Kumamoto: A New Type of Experience

From Beppu we caught a train to the city of Kumamoto. For some reason I had it in my head that it was a little small city off the beaten path; a castle, one of my favorite authors former homes, and some traditional architecture. I was wrong. Kumamoto is a bustling city with plenty of big buildings, bridges, restaurants, etc. We arrived at the train station and from there called our hostel to find directions. For the first time during our trip, English was more useful than Japanese in communication with hostel staff. Why? The man in question was an American from California, and he and his Japanese wife ran the hostel out of their home in a neighborhood not far from the train station.

We had stayed in many different hostels (and even a business hotel) during our travels, but this was our first "homely" experience. Literally, the second floor of their home. They had a son, a dog, and a refrigerator covered with crayon drawings. It was a night to remember. After we settled in that night, we took a walk to Kumamoto Castle to see what it was like. I was very impressed, it was very big and played an important part in Japanese history. From there we headed back to the hostel to sleep, wake up, and head back to the castle the next day so that we could go inside and see all of the old armaments and architecture. The view from the top floor was amazing and you could see most of the city from there.

After our adventure at the castle, we gathered our belongings and took a bus to ride a ferry from Kumamoto to Nagasaki. The ferry was free because of the bus pass we bought for around $80, and it was a smooth forty-minute ride all the way to Nagasaki Prefecture. The inside of the ferry had everything you could want, a snack bar, comfortable furniture, a deck where people (including myself) fed Sky Rats, and tv's with Olympic coverage. What a trip it was.

Beppu

The day after our trip to Yufuin, Soojeong and I decided to see the famous hot springs along the "Beppu 地獄 (Jigoku= hell) Tour". The hells consisted of 8 themed "hell parks" with themes ranging from an ocean hell, to a mountains hell, a crocodile hell, a blood red bubbling lake hell, and a couple of other different themed adventures.

We took a bus that morning from Beppu station and got off at the hells, spend between 15-20 minutes at each place taking pictures and seeing all of the unique attractions. The weather that day was nice, and it felt good to get out with Soojeong and enjoy the day. We even ate a breakfast there of hot-spring boiled eggs. The crowds that day were not very big, so we really had the chance to take the time to look at everything we wanted.

I don't really know if I had a favorite hell. There were two that were very beautifully colored (one blue and one white) that reminded me a lot of some of the hot-springs that I had seen in Yellowstone years back. The tickets for the tour were roughly $20.00 dollars, and I think that it was well worth the money; a beautiful weather, a perfect date, and memories made that can not be forgotten. If you are ever in Beppu, I highly advise checking out the attractions that make it famous. The town is popular for that reason afterall.

Day Trip from Beppu: Yufuin 湯布院町

During our trip to Beppu, Japan (of which pictures will be later added) we decided to take a day trip to the town of Yufuin famous for its onsens (hot springs), and charming little streets. We took a bus from the train station in Beppu and off we went to explore.

The ride took around an hour and a half to get there, and along the way we were able to see many grass fires set right along-side the road. The burns were controlled and probably started to help wild grasses seed..or something along those lines. When we got to the town, we took off trying to find the hot spring we had decided on from Soojeong's book. The streets were full of interesting little shops, carriages pulled by people, and lots of interesting sights and smells.

We found our hot spring and took a nice thirty minute break in the hot water to recharge. It was kind of expensive for the bath they had (around $4.00 USD), but it was part of the experience, so I can't complain about that. When we finished, we caught the bus back to Beppu where we had a free dinner party at the hostel. We lucked out that night and had okonomiyaki, free beer, chips, chocolate, and Wii Mario Kart. For a poor college student on vacation, a free meal like that is something that many dream of, and few actually experience. I feel I am one of the lucky few.

For the fans of My Neighbor Totoro:

The outdoor bath. It felt wonderful, but it reminded me of going to the water park in Colorado during the Hayman fire with ash raining into the water.


Some pictures of the part of the town with the "old-timey feel".

Day Trip: Dazaifu

During our stay in Fukuoka, Soo Jeong and I decided to take a day-trip to the town of Dazaifu to see the famous temple and plum trees there. Having been in the biggest city in Kyushu for two days already, we thought it would be a good chance to get out and see some nature that the city parks couldn't offer (I don't really count a dirt lot as a park...) and enjoy a day away from everything else.

We took a train to Dazifu, only having to switch trains at another station one time. The weather that day was beautiful and sunny, with a slightly cool breeze, but compared to our frozen mountain home of Matsumoto, it felt heavenly.

