A Family Drive to Haga, Hyogo

Yesterday, we decided, “The autumn leaves must be looking beautiful right about now—let’s head to Haga!” So the family set off for a drive to Haga, Hyogo Prefecture. From home, the route is simple: take the Chugoku Expressway, exit at Yamazaki IC, then head north on Route 29. There’s no dedicated scenic drive here, and it isn’t a major tourist destination, but the roads are good and traffic is light. Whenever my husband gets a new car, he makes a point of driving to Haga to enjoy the roads and take photos of it.

That morning, he gave the Panamera a thorough polish.

Once it was gleaming, we were ready to go! The roads were clear, and we arrived right on schedule. The autumn colors along the mountain road to Forest Station Haga were stunning.

At my husband’s usual photo spot, there was already one other car. He promptly got to work taking pictures…

Meanwhile, the kids and I went for a walk nearby.

After wandering around for a while, I looked back at the car…

He was still taking pictures. And here are a couple from the shoot. (I’m pretty sure he took more than 100.)

After the photo session, we drove on to Forest Station Haga.

The autumn leaves were a brilliant red and absolutely beautiful.

The mountain road in Haga is in excellent condition, with gentle bends and smooth, straight stretches continuing for about ten minutes. It’s like this for much of the way.

Best of all, there was hardly another car in sight, which made the drive such a pleasure. Switching to Sport Plus firmed up the Panamera’s suspension and made the road even more fun. And unlike the nearby Royu Driveway, there are no raised road markers to worry about, so I could enjoy the drive without fretting about “what if I hit one with a tire?”

Even someone as inexperienced behind the wheel as I am can accelerate confidently and take the curves with ease, so Haga is a route I highly recommend.

And Just Like That, More Blog Material…

Then, right at the very end of the day, just ten minutes from home, disaster struck.

Our older daughter threw up in the car…

The vomit soaked into the leather seat of our brand-new car, and the child seat is now in the wash. I wanted to write more about the whole ordeal, but my two daughters are interrupting me nonstop, and I can barely use the computer—so I’ll leave it here for today.