Category: Travel

I woke, drank coffee, read the news, etc., before heading out the door for the day. I walked over to the Matsuyama city station, and explored the small underground shopping strip where there was reportedly a henro supply store. Indeed there was, and I was rather shocked by the usurious prices. I didn’t make any purchases at the time, choosing instead to sit with prices for a day. I picked up some superglue at a 100 yen store next door, and walked the arcade popping into a drug store and a Daiso to browse the aisles. I bought a 100 yen “long” towel to pull double duty as a onsen accessory and as a head wrap. As part of this series of chores, I also scouted out a movie theater.

Having skipped breakfast, I was fairly ravenous and kept foraging for food. In the drug store, I grabbed a protein bar. When I passed a “Yokohama Melon Bun” shop that was just opening, I grabbed one of those. On the final walk over to my target destination–Dogo–I grabbed a sugar drink from a vending machine (a very delicious Japanese “orangina”). Still hungry, I was thinking about lunch, but reaching Dogo Park first, I did a loop around the hill (that reportedly used to have a small family castle) and climbed the hill for some views of the city. The park and general area was full of school age children on an art field trip. I got lots of “Hello, my name is …” from the young artists.

Walking over to Dogo’s arcade, I passed by the Botchan Karakuri Clock, which just happened to be in the middle of its “cuckoo” clock performance on the scale one would expect from Disneyland. “Botchan” is the name of a novel set in Matsuyama by that novelist whose home I visited in Kumamoto. I’m definitely going to have to read some of his books to see why he has such a legacy across western Japan.

I walked up and down the arcade twice looking at the restaurant menus and trying to determine what lunch time set meal would give me the best value. Noticing that several restaurants were advertising the same dish (Teimeshi–a sort of sashimi on rice with raw egg) I went for that and was not disappointed.

My ultimate goal was to try the Dogo Onsen, reportedly the oldest hot spring in Japan (if not the world) with a more than 3,000 history. However, to kill time while digesting, I popped over to two nearby Shinto shrines, both steep climbs up neighboring hills. The Dogo Onsen was undergoing renovation, so only the basic pool was open (as opposed to the private baths or options to chill out upstairs). Much like Beppu, it was basically just a little bathhouse, but it was very well done. Natural light filtered in from above, the bath was filled through a carved and inscribed block of stone. Behind the stone, the majority of the wall was a porcelain mosaic of a cranes (the legend is that the onsen was discovered by seeing a crane with an injured leg resting there).

Though it had been chilly at night, the sun was strong and the day was warm. For some reason, I had chosen to wear jeans, so walking around again with damp hair felt good. I decided to get some ice cream, and had another momentous decision to make as almost every shop along the arcade each sold their own specialty ice cream. Seriously, local citrus fruit, matcha, soy sauce, black sesame, honey, etc. After an ice cream, I decided to keep onsen hopping and try another one in the area. It was also quite nice, if a little basic.

I hopped on a tram to take me all the way back to the JR station, but because I was distracted by a specialty train (a gift from Germany from the 1880s), I didn’t notice that some trams went to the JR station while others went to the city station, so I had to walk the rest of the way back. Despite eating so much throughout the day, I was still inexplicable ravenous and bought a lot of food on my grocery store expedition–making my own curry rice with omelet, popcorn chicken, and shredded cabbage. I watched “Captain America: Civil War” to prepare for the next day and went to bed relatively early.

Superglue	108
Powerbar	95
Towel	108
Melon bread	180
Vending machine drink	100
Lunch	1188
Dogo Onsen (Bath of the Spirit)	410
Ice cream	350
Onsen (Bath of the Tree of Heaven)	410
Tram	160
Groceries	1345
Total:	4454 JPY (285 RMB) (USD 42.35)

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I made breakfast in the guesthouse the next morning (having spent a little extra money at the supermarket to stock up), and otherwise passed the morning quietly until about 9am. The Dutch guy and I headed back over to the city’s central arcade to watch “Avengers: Endgame” at the cinema I scouted out. It was the most expensive ticket to the small screen and some of the midrange speakers kept dying during the first half of the film meaning that the dialogue sometimes sounded like it was coming through a well. I’m honestly surprised the theater manager didn’t apologize afterwards.

After the movie, I still wanted to check out Matsuyama’s castle and continue my “shopping spree,” so I parted ways with the Dutch guy and headed north. I popped into a Chococro chain cafe to take advantage of their “early bird” specials for a sandwich, a chocolate croissant, and a coffee by way of a light lunch. I did the rounds at two department stores and eventually found a specialty outdoor sporting goods store, but the prices were pretty insanely high. For my upcoming pilgrimage, I should be prepared to sleep rough, and with the nights still pretty cold, I need something. However, I don’t want to drop 100-200 bucks on a (camping) air mattress or sleeping bag and be stuck hauling it around for the rest of my trip.

