Stop for the Factory Lights at Takaishi Rest Area This Autumn Turn a Bayside Drive Break into a Nightscape Stop

One October night, my friend and I pulled into Takaishi Rest Area on our way back from a bayside drive. I parked in a space and stepped outside. Beyond the fence, rows of factory lights stretched out before us. I’d had my eyes on the road the whole drive, so it felt good to finally take them in one by one.

I zipped up my pale purple jacket and headed along the green walkway toward the factories. Red lights glowed at the tips of the towers, and tiny lights traced the pipes high above me. I stopped to look up. The whole scene felt closer than I’d expected.

My friend pointed and said, “I wonder how far that pipe goes.” I followed its bends with my eyes, only to find myself tracing a different pipe halfway along. “Wait, I’ve lost the first one.” We started tracing it together, and before long I spotted a staircase I hadn’t noticed at first.

White steam rose between the towers and drifted slowly past the lights. Even standing in the same spot, the scene kept changing bit by bit. Holding my jacket closed with both hands, I stayed a little longer to watch the steam thin out.

“When we get home, let’s cut into the Ginsō castella I picked up in Takaishi during the day.” My friend and I talked about that as we headed back to the car. Before setting off, I picked “WANGAN -ZQQ LIMITER-”; now my attention had shifted from the pipes to the road ahead. That time spent taking in the night view had become part of our bayside drive, too.