We awoke to a rainy, foggy morning. The village looks almost Star Wars like in the day light.
And some of us felt the need to pose with the local wild life…
After breakfast we played outside under the roof of the covered fitness park.
Each dome provides a different obstacle inside.
A few more tests of skill, dexterity and balance.
Kyto and his letter to Santa…opening a present Christmas morning.
After breakfast we went for a walk on the beach.
Our collection of shells…
And sadly a dead mother sea turtle. Looks like she died burying her eggs…
We then began our drive to the Mount Aso volcanic region. On the way we stopped at “Aya Teruha Otsuri Hashi” (Aya suspension bridge) in Kyushu Central Mountain National Park. The bridge seems to connect nowhere to nowhere but offers some incredible views at 250m long and 142m high.
We then completed a very long drive passing through town after town and winding mountain roads to Mount Aso and the Aso Farm Village. The village is made up of hundreds of cement, stucco-like domes. The village was all lit up for the holidays.
We decided to rent a car for a short road trip down to the southern Miyazaki prefecture for Christmas. We used the toll highway to dive the 350 km distance down to Aoshima to stay at the Aoshima Cinqmale Resort right on the ocean.
Our ocean-view Japanese style room…
We went for a walk outside at low tide before dinner.
The burning torches that surround the outside are fuelled from natural gas venting from the earth around the hotel.
The rocky ocean floor had been etched away by the tide almost in the shape of waves reaching the shoreline.
At Christmas Eve dinner…
And a private, ocean-view, hot spring bath under the stars before bed. We left our window open all night so that we could fall asleep listening to the waves.
We took a train from Saga down to Kashima to meet up friends and family. While waiting the “Seven Stars in Kyushu” cruise train pulled into the station. For about $7000 a person you can get a 1/2 car suite and a 4 day tour of Kyushu. A little rich for our travel budget.
Our friends and there 2 young kids met us at Kashima Station where we jumped into their van for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Hirado in Nagasaki prefecture. We checked into Hotel Rampu, a Japanese style resort with hot springs baths. It was really showing its age but must have been nice 20 years ago…the last time that any sort of maintenance was apparently done.
I went for a walk on the beach before dinner…
At dinner we were entertained by Taiko Drums and Chinese Acrobats.
Watching the sunrise in the morning from our room…
On the way back to Kashima we stopped for lunch in the main part of Hirado city where a nabe-zanmai (hot pot, like stew) festival was going on.
And then again at a local park in Kashima to give the kids a break.
So we finally made it to Saga, the city that we will be spending most of the remainder of our time in Japan. With exception of a few side trips we will be between here and Kashima about about 45 min drive away where Asuka’s parents live.
We spent the day at an indoor amusement park called Round 1. Because it was the middle of a week day we had almost the entire place to ourselves.
The air canons where a blast!
We stopped at a kaiten-sushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurant for dinner before heading back to our hotel for the night.
Part of the resort package was free tickets to Marine World right next door.
And the outdoor dolphin show…
So we decided to take advantage of the off-season and spend a night at the Luigans Span and Resort in the Uminonakamichi area…a seaside peninsula somewhat out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the big city.
On a walk around our near empty resort…
Dinner and drinks…
…and a room with a view.
Our second day in Fukuoka we spent shopping between the Tenjin market area and Hakata Station. The stations in Japan, in addition to being a hub for trains, subways and buses are connected to multi-levels of stores, shops, cafes and restaurants.
On the 10th floor roof top of Hakata Station getting some fresh air.
Outside Hakata Station just after 5pm when the lights are lit up. There was also a small German festival with live music going on outside in front of the station.
We grabbed a bus ride back to Canal City near our hotel and headed up to Ramen Stadium on the 5th floor for dinner. Eight popular ramen restaurants are selected and gathered here from Fukuoka and all over Japan. Each individual restaurant serves a different style of soup, noodles, and toppings.
We caught a plane to Fukuoka as we slowly make our way down to her parents in Kashima, Saga.
Kyto doing his best Godzilla while checking into our next hotel.
Canal City is a shopping mall nearby the hotel that was all decked out for the holidays.
Just goofing around…
The walk back to the hotel…
And the view from the room which was so hot that we had to keep the window open. We listened to someone playing saxophone in a nearby apartment all evening…they were pretty good.
Yokohama is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kant? region of the main island of Honshu.
This is the area where Asuka’s cousin Kumi is from. We did so more train hoping to go and meet her so that she could show us around.
Our first stop was the Anpanman (a japanese kids cartoon) Museum.
The Yokohama Landmark Tower is the tallest building and 3rd tallest structure in Japan, standing 296.3 m high.
We had lunch in Yokohama Chinatown.
We walked down to Tokyo Bay Area were we took a quick water taxi across the bay to the Cup Noodle Museum. Think cup-o-soup…yep, for real.
Just some pictures walking back to the train station before heading to our hotel for the night.