I headed up the hill to the castle, passing another Shinto shrine. Matsuyama has one of the best castles in Japan. It was simply amazing. The weather was also perfect, and from the main keep, you could see all the way across the Inland Sea to Honshu. The castle grounds were extensive with multiple sets of walls all in good shape and the inner portion was more like a tour of the workings of a castle than the typical dry museum collection.

On the way down the other side of the hill, I popped into a garden. I passed by the city art museum to return to the main downtown and finish my shopping. I did a loop of another department store before going underground to buy the henro gear. I went back to the guesthouse to drop it off before running over to the grocery store to get some sushi for dinner.

After dinner, I went over to a onsen recommended strongly by the guesthouse owner, a 2 minute walk away. It was amazing. I’ve been to tons of saunas, but this one had things I’ve never seen before. There was a scented pool where the water was a bright lime green. There was a carbolic acid pool in case you ever wanted to bathe in warm soda water. Strangest of all was a set of “lightning pools” recessed into one pool. Given that there were two other sets of jets, I was expecting something like that, but I got electrocuted. Seriously. When your body goes between the set of diodes, an electrical current passes through the water and you. Insane.

I swung by 7-11 on the way back to grab a late night snack and do my last calorie loading before the long march.

Movie	1400
Coffee Set Meal	594
Castle Ticket	510
Garden Ticket	200
Buddhist gear	6372
Protein bars	469
Onsen ticket (discounted)	500
Groceries	1092
Ice cream and potato chips	300
Total:	11397 JPY (729.4 RMB) (USD 108.4)

Running Total: 26841.1 RMB (USD 3988.45)
Daily Average: 301.6 RMB (USD 44.8)

Having checked and doubled checked the ferry schedule, I knew I had some time in the morning to follow my regular routine before needing to pack up and get to the ferry terminal. I ate a breakfast of tasteless donuts and a banana purchased the night before as I didn’t know when I would have a chance to eat again. Yesterday’s rain had intensified into periods of short downfalls, but fortunately, by the time I left, the rain had agreed to a ceasefire, and I was able to walk the couple of kilometers to the ferry terminal. As I looked back at Beppu from the boat, I could see clouds drooping low over the mountains, supported only by the thousands of pillars of steam pouring out from the earth.

The three hour ferry ride to Yawatahama got a little bumpy in the middle, but I was able to spread out in the open second class area, access WiFi and plug in my phone to keep it charged. I studied and napped and enjoyed the ride.

Yawatahama is a tiny little town and I walked the fifteen minutes from the port to the train station to take in a quick assessment. As if by magic, everything in the schedule was working out smoothly. I bought a ticket to Matsuyama and waited less than ten minutes for the next local train. I know the express trains are a lot faster (and more comfortable), but its crazy that the price is basically double. The local train, basically just a single subway car of a train, stopped at about 15 or so local stations, some so small, there was barely a roof and a platform. The scenery of Shikoku is better than I was expecting, but the constant drizzle of rain is somewhat worrying.

There was another foreigner, a backpacker by the looks of him, on the train. We didn’t talk. He pulled out a white vest at some point of the journey and put it on. It looked ridiculous. The train reached Matsuyama in about 90 minutes, and though it is the largest city of Shikoku, we went from country side to suburbs to the train station rather suddenly.

I walked the five minutes to my guesthouse, which happened to be right next to the train station (I’m not liking the nearly constant sound of trains coming in and out). Strangely enough, it has the same name — Casablanca — as the guesthouse in Nagasaki, though there is no relation. It is a converted set of apartments on the 8th floor of an apartment block. I checked in with the owner, who was decked out in traditional garb, and spent the afternoon relaxing in the dorm suite. There are two bedrooms, each converted into 6-bed dorm rooms with a connected balcony, a spartan common room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Strangely, there are only two of us here (a Dutch guy), so it is weird to think that it will be fully occupied on Saturday–the beginning of the Golden Week. It wouldn’t be so nice sharing a single toilet and bath with 11 people.

In the evening, I wondered over to a nearby supermarket and splurged on dinner, buying a salad, a pack of chicken meatballs, and a plate of spaghetti. At the checkout, I noticed a display of glues and decided I should finally get around to fixing my shoes (where the front of the right shoe’s sole is flappy). I heated up and had dinner at the guesthouse and spent most of the evening looking through another introductory Japanese textbook I found (“A Complete Language Course and Pocket Dictionary in One!”).

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Ferry ticket	3100
Train ticket	1280
Beverage	130
Guesthouse (3 nights)	8600
Groceries	1229
Total:	14339 JPY (917.7 RMB) (USD 136.1)

Running Total: 25826.7 RMB (USD 3830)
Daily Average: 296.85 RMB (USD 44)

Oh brother, this daily average just keeps ticking up slowly…

The bus ride to Beppu dragged on for several hours, and having polished off the two liter+ bottles of water I had left over from the hike, the last twenty minutes or so were torturous. Nevertheless, the bus finally stopped in front of the Beppu train station and my guesthouse (creatively named Beppu Guest House) was only a block away. I checked in immediately and noticed that there were basically no other guests in the house. It must be the low season, though who knows what it will be like next week.

