Traveling Japan can be hard. I don’t mean that in terms of the language barrier and figuring things out. That is actually not such a problem. The problem is accepting the psychological pressure of traveling. Japan is awesome, but no matter how awesome a time you have, you are always painfully aware of those experiences just beyond your reach. Perhaps you are limited by budget or language or not having a car. Or maybe you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s good, but there is an unshakeable sense of FOMO here.
After two cups of coffee in the morning and no breakfast (I was getting used to free breakfasts), I headed over to Kumamoto Castle, which is still under repairs following the devastating earthquake some 3 years ago. One is able to walk around the outside of the castle, and to be honest, I was grateful to be spared an entrance ticket. I skipped the nearby Art Museum, and headed northwest to a Buddhist temple, up a bunch of stairs, around the back of the temple and up another bunch of stairs to find myself on top of a mountain looking over the city. There is a statue of the same guy on top of the mountain as there was outside the castle. Some history stuff, whatever.
I took a city tram over to the next area I wanted to explore, which was on the other side of the city. As it was nearing the lunch hour, I decided to swing by a sushi place that was recommended on Wikitravel. It was also well rated on Google Maps. I was half tempted to flee when I realized that the 2000/3000 yen lunch specials were just sushi platters. Seems a bit expensive when I just had sushi for 1000 yen. Nevertheless, I was looking for horse sashimi, and they had a sampler set including two other local specialties (lotus root and spring onion). I was warned up front that the size was small, but do I really want to argue over how much raw horse meat I get when I just want to try a couple pieces? I was of two minds about not getting good value for money, but also being okay with a light lunch.
As I was headed to Suizenji park around the corner, I passed by the residence of some famous novelist (Natsume Soseki). It was free to enter so I got a minor education in his biography. He only lived in Kuramoto for a couple of years teaching English, so he didn’t write any of his books here.
Suizenji Garden is super nice and super touristy. The walk up to the gate is flanked with shops and stalls, at one of which I purchased some sweets, also a Kumamoto specialty. They were made of lotus seed paste and (purple) sweet potato and roughly reminded me of mooncakes.
There was a shinto shrine inside the park with full English signage teaching the proper rituals of purification and worship, a small carp-filled lake in front of a hill that represents a mini Mt. Fuji, and plenty of garden grounds. There was not a single blossom left in the cherry tree area. There is the odd tree around still in bloom, but I would have needed to arrive 2-3 weeks ago for the full effect.
I walked around for about 2 more hours after the garden, noting the menus at various restaurants (some of which included a bit a horse sashimi as part of a more substantial set meal, some of which just seemed like good value), browsing super markets, and walking the arcade. I passed by two currency exchange machines, one of which had the same rate I got in Fukuoka, the other only marginally better, so I feel slightly less ripped off.
I was still a bit hungry, so I was searching the arcades for a bakery or cafe to sit and have some “afternoon tea.” Eventually I found a little bakery with decent prices and picked up a bun and a tart. I carried them back to the hostel, and after a quick nap, made myself more coffee while researching buses to Mt Aso, a volcano which erupted just Tuesday (so I won’t be visiting the crater).
I decided to go to the bus station in person where the information center clearly lists out all the routes. I reserved a ticket for the next day, which was a good thing, because the ones that leave at nice hours were either full or nearly full already.
For dinner, I thought I’d graze at Sakurano baba Johsaien, just next to the castle. It is a tourist complex, but is supposed to have a bunch of food stalls and restaurants. In fact, it was mostly just shops selling prepacked gift item food and ice cream. So, I tracked down a supermarket and picked up a salad and salmon sashimi on sale.
I spent the evening researching the next week of my trip. I have everything booked out through the start of the big holiday, but I’m starting to get worried about what is going to happen for those ten days. I’m starting to think that Japan is going to do its best China impression by having everything (accommodations, trains, and buses) fully booked out. If I didn’t have luggage to worry about, I might just do ten days of the pilgrimage trail on Shikoku, though that wouldn’t necessarily solve the accommodation problem.
| Tram | 170 |
| Lunch | 1620 |
| Ikinaridango | 200 |
| Suizenji | 400 |
| Pastries | 180 |
| Bus to Aso | 1500 |
| Supermarket Dinner | 586 |
| Total: | 4656 Yen (298 RMB) (USD 44.50) |
Running Total: 23625.7 RMB (USD 3524)
Daily Average: 284.6 RMB (USD 42.46)