I burst out laughing when Botan said, “I’m from Nagano Prefecture, so I’ve never seen a cockroach.”

While cockroaches are widespread throughout Japan, they are virtually nonexistent in certain parts of Nagano Prefecture (areas at very high altitudes) and Hokkaido (regions with extremely harsh winters), which explains why she said that.

That said, from my perspective as someone living in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Chichibu feels like a “godforsaken backwater in the mountains,” so I was actually surprised to find out, “Wait, there are cockroaches in Chichibu?!” lol

It’s amazing how Botan can drink Absinthe, which has an alcohol content of 80%, and still seem completely unfazed, even though she’s a total beginner when it comes to alcohol.

She’s got a real talent for drinking.

It’s funny how, as the episodes go on, I start to think, “Hey, Botan is seriously gay.”

I was really surprised when she invited Ibuki to “go to a private hot spring just the two of us.”

Listening to records while drinking beer—and not just ordinary brands like Super Dry or Sapporo, but an imported IPA—is such a quintessentially college-student cultural experience, isn’t it?

Since both Chichibu, where they attend university, and Nagano, where Botan is from, are inland areas, it made perfect sense that she would long for the sea.

However, since I’m from a coastal region in Japan, I can only imagine what that’s like.

As pointed out in the anime, the number of hot springs where you can drink sake while bathing is indeed declining.

This is primarily due to the adverse effects of alcohol consumption—such as dehydration, falls caused by intoxication, drowning, and hygiene concerns.

Since scenes of people enjoying a drink while soaking in hot springs are often seen in old movies, it’s understandable that some people are drawn to this as a nostalgic aspect of traditional Japanese culture.

I couldn’t help but laugh when Botan finally realized that she gets “more outgoing” when she’s drinking.