I could feel the sweaty odors wafting off my body, so as soon as I dropped my luggage and relieved myself I was asking about bathhouses. Beppu is an onsen town, and though the area around the train station is more city like and mountain top resort, there are bathhouses almost everywhere. And they are super cheap! I packed soap, shampoo, a razor, a towel, and a change of clothes and went over to the nearest one, paid my 100 yen, and washed-soaked-washed. The facilities are pretty basic and people just use them for their daily bath pretty much.

After cleaning up and feeling refreshed, I headed over to a recommended restaurant to try some Toriten (tempura chicken), a specialty of Beppu. I also ordered a tempura rice bowl to make a full meal of it (my first of the day to boot).

Back in the guesthouse, there was not much going on other than two Japanese people cooking their dinner in the kitchen. I hung out in one of the common rooms and studied Japanese before retiring fairly early.

Mixed Nuts	50
Pastries	410
Hostel (2 nights)	4400
Bathhouse	100
Tempura	1510
Total:	6470 (414 RMB) (USD 61.55)

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I tried to sleep in, but the dawn wakeup habit seems to have been acquired. I’m not looking forward to summer hours and earlier sunrises.

I puttered around the hostel for quite a few hours in the morning–drinking coffee, reading the news, studying Japanese–before heading out the door. It was nearly 10am by the time I had set a plan to visit the “Seven Hells (Jigoku),” which is a collection of natural hot springs that are for looking at, rather than bathing in. A through-ticket for all seven hells was fairly pricey (2000 yen), but after seeing the first two, I was glad I shelled out the money.

I had to take a bus over to the Kannawa region, where all the hells are located, because I didn’t feel like starting the day with a 6 km walk. As soon as I got off the bus, I understood the true nature of Beppu. Steam was rising out of almost every building and sewer grate in the street. Halfway up a mountain, this area was the true hot spring center (technically, one of several districts, but whatever). Each of the hells has one or a number of pools, each with their distinct characteristics–white water, mud, blue water, red water, etc–and in order to justify their ticket prices, you get a bit more than just a walk around a pool. There are exhibits, gardens, and other value-adds.

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The first hell–Shiraike-Jigoku (White Pond)–was a good mild introduction to the area. There were aquarium tanks in the back holding some giant fish I didn’t recognize. The second–Oniyama-Jigoku (Devil Mountain)–served as the breeding grounds of crocodiles. They reportedly keep about 100 crocodiles at a time–from babies to massive beasts. The third–Kamado-Jigoku (Cooking Pot)–was crowded with at least two buses worth of Korean tourists. There were various “hands-on” activities, such as drinkable spring water (tasted like hell), foot steamers, foot baths, etc. The fourth–Umi-Jigoku (Sea)–was marked as a famous site in Japan. The large blue bubbling pond was only accessible by going through a gift shop. On the other side was a tropical greenhouse (heated by the geothermal steam) and a less crowded foot bath place with nice hot water. The fifth–Oniishibozu-jigoku (Devil Rock Buddhist monk)–had bubbling mud ponds amidst a mini garden. There was an actually bathing sauna connected to it as well.

It was nearly noon at the time, so on my way down the hill, I grabbed a “boiled” egg (cooked in the steam of a vent along with sweet potatoes and corn) to tide me over while I sought out an exciting new experience of a full body steam. There is one onsen in the area where you change into a yukata (bathing robe) and lay in on a pile of thrush reeds in a little hut as you are steamed. It was wonderful and I had a soak in a hot tub afterwards. I thought I might grab a bite to eat on the way to the other two hells, some 2km north of there, but the road only passed through semi-rural residential neighborhood.

I arrived at the sixth hell–Tatsumaki-jigoku (Twisted Dragon)–about ten minutes before the geyser (as reliable as Ole Faithful) was to erupt. Though the geyser reportedly would reach a height of 30m, they constructed a wall and roof to catch it. The park also included grounds with thousands of flowers in full bloom. The final hell–Chinoike-jigoku (Bloody Pond)–was also set up as a highlight of Japanese geography with a mandatory pass through a gift shop.

I headed down the street to the train station, stopping at a supermarket to procure some nourishment. After a few loops around the supermarket, I decided to shell out big money for a small bag of prunes. I devoured them on the street and arrived at the train station about five minutes before the next scheduled train (what luck! these small train stations have such irregular schedules). Two stops later, I was back at Beppu Eki and I swung by a bakery to pick up something sweet to accompany the coffee I was planning on drinking back at the guesthouse.

