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Kyushu, Japan free and easy 6: Mt Aso

2 March 2015 blogpastor Leave a comment

Lunch in the open - cool air and fabulous Mt Aso milk

The active Mt Aso - we couldn't get any closer

The autumn grassland was dry and browned.

From Kumamoto city, we took a 2 hour bus-ride to Sanko Bus Station . There we put our luggage in the lockers. We looked for lunch at the market and waited to take the bus to the Mt Aso Geopark. I must say the fresh milk of the Aso bred cow was fabulous, with a richer flavour, unlike what we have in our supermarkets back home. Later the bus brought us to the Aso Museum but we skipped that and went straight up a gradual climb to take photos of Mt Aso. We were disappointed that we were not allowed up Aso because of some dangerous activity in the volcano. Before this trip we had read about an active volcano that erupted in Japan and killed some climbers. So we were disappointed that we couldn’t get near Mt Aso but grateful there were early warning systems in place. In fact the next day or so there was a small eruption at Mt Aso. Later we went back to the bus station and were picked up by the guest house to the place we stayed overnight. The guys enjoyed the indoor onsen.

Building where we waited for the bus back.

While waiting for the bus, have fun! Photo by Khoon

Khoon took a pic of me taking a pic of my wife. Photo by Khoon

The Asobi Gokoro Guest Inn 5 mins drive from the station - Photo by Khoon

Guys in the onsen of a hotel next door. Photo by Khoon.

Breakfast before we leave. — Breakfast before we leave - all 17 of us.

Kyushu, Japan: free and easy 3: Nagasaki and Shimabara

15 January 2015 blogpastor 1 Comment

Interesting information and not too crowded

Posing at the Peace Park - photo by Wee Khoon

Nagasaki bomb museum

When you are in Nagasaki city you have to visit the bomb museum. It was a mere 10minutes tram ride away from our Business Royal Hotel. It exhibits some of the damaged architectural and actual artefacts as well as the human stories that needed to be told. One was a clock that showed the time the atomic bomb melted Nagasaki. Another showed melted sacred icons of the Catholic community that lived there at that time. Interestingly there were POW Caucasians as well as Korean immigrants who were also killed. We had a simple lunch at the café in the museum. Next to the museum building was a large Peace Park for visitors to ponder the serious matters of world peace.

Hot steam rising -small onsen town by the sea — Hot steam rising here and there in the small onsen town by the sea

Seafood, glorious fresh live seafood - photo by Wee Khoon

Choose what you want - photo Wee Khoon — Choose what you want - photo by Wee Khoon

Jabez and Jasmine with timers - photo by Wee Khoon

Oyster and crayfish - photo by Wee Khoon

Soaking your feet by the sea in warm sulphuric volcanic springs — Soaking your feet by the sea in warm sulfuric volcanic springs- photo by Wee Khoon

Obama in Kyushu

We then took the local bus to Obama, a tiny hot spring town by the sea. In this town we see steam rising from various places. It is said the hot spring here can go up to 100 degrees Centigrade, the hottest in Japan. This is obviously volcanic area and onsens must be available in many of the hotels. We looked for lunch at a fresh seafood restaurant about 10minutes walk from the local bus station. The concept was simple. You choose from the live fish and shell fish in the tanks. It is weighed and you pay for it. Then you bring it out where it is steamed in volcanic steam tapped from natural sources by the restaurant. You are given a timer and when it buzzes you go get your cooked food and eat it with the available sauces. There are times to go back to eating fresh and unflavoured and steamed seafood. It tastes great and it does not cost you as much as it does in Singapore. Thanks to Abenomics.

Passing the puffer fish to the pharmacist- photo by Wee Khoon

Restaurant owner showing us the shortcut to the hotel

Ladies fellowship during hotel breakfast

Japanese hospitality at Shimabara

Later we took a bus to the Shimabara Toyo City Hotel. It would have the largest hotel room we would stay in compared to the other hotels in our Kyushu trip. It would also serve the best breakfast of all. But the stay was only for the night. After checking in late evening, we went to search for dinner. The hotel staff recommended us a sushi joint and we searched and found it and had udon and sushi set. The chef was generous and gave us free extra helpings of the dangerous puffer fish sushi and other freebies. They were very cheerful and the restaurant owner even guided us back to the hotel using a short cut. We were impressed by Japanese service and hospitality.

Kyushu, Japan free and easy 2: Fukuoka and Huis Ten Bosch

5 January 2015 blogpastor Leave a comment

Fukuoka landing

Our SIA flight took off at 1.20am. Never was good at sleeping through night flights so I managed two movies before I knocked out. We took the airport bus to some main station and from there to a station about 10minutes walk from the Sunline hotel.

It was still early, so we visited the Yanagibashi Rengo Market about 15minutes walk away to look for brunch. There is a blogged about small restaurant where we could get good sashimi. Most of us went there except those who did not fancy raw fish. I wished I ordered and ate more for I was never to find anything better the rest of the trip for those prices.

Should have bought more and eaten more of these

We went back to freshen up and nap and we explored a shopping area by a canal and had a night street dinner. The ramen was served steaming hot in small stalls in the open autumn air by the river. There were about 10 -14 people sitting on stools around a steaming cooking unit in the center. The stall had a Mandarin assistant. The food was great and due to the good yen exchange rate the price was lower than Singapore’s.

The landmark to locate the canal's yatai street food -photo Wee Khoon

"Yatai" - small mobile street food stall set up in evening and moved by morning - photo Wee Khoon

Thick, strong, salty and steaming hot ramen al dente

Wee Khoon our photographer with 3 Japanese girls

Birthday celebration

Then it was dessert at a Moomin café where the group celebrated my birthday. I felt blessed. We were given a treat from Karen. This café targeted courting couples and had many large animal dolls. We had a great time taking cute shots and selfies.

With mooimin the hippo having dessert - photo by Wee Khoon

Hotel rooms

The hotel room was comfortable but not spacious. The size of the double bed was somewhere between queen-size and super single. The bathroom was like a ready-made capsule fitted into the hotel room. Everything was Japanese made: Pansonic water closet with bidet, Shishedo shower cream. Most of the rooms we stayed in throughout the trip were quite similar in size.

Huis Ten Bosch

The next morning we took a bus to Huis Ten Bosch a Dutch theme park. When we reached a sightseeing area our standard procedure was to look for lockers at the stations to put our luggage. Over time we got used to this ritual and were pretty efficient with maximizing space and Daniel was really the key person in this department. Once this was done at the lockers at Huis Ten Bosch train station we went to explore the theme park. We were not interested in the rides so we visited the free zone and had a local burger for lunch. The lovely browns, yellows and oranges of the autumn foliage in cool weather and bright skies made the day picturesque and refreshing. We walked quite a bit but it was pleasant. By evening we were on the train to Nagasaki where we settled into the hotel and went out in search of dinner.

Daniel and Jabez maximizing locker space - photo Wee Khoon

Relaxed amidst autumn weather and foliage

Huge replica of colonial Dutch ship - photo Wee Khoon

Having fun with timed photos - photo Wee Khoon

While waiting for the bus - goofing around -photo by Wee Khoon

Resort silhoutte in the evening — Resort silhouette in the evening