A magical place
This is the plain transcript. Open the interactive version → furigana, audio, word-by-word gloss, grammar notes, and take over a role by typing.Tonia arrives at what she thinks is her ryokan. It’s an izakaya. A common mistake when you can’t read the signs.
すみません、ここは三光荘旅館ですか？
Excuse me, is this Sankousou ryokan?
あはは、ここは居酒屋ですよ！三光荘さんは向かい側。ほら、あの古い家みたいな建物。看板が小さいから、みんな間違えるんですよ。
Haha, this is an izakaya! Sankousou is across the street. Look, that old building that looks like a house. The sign is small, so everyone gets it wrong.
Tonia finds the actual ryokan. The entrance is tiny. An older woman in kimono appears.
こんにちは…
Hello...
いらっしゃいませ。トニアさんですね。お部屋は二階の「松の間」でございます。あの…晩ごはんなんですけど、何時がよろしいですか？
Welcome. Tonia-san, right? Your room is the Pine Room on the second floor. Um... about dinner — what time would be good?
In a ryokan, dinner is kaiseki — the okami plans the meal around your arrival. She's asking when you want to eat, not just chatting. Tonia asks for an hour to decide, then learns there's an onsen.
一時間くらいあとで言ってもいいですか？…温泉もあるんですか！？
Can I tell you in about an hour? ...There’s an onsen too!?
もちろん。はい、小さいですけど。脱いで、棚に入れて、シャワーで体を洗ってから、お湯に入ります。タオルはお湯の中に入れないでくださいね。女性だけですから安心してください。
Of course. Yes, it’s small though. Undress, put clothes in the shelf, wash at the shower, then get in. Don’t put the towel in the water. It’s women only, so don’t worry.
Tonia emerges refreshed from the onsen. She asks the okami-san about Fushimi Inari.
晩ごはんは七時でお願いします。今日は伏見稲荷に行きたいんですが、どうやって行きますか？
Seven is fine for dinner. I want to go to Fushimi Inari today. How do I get there?
簡単ですよ。京都駅からJR奈良線で二つ目の駅。降りたらすぐ目の前ですよ。あ、でもね…ぜひ上まで行ってみて。途中から人がいなくなって、すごく静かになるの。
It’s easy. JR Nara line from Kyoto station, second stop. Right in front of you when you get off. But listen... definitely go all the way up. Partway up the people disappear and it gets really quiet.
After the torii gates thin out, Tonia takes a wrong turn. An old man with a walking stick appears on the path.
すみません、こちらは伏見稲荷の上に行く道ですか？
Excuse me, is this the path to the top of Fushimi Inari?
こっちじゃないよ。さっきの分かれ道を右に行かないと。でもね…このまま行くと、竹林があるんだ。その奥に古いお塚がたくさんあるよ。静かで、いいところだよ。
Not this way. You need to go right at the fork back there. But... if you keep going, there’s a bamboo grove. Beyond it there are old otsuka — votive mounds. Quiet up there. Worth seeing.
Tonia follows the old man’s suggestion. She finds herself in a magical place — moss-covered stone torii, fox statues, and sacred ropes.
ここはなんですか？？
What IS this place??
ここはお塚ですよ。お墓に見えるでしょう？でも違うの、誰も埋まってないんです。一つ一つが、その人のお稲荷さん。奥の院に近いから、お狐様に守られているって言われてるの。縄で結んであるのは、まだ繋がりがあるっていう意味。
These are otsuka. They look like graves, don’t they — but nobody’s buried here. Each one enshrines someone’s own Inari. We’re close to the inner sanctuary, so they say the foxes watch over them. The rope means the connection is still living.
Back on the main path, Tonia meets a hiker coming the other way.
すみません、残りの道はどのぐらいかかりますか？
Excuse me, how long does the rest of the path take?
一周するなら、あと一時間くらいかな。急がないほうがいいよ。あ、あとね…頂上のちょっと手前に、おじいさんが一人でやってる小さい茶屋があるんだ。コーヒーとゆで卵。それだけ。でもね、山の上で飲むコーヒーは最高だよ。絶対寄って。
Full loop, about another hour. Better not to rush. Just before the top there’s a little tea house — one old man, coffee and boiled eggs. That’s it. But coffee on top of a mountain is the best. Definitely stop.