I frittered away the remaining hours until about 6pm when I noticed people were cooking again. So, I headed over to a nearby supermarket to get some food. Inspired by the piles of vegetables I had seen in the kitchen, I decided to forgo the prepacked meals and make something from scratch. Ultimately, I boiled up a whole smorgasbord of foods that was supposed to be noodles plus veggies but ended up being more veggies plus noodles.

I did some more internet research while digesting. I know the other day I mentioned something about doing (a part of) the 88-temple pilgrimage as a necessity for surviving Golden Week. I said that half-facetiously, but as I’ve thought about it, it seems more and more plausible, such that it is the current aim.

Around 9pm, I popped out to have a bath at a different bathhouse and was back by 9:30. Some other guests had checked into the guesthouse that day and we chatted until it was time to go to bed.

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Local bus	330
Seven Hells	2000
Egg	60
Steam bath + yukata rental	720
Prunes	199
Train	210
Apple pie	172
Groceries	691
Bathhouse	100
Grapefruit soda (0 cal)	103
Total:	4585 (293.4 RMB) (USD 43.6)

Running Total: 24909 RMB (USD 3703.5)
Daily Average: 289.6 RMB (USD 43.06)

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I’ve been waking up early, so it was nice to have a couple hours to drink coffee, read the news, and write before I had to pack up and catch the bus to Aso. It might have been better to take the 7 am bus, but I was happy to have the quiet time to start the day productively. As expected, though I had my doubts, the bus pulled up to the bus stop at the appointed hour and the driver came out with a clipboard that had my name among the list of reserved tickets. I threw my suitcase in the underneath storage and climbed aboard for a 2 hour journey of 35 kilometers. The bus stopped several more times on the way out of town, took a brief detour to pick up passengers at the Aso airport, and took a ten minute rest break within eye sight of the volcano. Nevertheless, we eventually reached Aso Ekimae (the train station), and the bus carried on after myself and a Chinese group disembarked.

My first order of business was to see about when buses to the next city Beppu departed and if reservations were necessary. There is apparently only one bus a day to Beppu (though one could transfer in Oita) leaving just after 2 pm, and reservations were required. However, the ticket machine just spit out a ticket without actually reserving me a seat. I can’t believe how expensive the bus ticket was–3500 yen! Jesus Christ, these local prefectures milk you for all you are worth.

The guesthouse was literally across the street from the train station. It was super nice, I highly recommend it (Aso Base Backpackers). The front desk was closed until 4pm, but I stashed my luggage in a closet and looked around for some info on hiking. I was of half a mind to try going up and back before sunset, but I wanted some food first. I followed the recommendation of sign hanging in the kitchen and walked a kilometer down the highway to a bustling restaurant (whose name had something to do with mountain bandits) with a variety of set meals available for lunch. While eating, I though better of attempting a full hike that afternoon, reasoning that I could do it in the morning if I got an early start.

Nevertheless, I took a looong stroll that afternoon, first scouting out the first stretch of the hike to mark the trailhead, then looping around a country road, taking a detour into the woods, and eventually coming through miles of farmland to the main part of Aso City, where I visited the Shinto shrine and bought a drink and a snack at a supermarket. I wondered some of the streets in the area then made a beeline back towards the guesthouse to checkin and rest. That ended up being a 4 hour plus walk and I was a bit tired out from the strong sunlight.

After dropping my stuff in my dorm room I heard a familiar voice down the hallway and said hello to L, whom I met in Nagasaki. We knew we’d cross paths again in Aso. I went downstairs to have coffee and maybe get a bit of work done, but L came around and we chatted more before running over to a supermarket to source dinner. He complained that there weren’t any convenience stores in this part of the town (a Lawsons across the street was still under construction), but the supermarket was far away and prices there are much better.

I made a beef curry rice with a beef croquette for dinner and continued to hydrate. The guesthouse had a whole library of books (mostly manga). L picked up the first (of six) volume of Akira and I eagerly grabbed an introductory Japanese textbook. I got about halfway through (taking notes, though it was 80% review for me–wow, I must be learning fast) before we decided to take the guesthouse owner up on his offer for “discounted” tickets to a nearby hotel-based onsen (hot spring).

The hot spring was quite nice with three pools (indoor, outdoor, and cold) and a tiny sauna. We spent about an hour and I noticed that most of the other guests were Chinese. In fact, the staff at the front desk whom we gave the tickets to spoke Chinese to each other–a big tip-off that they were not Japanese. Back at the guesthouse, I desperately rushed to complete the textbook before I needed to get to bed. I did, but it means I didn’t have time to do any of the other things I wanted to get done. Oh well, happy Easter.

