By now I think our two drivers were getting the hang of the roads and tolls! It was especially useful to be able to input a telephone number into the satnav instead of the actual address – very helpful considering how all the Japanese places were spelt. Because if you put an o instead of an a or e you can end up many miles away as all the names are very similar or so they seem to us. Also included in the satnav the amount of the toll you had to pay was spoken to you beforehand.

We had a four hour drive ahead of us as you can see from the map above. As Kyushu is made up of several small islands there was not really a direct route to take to Kagoshima.

We passed through Yanegawa on the way which is made up of lots of canals.

Arrived quite late to Hotel Shiroyama – beautiful hotel – high up on a hill overlooking Mt. Sakurajima. Sakurajima is still smoking and one of the reasons we visited Kagoshima.

As it was late decided to eat at the hotel on the 13th floor. Had a gourmet French dinner – fantastic!

Four of us enjoying our fantastic dinner

Entree

View from 13th floor overlooking the city of Kagoshima

Shame the windows in our room were frosted! so had no view – obviously you had to pay more for the view.

Pages: 1234

My A to Z Travel Challenge – Y is for Yufu and Yoshinocho, Japan – 🇯🇵

Yufu and Yoshinocho are both located in the Kyushu Islands of Japan. Situated in the Southwest of Japan.

Yufu

These are some of the photos I took on our trip to Japan a few years back. We visited Yufuin Onsen Village one afternoon, famous not only for its hot springs and holy shrine, but also art galleries and museums.

We had a fabulous afternoon here, a bit touristy, but a glimpse into village life.

Yoshinocho

On the same trip we spent a morning at Sengan-En Gardens, located in the Yoshinocho district, Kagoshima. Sengan-en is a traditional garden and stately home built by the 19th head of the Shimadzu family, Mitsuhisa, in 1658. We couldn’t visit the house as it was being used for filming. There are some lovely gift shops here selling local artwork and sweets. This is also where the famous Satsuma Kiriko glassware is sold, unique to Sengan-en and made at the glassworks next door.

The traditional red door, only affordable to the very rich

Water images from around the gardens

We had a wonderful morning here in these beautifully maintained gardens. It would be fun to watch scenes being filmed.

Thanks for reading, until next time!

My A to Z Travel Challenge – F is for Fukuoka

Fukuoka, Japan

Fukuoka is the first place we stopped at during our road trip through the Kyushu Islands. It is a city of canals, waterways and bridges. It said to be the oldest city in Japan. We were staying at the Hotel Okura which is located overlooking the Hakata River. As we were only here for two nights we didn’t have much time to see this city so had to decide where we wanted to see most.

Walking over one of the canals on our first night.

In the lobby of the Hotel Okura

Fukuoka Castle Ruins

I really wanted to see one of the castles here but was a bit disappointed that it was only ruins! But we had a good walk around and there were some great views over the city from the top. Built at the beginning of the 17th Century and torn down in the 19th Century, because it was viewed as an unwanted symbol of the feudal past.

Fukuoka at dusk

One of the shopping centres we walked through

Fukuoka is also home to the famous Canal City which is called a city within a city, and has a canal running through it. Unfortunately we didn’t have time for a wander around as we chose to go to Nokonoshima Island instead.

For our last night we stopped at a British Pub called Morris Hippo! strange name and enjoyed a few drinks here before dinner at Cafe Otto overlooking the canal.

Our handsome drivers!

Other places to visit in Fukuoka:

Fukuoka Tower
Ohori Park
Tochoji Temple
Kushida Temple

Hopefully we’ll visit again as I enjoyed Fukuoka very much

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F is finished and next up is G!

Kagoshima

Nagasaki to Kagoshima

6 June 2017

We had a four hour drive ahead of us as you can see from the map above. As Kyushu is made up of several small islands there was not really a direct route to take to Kagoshima.

We passed through Yanegawa on the way which is made up of lots of canals.

Arrived quite late to Hotel Shiroyama – beautiful hotel – high up on a hill overlooking Mt. Sakurajima. Sakurajima is still smoking and one of the reasons we visited Kagoshima.

As it was late decided to eat at the hotel on the 13th floor. Had a gourmet French dinner – fantastic!

Four of us enjoying our fantastic dinner

Entree

View from 13th floor overlooking the city of Kagoshima

Shame the windows in our room were frosted! so had no view – obviously you had to pay more for the view.

Pages: 1234

Beppu to Kumamoto – 3 June 2017

Driving back through middle today to Kumamoto to catch ferry onto Nagasaki. We had a couple of stops on the way of course! Besides being famous for its onsens Beppu is also famous for its “Hells”. These are spectacular hot pools, boiling mud and geysers which make up the “8 Hells” of Beppu. More info here. These hells are not for swimming and are now mostly a tourist attraction and you do have to pay to enter. To make it more interesting they’ve added a few animals!

Capybara – Large rat

Mountain Hell

Sulphur Hell Beppu, Kyushu Islands, Japan

Then off to Kurokawa Village for lunch. Another very traditional village. After this had a quick photo stop overlooking Mount Asa. Kurokawa village so quaint and we all loved it here. Little windy cobblestoned streets and alleys.

Walking down to the village

Teeny tiny cafe

Enjoying a custard donut

Overlooking Mt Asa

Beautiful patchwork of fields

Fukuoka to Beppu

Fukuoka to Beppu

Friday 2 June

Today we picked up our hire car with the driving to be shared between our two trusty drivers, Vaughan and Anthony. The route I had mapped out for us was slightly bizarre! In our nine days in Kyushu we travelled West to East to West to North to South, but it was the only way I could see to get every place in that we wanted to visit. It was hard also because Anthony in his excitement kept calling out different places he wanted to visit. And so it went…

We drove first to Kokonoe Bridge. It is 390 meters long, 173 meters high, 1.5 meters broad and it is the highest suspension walking bridge in Japan. Vaughan actually experienced vertigo on this bridge. It was extremely windy in the middle of the bridge. You can see Mimata Mt. and Waita Mt in the distance.

After this hair raising experience we stopped somewhere in the mountains for lunch. Found such a quaint place. Scenery was incredible from here.

Then onto Beppu with a brief stop in Yufuin a popular hot spring resort. We’re now in the Oita Prefecture.

Arrived late afternoon to Beppu Bay Royal Hotel overlooking the ocean. Just the one night here – why? Anthony said he liked the sound of the name Beppu. The hotel was situated just outside the town but I chose it because of the perfect views especially from our bedroom window.

As there were not any restaurants around the hotel we taxied into town around 15 minutes away and found a great Korean BBQ place. Food was delicious and our waiter hilarious. A good night.