Parcly Taxel: The goods and services tax in Japan got a hike earlier this year, from 8% to 10%. There is, however, a large and strange collection of exceptions, such as take-out food from convenience stores. This is a bit of a conundrum for those stores with tables and chairs, and the resolution is that if you’re going to eat in you’re supposed to disclose this to the cashier so the extra 2% can be correctly charged (about 4 to 10 yen for most items in the コンビニ, as these places are abbreviated in Japanese).
 
Spindle: We had to wake up early for a couple of reasons. One was to catch the complimentary breakfast from the Nishitetsu Inn using a card provided at check-in, which was valid only until 9:30 in the morning; the food available was pretty typical for its kind. Once our bellies had been stuffed – in my case, glowing warm and bright and almost corporeal to the touch – we continued on the other reason: our long-distance runs across Kyushu from the day before.
 
Under a thicket of clouds, we first passed by a harbour for yachts, then a coastline on the Seto Inland Sea. Dense fog obscured some of the farthest visible stretches of land, which belonged to Honshu; factories and container cranes soon entered our field of view. Not much activity could be seen inside buildings, only the continuous stream of trotting ponies and cars.
 
Parcly: The cold nightmare of A Hearth’s Warming Tail, in other words, just with windigos hidden beneath the sea. Still, the sun was a fuzzy spot in the sky, and we had more than enough light to penetrate the mountains and reach Harajiri Falls (原尻の滝), said to be a popular kirin hangout.
 
Fluttershy: There were actually no kirins around when she arrived, but there were some hippogriffs. The rock formation was created by an eruption of the nearby Mount Aso 90,000 years ago; its solidified lava flows have since cracked in columns, leaving holes for the water to fall through. An arch bridge lies somewhat downstream of the base lake, offering a wider view for those unwilling to scramble over large rocks. In a mark of respect for the animals, fishing is prohibited for 250 metres downstream.
 
Parcly: After frolicking by the water’s edge below, I proceeded to the fertile plains above, their soil enriched by the environment around Mount Aso. A torii stood alone in one of those plains, signifying the locals’ gratefulness for their harvest. I went around, completing a loop across the bridge, but my peaceful meditation was shattered by a time signal at 11:30am from a loudspeaker I never noticed was right behind my back.
 
Spindle: I suppose that also jolted Parcly out of an earthly distraction and moved her on. We galloped even deeper into the interior, up winding mountain roads with no moving traffic for furlongs on end and only a rail to prevent us from falling down terraces. To see construction equipment beside an unpaved section that would eventually let cars in opposite directions pass there was a curiosity in itself.
 
Applejack: That’s just a sampling of Kyushu’s countryside. Where Parcly and her otherworldly guardian angel trekked, just reaching a fork in the road was a milestone and finding a concentration of houses a bigger one. However, at some point the road became two-laned, and finally they reached Takachiho Gorge (高千穂峡), a tourist attraction nestled in the trees.
 
Spindle: A rowboat rental service operates down the gorge, thirty minutes and up to three ponies at a time. I let Parcly handle the oars, but very soon she ran every which way into obstacles, both other boats (with just as inexperienced rowers) and the gorge’s sides. The Manai Waterfall (真名井の滝) poured down on the far side, splattering Parcly with fine droplets as she passed by (I made myself transparent to them, otherwise a diamond dust storm would have been kicked up).
 
Parcly: Rowing a boat exercised my muscles after many months of exercising my horn in small rooms at the National University of Equestria. My lunch fare of cold soba with assorted side dishes had a neat way of serving up the soba: the cooks funnelled it down a bamboo half-tube, where I had to catch it with chopsticks before it slid by. No food was wasted, the uncaught portion collected in a bowl and served afterwards.
 
Exploring the gorge’s surroundings, including a hoofful of spans and some tributaries, took up another hour and a half. Then we needed to return to the inn – no other attractions were reachable before nightfall. I started galloping down the path we came in on, got tired fast and tripped on a rock, pulling into my genie bottle instinctively. Spindle pressed on with my bound self on her back, changing a few sections from the original plan (e.g. I had not used a toll road going in, she took one going out).
 
Spindle: From a stretch of the toll road I saw the full moon rise above building lights that appeared to link together into spider web-like patterns. I had a weak, albeit recovering, creature to carry, as well as dinner to settle for the two of us. I reached the Nishitetsu Inn at half past six.
 
Parcly: Though I reacted to my self-made genie form with much enthusiasm at first, I’m now balanced between that and my normal alicorn form, switching as necessary. Here I was happier to have four fluffy hooves as I fell back onto my bed.
 
For dinner we had beef from various parts of Kyushu and its paired foods (salad, rice and so on). As is the norm for Japanese meat restaurants, we were given the raw meat and cooked it ourselves. Finally we indulged in another onsen session before going to bed.