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Bus Ticket (to Beppu)	3500
Set Meal Lunch	1250
Hostel	174 RMB
Drink and Snack	252
Dinner and hiking supplies (water)	876
Onsen	400
Total:	575.8 RMB (USD 85.7)

Running Total: 24201.5 RMB (USD 3602.27)
Daily Average: 288.1 RMB (USD 42.88)

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I woke up about quarter to 6, had some coffee, packed up as quietly as I could, and stowed my luggage back in the closet downstairs. I was out the door by about 6:45. The sun was up but obscured by fairly heavy cloud cover. I was grateful for the extra spf protection, but slightly disappointed that it made it harder to take good photos of the actively erupting volcano. Yes, Mt. Aso was in the process of erupting, but that just means it was continuously spewing out a plume of smoke. Not so dramatic, but cool to see (from a distance). I made good time on the way up despite nearly getting lost when Google Maps decided to both clear its cache and refused to load any map, but I managed through luck and ingenuity to follow the path (choosing to ignore the “Do Not Enter” signs posted by the ranchers that graze their herds over parts of the path from April through November.

Aso is made up of five peaks, where the central peak is the most active. The volcano and the surround towns all sit in the middle of an enormous caldera, or so one reasons based the nearly 365 degrees of encircling mountains (except for the gorge leading to the west). Behind the first wall of mountains to the north, there sits a second range of taller mountains (Mt Kuju). As I finished the first 8.8 km stretch that only took me from town to the mountain area, I saw the winds were blowing in the wrong direction and the plume of smoke was wafting over the base station of the crater ropeway that stood between me and the volcano. Fortunately, my hiking path was in the other direction. I made a crazy eight completing two large loops each taking me to the top of a mountain (roughly 1300 meters each). The trails were pretty rough and I regretted not wearing long pants and sleeves as I had to push myself through tall grass and bushes for long stretches of trail.

On my way down the mountain, the sun came out and I cursed my luck again. I thought I had been doing great on time, but it was about 1:40 by the time I got back to the guesthouse. I washed my hands and face quickly and packed up my bags. I looked at my watch and jogged over to a bakery around the corner that reportedly had very good cream puffs*. I bought two and one of the pasty sitting next to it since they were fairly cheap. I rushed back, grabbed my stuff and was at the bus terminal (aka train station) as two long distance buses were exchanging passengers. Neither was my bus. Mine came a few minutes later. I handed my ticket to the driver who took my suitcase for me and waved me aboard.

To be continued…

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* On a side note, the city is really proud of its sweets and even offers a package where you rent a bike for four hours and get a handful of tickets that you can trade in at various bakeries and cafes (helpfully marked out on a map). It’s a cool idea, but I wouldn’t necessarily want to pay 3500 yen for it.

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.

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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)

I think a day and a half was probably enough to see the highlights of Nagasaki, but certainly not long enough to sample all the delicacies. I took advantage of 100 yen price (compared to the 3000-6000 won in Korean guesthouses) to do a load of laundry (free soap!), though I should have paid closer attention to make sure there was enough water and the detergent dissolved. When I pulled my clothes out of the washer to hang them up, there were still clumps stuck to my jeans. Damn you speed wash!

I spent most of the day doing travel research and making decisions. Before noon I went out to find some chanpon, a “Chinese” noodle dish that Nagasaki is famous for. Apart from the Dutch, the Chinese were the only other foreigners allowed on Japanese territory for some number of centuries, so much like Incheon, Nagasaki had a thriving Chinatown.

After the noodles, I decided to track down “Castella” cake, a kind of sponge cake brought by the Portuguese (??). It was sold in gift packs in all the tourist shops, and a few of the old stores sold very fancy versions, but I found a sort of packing and distribution center where they sold of the extra bits at wholesale prices. I bought one rather hefty pack and shared it with the people at the guesthouse, while I drank my afternoon coffee.

Eventually, I decided to take a jog and followed one stream which is crossed by a number of old, famous stone bridges, then did a loop around the harbor, which was full of sailing vessels. Two Japanese, two Russian, and a Korean ship had docked for the start of a week-long sailing festival. The ships, all built between 1984 and 2000, appear to be mainly used for training and these sorts of cultural exchanges. The town was overrun by baby faced Russian sailors in their uniforms, though, I am sorry to report that they did not appear to have permission to go drinking.

For dinner, I went to what I suppose was a fairly famous restaurant that claims to have invented a dish called “Turkish Rice,” which is basically just a Japanese take on western food–some rice, some spaghetti, a salad, a steak of some sort topped with gravy. Surprisingly, I wasn’t handed an English menu, and the pictures were hard to make out, so I picked one where I read the kanji to be “True Turkish Rice” and was served lamb chops. I followed the feast with a “Nagasaki Milkshake,” which is another one of those famous cross-cultural culinary specialties of the city. Not so much ice cream based as ice plus cream. Still, quite nice.