When we first got off the train I was surprised to see so many people out in the streets. It really was a sea of people. The main avenue was lined with beautiful shops selling everything from local specialty foods, to glass wares, and other local souvenirs. With the street full of good smells, happy people, and warm sun-light, we were off to a good start.

The temple grounds were beautiful, and to be there with Soo Jeong on such a beautiful day, was the best part of the trip. We took a lot of pictures of the trees, each other, the temple, and all of the other sights that made our trip one to be remembered. We ate lunch our lunch of okonomiyaki under the blooming plum trees. It was a perfect unplanned lunch picnic.

After lunch we took off on foot to other parts of the town, looking at the trees in bloom, the country fields, and old buildings along the way. We made our way to a museum where we were given a free explanation in Japanese, of the history of the land there. A long time ago it was a very important military and administrative center of Japan. The buildings are no longer remaining, but the recreation models, along with the artifacts on display, show that it was an impressive area.

After our walk along the temple grounds, we set off back to the temple for a last glimpse and to take a walk along the plum tree lined sidewalks. We took a train back to Fukuoka, talking about our trip and looking at pictures along the way.

Fukuoka

The next stop on our journey was the city of Fukuoka. Fukuoka is the biggest city on the island of Kyushu, and the three of us Soo Jeong, Goun Ha (Soo Jeong's friend from Korea), and myself, made camp there for four days. During our stay we traveled the city visiting temples, museums, eating good food, shrines, temples, and shopping malls. We even got to go to a beach for part of the morning, but it was too cold to swim :(


For our lodgings, we mainly stayed at a youth hostel. The hostel was very cheap, around $20/night. It had a television room, a kitchen with free coffee, tea, etc., and free internet access. After exploring the city on foot almost everyday, it was nice to just sit in the kitchen with everyone, have a cup of tea or beer, play games, and plan out the next day's adventures. I highly recommend the hostel experience to anyone.



To talk about everything we did would take a lot of time, so I hope that the pictures will help to speed up the process a little.

The only picture taken at the Khaosan Fukuoka Hostel.


The next three photos are taken from the 13th floor of a building near the city's fish market. We had wanted to go to the market, but went too late in the day, so we were recommended to get a good view of the bay and surrounding city from this building.




This is a temple that Soo Jeong and I found on our walk back from the building with a view of the bay. It was beautiful, quiet, and I think that we were the only two people there when the photo was taken.

The robot park in Fukuoka was amazing. Always seeing programs on television or youtube about Japanese robots, I was curious to see what they could do, and at the Robot Square, I was able to do just that. They had everything from the small robots that clean your floor, to dog robots that are smarter than I am (it could take your picture, listen to your commands, and when you would pet it, it would react just like a real dog), and a seal pup modeled robot that was designed to help the elderly to feel less lonely.



Soo Jeong and Goun Ha at the one of the temples we visited. In the first picture, Soo Jeong is translating Goun Ha's fortune from Japanese into Korean. Some places have the fortunes in a variety of languages, but most commonly you find them in Japanese. The second picture, we were all taking pictures at the same time. It seems like a lot of my photos are of everyone else taking photos.

The weather in Kyushu is much warmer than here in Matsumoto, and we were all very surprised to see flowers and fruit trees in bloom. This photo was taken at a shrine.

Not nearly as magnificent as the tori gates in Kyoto, this small row of them in Kyushu was very beautiful.

A picture of some of the days catches being sold at a fish market. I have always been amazed when watching a show like Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and seeing all of the strange things that you can find in a market. There were so many little sea creatures and fish that I was clueless about.

The Way There: Osaka and Kita Kyushu

Soo Jeong and I left Matsumoto early in the morning on the 18th to head to the island of Kyushu. Going by bus was more economical than trying to book an expensive flight, so we took buses to and from the island. On the way there, we had a partial day layover in the city of Osaka, famous for a number of reasons; Osaka Castle, Osaka dialect, and more specifically the foods; okonomiyaki and takoyaki. The layover was fun, and we decided to indulge in Osaka's version of okonomiyaki for lunch, followed by a sample plate of takoyaki bought at a stand as we explored the city.

From Osaka we took an overnight bus to the island of Kyushu, landing in the city of Kita Kyushu, where we ate breakfast looked at the castle, went to a shopping center, and made a trip to the airport to meet Soo Jeong's friend from Korea who came to travel with us.
Me with my infamous goofy smile.

Okonomiyaki- egg, cabbage, some sort of baking powder, squid and beef topped with sauce and fish flakes. Delicious.

Just a view down one of the canal areas of the city.

The castle in Kita Kyushu.