Konnichiwa Minna San! We hope you are all happy and healthy. This is Soft Pine again, and we’ve just wrapped up our latest tour in Japan. It’s been a wonderful experience, and our hearts are full from the warm welcome we received throughout the trip. We had our first live shows in Osaka and Chiba, and we ended the tour in Tokyo. After the tour, we decided to take a one-day trip to Yamanashi on our last free day, and we’d like to share the story with you.

The weather had been warm throughout the trip, but on our last day in Yamanashi, the temperature dropped to 12 degrees Celsius. After spending ten days in a bustling city, escaping to nature was the perfect way to spend our final day in Japan.

Most of us arrived the night before and spent it at our friend’s house—Alex. His place is a cool, cozy house perched on a hill, tucked away like a secret. He’s got this insane setup, too—a gym-bedroom hybrid, which is as bizarre as it sounds but somehow works. There’s something about lifting weights next to your bed that feels both practical and utterly absurd, but that’s Alex for you.

As a token of our appreciation for his kindness in letting us crash, we gave him a vinyl of the Another Half album. It felt like a fitting gesture that would be perfect for his music listening room.

On Sunday morning at 9 a.m., we drove from Tokyo to Yamanashi, which involved a bit of uphill driving. I started to notice the car behaving oddly—accelerating and then braking. Was Syu enjoying the curves of the hill? Then Nott turned to me and said, “We’re out of gas.” It was hilarious how we all laughed at the situation of running out of fuel on a hill. In my life, I had never experienced a car running out of gas before, so this was a first! Luckily, Syu managed to get us almost to the gas station, stopping just about 50 meters before it. We ended up having to push the car a bit more to reach the station. It was a little incident that brought us a lot of laughter! P.S. Thankfully, our car was small; if it had been a van, we wouldn’t have been laughing!

Once we regrouped in Yamanashi, we headed to our first stop: Tarojiro Falls. The sounds of the wind, the rustling trees, and the dripping water were soothing after the noise of the tour. Everything felt peaceful and healing. We found joy in nature—everyone needs a little healing from nature sometimes, don’t they?

While I was enjoying the view and happily filming the waterfall, I noticed Akara posing as if he was about to punch the arch of the fence on the bridge. It was so funny that I laughed until my stomach hurt! I can’t help but wonder how Akara came up with something so funny.

Our second stop was Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine. We were captivated by the towering trees that must have stood for many eras. I wish there were more trees like that around my home. I imagine waking up each morning and taking a short walk with my favorite drink under the forest canopy—it sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?

Most of us had never seen Mount Fuji before, so we went to Fujiyoshida hoping to catch a glimpse together for the first time. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy that day, and we didn’t see even a little of it—what bad luck, hahaha! However, we fell in love with the surreal atmosphere of the town. We felt closer to the sky and the moon, and that little walk left a lasting impression on our minds.

We ended our trip at an onsen. Initially, we tried to visit a fancy onsen, but when the manager asked if we had any tattoos, we realized that all of us did, so we couldn’t enter. There was a rule sign at the entrance that we missed—hahaha! Luckily, we found a local onsen that was quiet and peaceful. The atmosphere was lovely, with a kind auntie at the reception, reasonable prices, and not too many people. It was a place filled with spiritual energy. Soaking in the onsen felt like releasing all the exhaustion from over ten days of touring. It cleansed both our bodies and minds, giving us time to reflect on the stories, people, and places we encountered. Since onsens aren’t common in Thailand due to the warm climate, this experience felt incredibly special.

A shoutout to all our wonderful friends who supported us throughout the tour—we couldn’t have done it without your help. Thank you so much!

That’s it for today. This is our fourth article, and the final one. We’ve truly enjoyed sharing our stories through writing rather than music. We hope you enjoyed reading them! If you have anything to share with us, feel free to leave a comment. Domo arigatou gozaimasu!