Laundry	100
Chanpon	850
SIM card (1.5 GB — 30 days)	2160
Castella	350
Turkish Rice + “Milkshake”	2030
Total:	5490 Yen (351 RMB) (USD 52.33)

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I had a long day ahead of me, so I was up early to have my breakfast pack and get to the train station in time for the 8:31 commuter (i.e. cheaper) train to Isahaya where I needed to transfer to a different railway to reach Shimabara. I must have spent close to two hours researching time tables to ensure that I could have a couple hours to see Shimabara before hopping on a ferry to reach Kumamoto.

Fortunately, I had enough time over my coffee to get a bit of info on the long awaited Mueller Report. Wasn’t that exciting? It’s almost a good thing I had to spend the day out and about to distract me from it.

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I forgot how awesome the trains in Japan are, so many unique ones operated by local companies. Shimabara castle with an action shot of a crane (look closely). Like most castles in Japan, the moat is the most beautiful part. Christian martyrs. Lane of old samurai houses. Local delicacy featuring mochi. Action shot of seagulls following the boat for a free snack with Mt Unzen in background. #shimabara #trains #castle #島原 #島原城 #具雜煮 #日本旅遊 #guzoni #mochi #ferry #japantravel #travelgram #instatravel #시마바라 #일본여행

A post shared by @ danwu248 on Apr 19, 2019 at 4:19am PDT

After getting off Shimabara’s one-car train at its one platform train station, I headed over to the castle with my luggage in tow. It was a short walk over and a short climb up the hill, and fortunately I was able to leave the suitcase with the ticketing office at no extra charge. Japanese castles are usually quite impressive from the outside, sitting up on hill, surrounded by a thick wall and moat that is overgrown with vegetation. Inside the are often mini-museums and this one was special for its display of Christian paraphernalia. The early Christians in the hidden churches really clung to the secret symbols on everyday items. I definitely need to rewatch “Silence,” maybe for Easter.

On the castle grounds, there was also a gallery dedicated to the artist who made the main sculpture in Nagasaki’s Peace Park and a museum of “Folk artifacts” that turned out to be way more interesting than I thought it would be, a warehouse of tools and household goods both ancient and “near ancient” (i.e. 20th century). I took the secret back exit out of the castle to visit the nearby street of old Samurai houses, many of which have people living in them, but a few are preserved and open to the public for touring. The most interesting thing about the alley is probably the stream running down the middle of the gravel road. I saw cars in garages that open up to the alley and I don’t know how anyone can drive that.

I swung by a restaurant to grab lunch before picking up my suitcase. With suitcase back in tow, I headed to the city’s central arcade, and mostly followed it south with a detour to the “carp stream.” Shimabara is blessed with so many springs, that the city basically has streams running everywhere. I checked off a couple of other items on the tourist itinerary and found myself at the ferry terminal well before I expected to. There was a ferry to Kumamoto leaving in about ten minutes, and although I had noted nearby foot baths on the map as an option to kill time until the ferry, I decided to go ahead and take the earlier boat.

Apparently, it is a thing to buy seagull food (only available November-April) to kill time on the hour long voyage. I noticed signage that there was a free shuttle bus available to take passengers to Kumamoto Train Station so I was excited to save money, but there was a bit of confusion with the woman taking tickets on the boat. She spoke no English, and I could gather that she was asking me about the shuttle bus, so I kept nodding and saying yes. When we pulled into port she handed me a ticket for the shuttle bus, which was a fairly short ride into town.

I didn’t feel up to walking the half hour to where my next hostel was, so I hopped a city tram. This is one of those cold, but functional Japanese hostels. I thought it was weird that it opens directly into a shopping arcade, but there isn’t much choice of budget accommodation in Kumamoto. After checking in, I had a brief rest and headed out for a run along the river, which had some paths, but not really suitable for jogging. Dinner was a bowl of local-style ramen, but I am not quite a connoisseur to really appreciate the differences.

Local Train	460
Shimabara Train	1430
Shimabara Castle	540
Lunch (Guzoni)	1180
Ferry	870
Streetcar	170
Hostel (2 nights)	334 RMB
Ramen	700
Cold Tea	100
Total:	682.8 RMB (USD 101.79)

Running Total: 23327.7 RMB (USD 3477.85)
Daily Average: 284.5 (USD 42.41)

These two days mark the end of the 52nd week and the year of a “weight bet” I had going with a friend, where we would weigh in every morning and pay money according to how far above our target weights were. Not only did I fall far short of my goal, but I’ve actually been gaining weight week on week for five consecutive weeks. These first couple days in Japan have been depressing unless I want to reconsider a career as a sumo wrestler. Despite the fact that Japanese customs looked at me askance (“Why are you carrying a bathroom scale?”), I am glad to have the daily reminder (apart from my wallet) to take things in moderation.

