Hiraodai Karst Road (Prefectural Route 28) Straightening my sleeves and taking a deep breath on a hillside dotted with white rocks

Our autumn trip around Kyushu began at the Tokyo Port Ferry Terminal in Ariake. My friend and I took the same ferry, with my red convertible and her yellow car on board. We reached Shin-Moji on the morning two days after we set off. For our first detour on a trip that would keep us in Kyushu for about three weeks, I chose Hiraodai, still within Kitakyushu. We’d decided aboard the ferry to walk across the plateau while the Japanese silver grass was in season.

From Kokura-Minami IC, I drove about 3 km along National Route 322, then turned onto Prefectural Route 28 at the Hiraodai entrance. I followed my friend’s yellow car as the road wound uphill for about 6 km. White rocky hills came into view between the trees. When we reached the plateau and parked, my friend pulled into a space a little way off.

I switched off the engine, and the wind I’d barely heard over the car’s noise filled the quiet. I pulled the sleeves of my hoodie down to my wrists and looked over the wooden fence. White rocks dotted the grassy slopes. I hadn’t even been off the ferry for a few hours, yet somehow I was already standing on this plateau. It felt a little unreal, even to me.

The rounded rocks peeking out of the grass look like a flock of sheep, which is why the area is called the Sheep Flock Plain. From a distance, the rocks seem to cluster together, but each time I shifted my gaze, I spotted a new shape. I pointed to one and said, “That one looks like a back.” My friend and I picked out the same rock, but couldn’t agree on which end was its head.

Autumn is also a lovely time to see Hiraodai’s fields of Japanese silver grass. I took in the limestone hills from the car park, then set aside time for a walk across the grassland. Whenever the edge of my hood brushed my cheek, I could feel the wind shift. I loved that I could enjoy the road on the way up, then explore the highland on foot. Between the drive and the walk, I had a feeling I’d be here a while.

After our walk, I stopped by the Hiraodai Nature Observation Center. The first-floor exhibits are divided into four sections: “The World of Limestone Caves,” “Exploring Hiraodai,” “The Hiraodai Collection,” and “Hiraodai Nature Scape.” Upstairs, there are also videos such as “Hiraodai Through the Seasons” and “The Mysteries of Hiraodai.” Bit by bit, I started to get a sense of the world beneath the grassland we’d just walked through.

I’d heard that fossils of Naumann’s elephants and giant deer had been found in Hiraodai’s caves. I never imagined that a whole world of ancient creatures was hidden beneath those hills, where I’d seen only white rocks and grass. I looked down at my feet, picturing a huge elephant walking across this plateau. When I left the center and looked back at the hills, every single rock caught my eye far more than it had before.

After that, we drove to Sora Land Hiraodai. The huge car park can hold 1,100 vehicles, and Hiraodai Terrace is a café in a trailer home. I ordered a Hirapecino, their original drink, while my friend chose a cookie ice cream sandwich. Cupping my cheeks, chilled by the breeze, I felt the weariness from our walk start to melt away with the first sweet sip. We each shared a little of our treat and laughed that they were both delicious.

As we were leaving the terrace, my friend showed me on her map the route to where we’d be staying that night. Our trip around Kyushu had only just begun—we still had almost three weeks to go. Back in our separate cars, I sent her a photo of the rock that had looked like a sheep’s back. She replied from the yellow car beside mine: “The head’s over here, obviously.”