Did Jiiji call us to Unazuki

I have been sharing reviews and blog posts for Unazuki Onsen which I visited for the first time last week. Among the places I visited on the trip, several left a lasting impression. Including the old mine tunnels which were unexpectedly beautiful, atmospheric and architecturally fascinating in a way I hadn't anticipated.

I hadn’t actually planned to visit Unazuki Onsen at all, I ended up there completely by accident. The original plan was to spend the day exploring the coast: playing in the sea, eating fresh sushi, and finishing with a long soak in a coastal hot spring. But when my daughter was stung by a jellyfish around noon, we decided we’d had enough of the sea for one day.

I’ve always wanted to visit the Kurobe Dam, so my husband looked it up online. But from where we were, it seemed like it would take far too long to reach by car. At the same time, I was scanning the map and noticed “Unazuki Onsen,” tucked up in the mountains yet only about twenty minutes away. I showed my husband and we both thought, “Sure, why not?” and off we went, exploring some scenes along the way.

We fell in love with Unazuki the moment we arrived. But what truly stunned me came only after we got home. We were telling my mother‑in‑law about the tunnels, and she casually replied, “Ah yes, my father was the foreman on some of those.” I just sat there, mind blown. We had visited during Obon, when spirits are said to return to our world, and I couldn’t help wondering if Jiiji had been the one who called us to Unazuki.