It’s a good thing I am staying at a guesthouse with a healthy turn of backpackers. I learned that Japan has a golden week coming up, and not just the normal golden week, but a super long one because of the impending abdication of the Japanese emperor and coronation of the new one. The entire country is going to have 10 consecutive days of public holidays. I’ve gotten the next 5 or so days figured out with booked accommodation, but I have to really plan things out so I am not caught somewhere unable to get a ticket or a bed.

I spent most of the morning hanging around the guesthouse and went to check out SIM cards at a couple shops, then grabbed a sushi platter lunch special from a fancy restaurant. Afterwards, I caught a streetcar up to Peace Park. I was supposed to meet up with a couple of other backpackers, but because of Internet issues, we couldn’t get in touch. I waited around for a while, enjoying the beauty of spring and its on the nose metaphor of rebirth while steeling my nerves for the museum.

I passed by the hypocenter of the blast on the way to the museum, which to be honest I was glad to go through alone, though there were tons of children (not necessarily running around, but asking lots of questions). It was rough, but I channeled my guilt and grief into fury and fire. You cannot be qualified to hold the nuclear launch codes unless you have visited at least one of the two sites and borne witness to its horror. On one of the final exhibits tallying the number of atomic bomb tests per year/per country (which I guess we should be grateful has dropped significantly since the end of the cold war, apart from some random flurries of tests by India, Pakistan, and China in the 90s), they had to repeatedly put stickers updating North Korea’s stats. I want to know whose job that is and what they feel about it.

I was surprised by the number of tour groups of … let’s say older… Americans. I later learned that the Queen Elizabeth was docked on a port of call, so it made sense in retrospect as the excursion of choice. After visiting the Memorial Hall and rooftop garden, I meandered back towards the streetcar stop, but decided to walk after seeing how crowded it was.

I had half a mind to swing by another park with a memorial to the 26 Christian martyrs, but was a little pressed for time to rendezvous at the train station at 5 pm for a journey to the observation deck of Inasayama to watch the sunset and see bay at night. The group of us, composed of two Americans and two Germans, were of half a mind to walk the hour to the top, but took a bus most of the way and followed the “trail” to the top. Mainly because we didn’t want to shell out 1000 yen for a cable car ticket. There was a pen of deer and a pit of monkeys between the bus stop and the trail, which is a little bonus for the people willing to put in a bit of exertion. Unfortunately, due to construction, the footpath was closed, so we had to walk along the road. The observation tower sits with three radio towers on top of a 333m hill where we can look down on Nagasaki to the East and the Sea of Japan to the west. It was gorgeous. There was a “light show” with music (the official theme song of the Nagasaki Inasayama radio tower light show) and though the city itself didn’t have anything particularly special in its night scenery, it was beautiful nonetheless under the nearly full moon.

It was chilly, and we headed down and caught a bus back to our neighborhood, heading directly to a well-known dumpling restaurant. We ate a bunch, and I did not join the rest of the party in celebratory beers, either on the mountain, in the restaurant, or back in the guesthouse. I hung out and continued laughing and chatting with them until about 10:30, when I decided to call it quits and head to bed.

Sushi Set Meal	1080
Tram	130
Entrance Ticket	200
Milk Soda	160
Bus tickets	180+220
Monkey Food	100
Gyoza	1460
Total:	3530 JPY (225.9 RMB) (USD 33.8)

Running Total: 22293.9 RMB (USD 3331)
Daily Average: 278.7 RMB (USD 41.6)

Welcome to Japan! Though I didn’t quite reach the level of proficiency in Korean I had hoped for, I am finding that I actually learned quite a lot in comparison to how little Japanese I have so far.

After a last meal (of Korean food) on the border of Chinatown and Texas Street in Busan and a cold brew at Starbucks, I sauntered over to the International Ferry Terminal, which looked like an airport. I was a bit early. The ticket window opened at 4pm, and I purchased a ticket to Fukuoka with now problem other than the fact that boarding would not be until 7:30. I killed time by accessing free WiFi, charging my electronics, and attempting to game out a purchase in 7-11 to use up all the change in my pocket.

By 6, the departure hall was pretty packed with at least 3 distinct tour groups. The tour leaders sorted through stacks of passports and tickets, while the guests, all in their 60s, chattered away noisily. Fortunately, half the crowds left on an earlier ship heading to a port on the tip of Honshu. My biggest concern was with how crowded my second class cabin would be. A few people is fine, but it would be very uncomfortable if filled to capacity.

The New Camellia Line appears to be Japanese-operated, or at least Japanese-built. The mini shop was priced in Yen, and I had a little sticker shop seeing a 40% premium over Korean prices. Otherwise, it was much the same as the other two ferries I have taken so far this trip. I enjoyed a simple dinner of cup of noodles and a cookie and did my best to relax before getting to bed at an early hour. Lights on at 5:30, where one could see the ship already berthed. Nonetheless, we couldn’t disembark until 7:30, which gave me enough time to make coffee and read through some download materials on Japan.

