Author Namiko Shinsan's "Airports I've never been to" report: Fantasy Airport Series 2: Yamaguchi Ube Airport Trip

Departing with almost no prior knowledge -- to Yamaguchi Ube Airport --

I think that posters and monuments at airports have a big influence on people's subconscious. I realized this at Ube Airport in Yamaguchi. I flew to Ube from Haneda on JAL. I had almost no prior knowledge about the city of Ube, and all I remember from Yamaguchi was Akiyoshido Cave, which I visited on a family trip a long time ago, and Xavier Church, which I stopped by on the way back from a business trip. Both are far from Ube, so I had no idea what kind of tourist spots were being promoted at Ube Airport.

I decided on my exact destination after I arrived at the airport.

After a comfortable flight of just under two hours (I feel like my luck with planes has been improving lately), the first thing I saw at the airport was a miniature model of a five-story pagoda. I learned that there is a famous temple called Rurikoji in Yamaguchi City, and it immediately became one of my potential locations. What caught my eye even more were the wooden animal carvings (capybaras, gibbons, etc.). And the tiger pufferfish sculpture enshrined on the first floor of the airport was also fascinating. After all, three-dimensional objects have more impact than posters. They could give a little extra push to people who are unsure of where to go.

Let's enjoy fugu, a representative specialty of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

The first place we visited after arriving in Ube was "Nombei," a famous sushi and sashimi restaurant. It is a long-established restaurant famous for its wild puffer fish, and is visited by local dignitaries and politicians. Inside the restaurant, there is a fish tank where tiger puffer fish swim, and the private rooms on the second floor are luxurious spaces with mother-of-pearl tables and hanging scrolls. Thanks to the sincere service of the chef and the proprietress, we were able to enjoy high-class puffer fish dishes without feeling too nervous.

As I'm not used to eating fugu, I can't help but worry about it being poisonous...
"We have a proper license, so it's okay. I've tried the liver before, but it's not so tasty that I'd risk my life for it," says Chef Ebi-san calmly.
Yamaguchi is known as the center of fugu, so restaurants there take great care to ensure that no one loses their fugu to poisoning.

"Recently, there have been a lot of barges, so it's difficult to procure supplies, but this shop always makes sure to stock wild fugu. Even if we suddenly get a reservation for ten people, we can handle it."
The chef said that very coolly.

After a while, the fugu sashimi was brought to us. The white, shiny sashimi was beautiful. I casually picked one from the middle.
"You really know what you're talking about. If you cut it from the outside, the overall shape will be ruined, so it's more beautiful to cut it from the inside," said the chef. I'm glad that I passed the first test of the fugu certification exam without knowing it.

Wild fugu sashimi is elegant, delicate, chewy, and has a special taste unlike any other fish. Did fugu develop poison to protect its delicious flesh?
"You get tired of fatty tuna after one or two bites, but you can eat fugu every day. It costs a bit of money though," says the chef. The flavor is mild but delicate, so you can eat as many slices as you like. Wild fugu also has a high water retention capacity. Fugu from the Seto Inland Sea is said to be particularly soft, sweet and delicious. Once you've tried fugu from Ube, you can't eat fugu from Uchimata. The skin is chewy and delicious. It has a hunch that it might be good for your beauty, so I started eating.

Learn about Putin and the money in coal mining while enjoying fugu chiri

Next, we had fugu chiri nabe, which was also incredibly chewy and had a different kind of deliciousness. The beautiful female hostess served us the food while giving us information about Ube.
"When Putin came to Yamaguchi two years ago, the security was incredible. Two Russian planes arrived at Ube Airport. One contained Putin's car and other things, and the other was Putin himself. He apparently brought his own personal cook with him."
President Putin, who is always on guard, only eats food cooked by his trusted personal chefs. I feel sorry for him, even though he is a super VIP, for not being able to eat such delicious tiger pufferfish in Ube. I wonder if he eats borsch when he goes abroad...
Yamaguchi has an image of producing many politicians and powerful people, but Ube is not like that. According to the chef, "This place used to be a coal mine, and the infrastructure was built with the money from the mine. Ube is a self-contained town." Rather than going to Yamaguchi for sightseeing, I wanted to know more about the area around Ube.

A trip to a place that inspires you, not a national treasure, the five-story pagoda

After the meal, we decided to head to Tokiwa Park's Zoo and Botanical Gardens, where the monkey sculptures that had caught our eye at the airport were also located. This "World Travel Botanical Garden" was apparently supervised by Seijun Nishihata, a famous plant hunter, so our expectations were high. The gardens were divided into the Tropical Asia Zone, Oceania Zone, Africa Zone, and Europe Zone. As soon as we entered, we saw a banyan tree that is said to have the power to increase our financial luck.

Being surrounded by plants is soothing, but I felt a special vibration in the South America zone, where a large number of giant cacti were planted. When I spoke up, an unfamiliar man smiled and said, "There are a lot of them, aren't there?" The space was filled with a mysterious vibration that made me feel like I could communicate with the cacti silently. It was as if the cacti were making me realize the meaning of being born on Earth... The vibrations of symbiosis, purification, and healing were swirling around, and it was a power spot that made me want to meditate there if I had the time. I also recommend this place to anyone who feels some kind of connection with Native Americans.

Now I understand why I was so drawn to the object I saw at the airport.

The zoo inside the park was also more fulfilling than I had imagined. The animals are in a "habitat exhibit" where they live in an environment close to their natural surroundings, so they were all very lively. First, as soon as I entered, my eye was caught by the sight of the white-handed gibbons jumping around among the trees. They were jumping from branch to branch as if they were dancing. Looking more closely, I could see that they had muscular bodies and were exuding monkey pheromones. It was also cute to see the small bonnet monkeys huddled together. The sight of two adult monkeys and a baby monkey together was something you would see on a New Year's card, but in reality they may not have been a family.

The squirrel monkeys and meerkats have dark eyes and are consistently cute. The monkeys here are very friendly and have a great sense of service, so when you peek through the window of the hut, they come over to greet you. The ruffed lemurs and others came to say hello one after another to the window, holding out their hands and sticking out their tongues as if they were licking, and I felt like taking them home with me. When traveling, it's worth meeting not only people but also animals and plants.

You can also rediscover your childhood at the amusement park inside the park.

At night, the amusement park is illuminated with limited-time illuminations. A lot of people gathered for the event "TOKIWA Fantasia 2018". There were not only young people but also many seniors, and people of all ages and genders enjoyed the illuminations. I realized that Ube is a wonderful town where adults don't stay indoors even in the cold, and go out and enjoy themselves.

Guided by fate, overwrite your memories at a deep power spot

People often say that there is nothing near the airport, but that is probably because they have overlooked it. This time, we were able to enjoy the deep spots that even President Putin could not go to. And Xavier's distant memories were overwritten with pufferfish, cacti, and monkeys. Perhaps our fate was already decided when we were drawn to the monkey and pufferfish objects at the airport...

Photography and composition: Korero