japanese)

I got a flight to Kochi using milage program from JAL, so I decided to revisit some places in Kochi that I had walked through as a pilgrim, this time with my child. I chose the Yuzu-no-Yado, a hot spring inn in Kitagawa Village, which I couldn’t visit during my pilgrimage because it was far off the pilgrimage route.

Kitagawa Village is famous for yuzu (Japanese citron), but when I visited, it wasn’t the season, so I didn’t get to see many yuzu fruits. However, the mountain cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and I could enjoy the view from the open-air bath, which was wonderful. The hot spring water, a sodium bicarbonate spring, was alkaline and smooth, leaving my skin feeling soft and silky. While there aren’t many hot springs in Kochi, it’s nice to discover one with such unique characteristics.

I also enjoyed reading the local yuzu-themed newspaper created by elementary school students, which was posted around the inn. It was a nice touch to promote Kitagawa Village to visitors from Kochi. There were also many yuzu-based souvenirs for sale at the inn, and I ended up buying quite a few. My favorite was the “yuzu vinegar,” a tangy mixture of yuzu juice and salt, which tastes great on almost anything. I had seen yellow liquid in a soy sauce bottle during my pilgrimage and wondered what it was – turns out it was yuzu vinegar! It’s a popular condiment in the area.

The food at the inn was delicious, with each dish carefully prepared, and the portion sizes were just right for enjoying with my child. The staff was also very kind to my child, and we had a relaxing time at this wonderful inn.

During my pilgrimage, I passed by Kiramesse Muroto, but it was closed at the time. This time, I was able to stop by and enjoy a whale set meal. We also spent some time playing on the rugged rocks with my child.

I wanted to show my child what it was like during my pilgrimage, so we stopped by Hotsumisaki Temple at Cape Muroto, one of the pilgrimage temples. I never imagined I would be standing here again, this time with my child, and it felt very emotional. Back then, after crossing the difficult areas of Tokushima, I had injured my foot and couldn’t move. A friend who lived in Tokushima helped me as part of the “osettai” (pilgrim’s hospitality), and he brought me to Hotsumisaki Temple. I also took a walk through the town of Kira-gawa, which had left a strong impression on me during my pilgrimage.

But I didn’t want the trip to be all about visiting such serious places, so we stopped by the Muroto Dolphin Center. There, we had the experience of holding onto a dolphin’s dorsal fin and being pulled through the water by it. It was my child’s first time entering the deep sea where the bottom wasn’t visible, and he was quite scared. At one point, he accidentally let go of the fin, but the clever dolphin swam back to him and gently guided him back, which was amazing. It might have been scary, but I’m sure it became an unforgettable memory for my child.