Minami-Awa Sunline Stop at the First Lookout for a break with a sea view

When I got out of the car at the First Lookout car park, the paper map in my hand fluttered in the wind. I traced the road I’d just driven with my finger, smoothing the map along its folds as I went. I came here to see the sea, and there I was, still poring over my map. My friend, already looking up, pointed toward the plaza.

I held down the hem of my pale lavender jacket and folded the map into a smaller square. As I walked up from the car park to the plaza, I saw the round roof and the benches beneath it. Up there, the sea felt much bigger than it had from beside the car. I stopped just before the railing and looked out into the distance.

The mountain’s deep green slopes reached right down to the sea. Sunlight fell across the water, and the sparkles kept shifting even while I watched the same patch. My friend and I chatted as we looked out over the water, but even our talk about where to go next fell quiet for a while. For now, I wanted to stay with this sea a little longer.

When I sat on the bench, the plaza’s shadow reached all the way to my feet. I started to pull out the map I’d just folded, then slipped it back into my bag. I knew the way, so I didn’t have to decide what came next right then. I straightened my back a little and rested in the breeze coming off the sea.

My friend and I talked about trying a bigfin reef squid rice bowl in Minami Town, then headed back to the car park. I left the folded map in my bag. I wanted to sit under that round roof a little longer and gaze out over the Pacific.