A visit to Atagoyama Observatory (Nobeoka) Yabure Manju after a night view of Nobeoka

I came to Atagoyama in late spring because I wanted to see Nobeoka at night. I parked my red convertible and walked up to the observatory. It still felt like I was carrying on with the day's drive, but as I took the path between the trees, I realised the sky had gone completely dark. I was already looking forward to seeing how the city lights would look from up there.

From the observatory, the lights spread across the city below. Down on the road, they’d gone by one at a time; up here, they opened out into a view of the whole city. I’d heard you could see all the way to Hyuga-nada from here, too, but tonight I wanted to take my time with the city lights. I kept tracing them into the distance and stood there longer than I meant to.

They say Atagoyama is where Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Konohanasakuya-hime met. Looking at the city lights brought that legend back to me, and I started thinking about the mountain’s long history, too. I’d picked this place for its beautiful view, but now I wanted to take in its story as well. Before heading back, I took one more long look around.

When I got back to the car park, I spotted my red car among the trees. I let the night view linger in my mind as I pulled out the Yabure Manju I’d bought earlier. I adjusted the black jacket draped over my shoulders and opened the wrapping beside the car. A split in the crust showed the bean paste inside, and I was already smiling before my first bite.

The sweetness spread through my mouth from the first bite. Its cracked crust shows the bean paste inside, which is how it got the name Yabure Manju. When I first heard the name, I was curious about what it looked like; now I wanted to remember the taste, too. I took a smaller bite next and savoured it, thinking back to the night view.

Even after I finished eating, I didn’t get straight back into the car. The city lights and the sweetness of the manju were now tied together in my memory of tonight. Once I came down from the mountain, I’d be back in the city I’d just seen from above. Before opening the door, I pulled my jacket back on and looked up at the sky again through the trees.