Galbi Soup	7000
Ferry Ticket	99400
Snacks	1950
Total:	108350 (655.5 RMB) (USD 97.66)

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Japanese Immigration and Customs gave me a bit of hard time, questioning my itinerary and drug testing my luggage. On the other side, I decided to visit a currency exchange because I knew I will need more money at some point and I figured it would be better to do it while it was convenient. I strongly regret that decision as the rate was really crummy and I talked myself into it.

While waiting for a bus to Hakata train station, I noticed an empty space in my backpack and had the sudden sinking realization that I had left my toiletry bag on the ship. When I went to the bathroom in the morning, all the old men were washing their hair in the sinks and splashing water everywhere. Because my bag got soaked, I didn’t pack it away immediately, instead putting it in an empty shoe cubby to dry. I went back inside and asked the woman at the information desk. She made a call and told me to go to the ship office on the third floor. They made a call and after about a 20 minute way, it was delivered to my hands.

I did a quick half-loop through the mall attached to the Hakata (Fukuoka) train station to see about finding a SIM card. Spotting a tourist information desk, I uncharacteristically decided it would be easier to just ask rather than spend a lot of time wandering around. They quickly pointed me in the right direction, but noted that the store didn’t open for an hour. So, I went to the bus terminal and purchased a ticket to Nagasaki.

An hour later, after the bus swung by another location to pick up more passengers, it was finally pulling on to the highway. I looked out the window to see the New Camellia sitting in the harbor right there. Life sometimes goes in circles, and sometimes spirals.

The bus to Nagasaki took about 2.5 hours and passed through typical Japanese country side, hamlets surrounded by fields in front of a backdrop of densely forested hills. My guesthouse wasn’t far from Nagasaki station so I went by foot. I dropped my stuff and immediately went back out to find food. I had some homemade ramen at a little corner shop. It wasn’t a huge portion, but it hit the spot. I headed back to the hostel, where I was offered tea and chatted with the people in the common room. Its a good place. The staff (3 Japanese girls) as well as the guests are all quite friendly. I checked in, changed out of my jeans into linen pants because it was so hot outside (barely 2-3 degrees more than Busan, but feels like early Summer as opposed to early Spring) and took a sightseeing walk.

There is Dejima island (though not really an island), where the Japanese restricted Dutch traders to for 200 years and now we have to pay to enter. It is pricey and maybe not really worth it, but it is kind of cool to walk down what feels like the main street of an old west town, and like most historical places in Japan there are guys walking around dressed up and armed. Half of the buildings were historical reconstructions and the other half housed exhibits covering history of Japanese-Western relations and historical trade routes.

Heading south from there, I walked along the harbor (though technically the entire twisty coastline of Nagasaki is an endless stretch of harbor, docks, and wharves. Tourist cruise vessels and a three mast schooner were docked near the main stretch of cafes and bars that open out to the water. Tons of locals were enjoying the afternoon sunlight with a refreshing glass of beer. I was thirsty, but kept walking around the seaside park where teams of workers were setting up tents and a stage.

Without even realizing it, I had walked to the southern end of Nagasaki where there was a collection of historical buildings, such as an HSBC bank and a cathedral. I headed up a cobblestone tourist stretch observing the snacks and kitsch on display before deciding to shell more big bucks to visit Glover Gardens, but by a Scottish merchant back in the day. The gardens are on a hill offering a good view of the bay and house a number of historical buildings.

I head back to the hostel going over “Dutch Slope” (which didn’t really have much to see despite being so famous) and skirting around Chinatown. I had a rest for a bit, chatting with a young guy from Hong Kong in Japan on working holiday before heading up the street to get some curry from Coco.

Back in the hostel, I studied a bit of Japanese and chatted with the international assortment. It could have been a late night, but it was already a long day.

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local bus	230 Yen
Express bus	2570 Yen
sparkling water	120 Yen
Ramen (White)	750 Yen
Guesthouse (3 nights)	468 RMB
Dejima ticket	510 Yen
Glover Garden Ticket	610 Yen
Pocari Sweat	150 Yen
Coco Curry Beef cutlet	886 Yen
Asahi Clear Cooler	153 Yen
Total:	850.6 RMB (USD 126.75)

Running Total: 22068 RMB (USD 3287.75)
Daily Average: 279.3 RMB (USD 41.62)

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Two notes:
1) I’m wondering if I should start a separate daily average per country I visit.
2) My “personal” exchange rate for JPY to RMB is 6.4 (e.g. 6.4 RMB = 100 Yen). Google says it is currently more like 5.99 and it would be so much easier to just mentally multiple by 6, but when I exchanged money in January the rate was north of 6.2 and the terrible rate I got from a Japanese bank pulled the average up even more).