This week I interrupt your normally scheduled programming to bring you a cultural special on New Year’s in Japan! First a little bit of backstory. Christmas and New Years are reversed in Japan compared to the west, where Christmas is a date night or a holiday spent out and New Years is the holiday spent […]
I checked into my hotel right across from Beppu Station and unloaded my bag of all unnecessary items for a little night exploring around Beppu. I wandered out from the station heading a few blocks to the sea. Beppu Bay has hotels and ryokan lined up its shore looking out to the east. There are […]
From Miyazaki I left on an express train to head one prefecture north to Oita. The last prefecture I visited on this Kyushu tour is on the northeastern side of the island in between Fukuoka to its west and Miyazaki to its south. I arrived at the seaside resort town of Beppu just before noon. […]
After a nice day along the Nichinan coast I head back to Miyazaki City for dinner. The previous three capital cities of their respective prefectures left me charmed. As with the previous three cities, I went in not knowing what to expect, which is always the best way to go. It definitely plays the part […]
Another day, another prefecture. I left Kagoshima in the dark hiking a few kilometers to catch the first train from the nearest station, Hayato, to go to the seaside prefecture of Miyazaki. From Miyazaki City there are several sightseeing trains that run up and down the eastern coast of the prefecture. The Nichinan line runs […]
After arriving back in Kagoshima City from Sakurajima by ferry, I took the tram towards the center of the city. My last stop of the day was Yataimura right across from Kagoshima Chuo Station. Kagoshima Yataimura is an area with 25 yatai stands located right across from the Chuo Station. Each specializes in different meibutsu […]
Sakurajima, the volcanic island, which actually isn’t an island. Anymore. The prefecture of Kagoshima is shaped like a horseshoe with Sakurajima right in the middle of Kagoshima Bay, but it is connected to land on the eastern side. I wondered how the people of Kagoshima could get away with calling it an island, though it […]
Next stop around Kyushu is Kagoshima, the southernmost prefecture of the four main islands of Japan. I made my way there through mountains from Hitoyoshi, many times the lone passenger of a one car train. I had no idea what to expect from this next stop on my journey around the island. As I approached […]
After a great day and fun night out in Fukuoka, I head southwest by local train and arrive in Kumamoto by mid-morning. It was a city I had not known much about, but after stepping out of the station it is clear that it brims with a classic charm. I took a streetcar from the very […]
After checking into my hotel for the night, I head out for dinner and seek out the second meibutsu of Fukuoka: motsu-nabe. Nabe is both the cooking vessel and name of the dish, meaning hot pot in Japanese. Nabe soup bases and ingredients can range from region to region and household to household. The most […]