Riverside Hotel

A scene that looks like a rural European countryside was found along a river in Japan. Whether they know it or not, tourists from overseas come to this riverside hotel to take a break from pedaling their bicycles and relax.

One day, as I was walking along the river, I found a small staircase. There was a door at the end of it. I was curious about it, thinking it might be a shortcut, but I never climbed the stairs or opened the door, and many years passed by. I was drawn to this place, which was not my hometown, for some reason, and came here again and again to stay at a foreign-style hotel on the riverside. Sometimes the doors were painted over or the material changed to wood, but basically they remained closed.

One day, this door bothered me so much that I decided to ask the man at the hotel counter.
He said, "Excuse me. Where does the door at the end of the stairs lead to? Is it a shortcut?"

The man behind the counter smiled and said, "That door has been there since I was a little girl. I've always wondered about it, but I doubt anyone has ever opened it.

I don't think anyone has ever opened it. I feel like it's been painted a new color from time to time... Is it a door that shouldn't be opened?
No, I don't think so. We had the key to that place before we opened this hotel.
If you want, I can open it for you.
The man was still smiling. I wondered if he was half-Japanese. His skin color was white and his eyes were round and round.

He said, "Oh, is that okay? Would you like to join us?
"Yes, that sounds good.
The man with the good-natured attitude immediately brought a bunch of keys from behind the counter with a crunching sound.

I'm sorry if it's not one of these," he said, blushing a little and scratching his hair.

I walked out the front door and was there in a couple of minutes. My grandfather actually opened this door once," he said, "but I couldn't find him after that. But after that, he disappeared. My father told me about it, but he never told me the details. So I've been wondering about it for a long time. Thank you very much.

I was a little surprised and also a little worried.
I was a little surprised and a little worried. Can I really open it?
I was a little surprised and a little anxious. My father has told me that it is not dangerous.
While I was talking, I repeatedly tried to insert the keys one by one into the keyhole from the bunch of keys.

Clang!

There was a loud and strong sound.
Perhaps the door had opened.

Beyond the door was a European-style building.
Could it be? Is it really European?
"I don't know. Shall we go in?
Let's go.

We walk together, and the language is unfamiliar.
There's a river!
I exclaimed.
Ah, this is the Schelde River," the man said.
'Amazing! You can read?"
"Ha-ha! Yes, I can. I learned Dutch and French from my father all my life.
Oh, my God!
He only told me that one day I would use them. I used to fight with him, saying, "When are you going to use Dutch and French in this countryside? We used to fight a lot.
The man is smiling happily again.
I'm a Belgian-Japanese quarter.
No way! I didn't think so. I wonder if it was right to let my curiosity get in the way of opening the door.
It's all right. I was told by a magician I know that the woman who will open the door for me will come this month. But it was true, wasn't it? Actually, that door can only be opened by someone who needs it. It will never be opened by me alone. I was told that when the right time comes, a woman who can open the door will appear, and at that time, we should join forces to open it.

Who is she? Who is this magician?
And I can't believe that woman is me. Is it true?

In Europe, astrology and geomancy are very popular, and there are many real wizards and alchemists. It may be hard to believe!"
The man is smiling again.

What a surprise, what was on the other side of the door was the city of Antwerp.

Ten years have passed since then.
I now live in Antwerp, have two children, and understand a little French and Dutch.

What happened to the door?

That door stopped opening the moment we set foot in Belgium. Miraculously, there was a passport in a small pouch, but strangely enough, it was stamped properly.
My husband seemed to have known everything from the beginning, and we heard many stories while being treated much better by the old man in Belgium.

He told me that the next time the door will be opened will be when I become a grandmother, and then it will be opened again by the right person. It seems that the door is now famous in Belgium and Japan as "Kiseki no Tobira" (the door of kiseki).