Rin is going camping with everyone soon, but that doesn’t stop her from going on a little mini solo camp to see the cherry blossoms. She picks the nearby but quiet Jikkoku Hot Spring Campite, part of the Untouched Valley Ryuzenkai. There are some unusual bridges, but she’s here to relax and enjoy the blossoms, not adventure.
The only other people camping at this site are Otani and Ogawa, a young couple who are camping out of their kei car. They assume Rin is a petite college student, and are surprised to find such an experienced camper is still in high school. The three chat over coffee after Rin finds garbage left from previous, hopefully rookie campers.
After coffee Rin whips up a delicious one-pot pasta with bacon, spinach, and tomatoes. I just happened to be making tomato confit in my oven as I watched this, and couldn’t help but sneak a few of the tasty little bastards so I didn’t have to enjoy the tomato-y goodness merely vicariously.
While Rin is off on her own (and wondering when the best time to re-invite Nadeshiko on a camping trip), Nadeshiko is eyeing a grove of cherry blossoms from her house. She considers biking there, but Sakura offers to drive them up and the sisters make a day of it. Nadeshiko’s nearly boundless energy is on full display as she races up shrine steps.
Rin caps her trip off with what else, a soothing dip in the hot springs. There she meets her new camp friend Ogawa again, who tells her the best places to view cherry blossoms based on her road cycling trip last year. While she knows Nadeshiko would likely thrive on a road bike, Rin may be too spoiled by the relative convenience of her moped—though the steep hills down to the campsite and back up were a bit of a challenge.
After two episodes in which she wasn’t featured, it was good to get a nice quick Rin solo trip in before the whole gang heads out on what I imagine will be a season-capping group trip to view more of those beautiful cherry blossoms before they all fall.
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