29/11/2015
Pleasure life at Myouban hot spring
Last year, I visited Myouban hot spring in Beppu city for taking a private family bath. Myouban onsen is one of a famous area in Beppu Hatto, located under Oita express way, on the hill that can see Beppu bay in your sight.
27/11/2015
Unforgettable Kyushu with my mom
Konnichiwa, everybody. I’m Tan from Bangkok. This is the first time in my life to travel with my mom in a foreign country. My mom has visited Japan a couple of times before. Specifically, she has been to Tokyo and Osaka with tour agents. I, myself, have traveled with friends to several cities in Japan during the past few years. But, for both of us, this is our first visit to Kyushu.
My mom was very impressed with Kyushu because of her last experienced in Japan mostly with tour agents and travelling in the big city but actually she really like country-side more than city-side.
Thanks to the nature of Kyushu that make her very happy. She said to me, “This is like the first time that I can feel really Japan.”
26/11/2015
My Second Kyushu Trip
I visited Kyushu again during 13-19 November 2015. My first time in Kyushu was in the same month of last year. Why Kyushu? The answer is because of the beautiful scenery of many perfectures and of course because of hot springs.
This year I've been to Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Saga and Oita Perfectures. With the rented car, I could go to many attractions. Kikuchi Keikoku Valley was also one of my destinations.
16/10/2015
Welcome To Hell
“The path to paradise begins in hell” -Dante Alighieri
I am on a tour of hell in the city of Beppu, Oita, on the beautiful southern island of Kyushu, Japan. Serene and inviting, the cobalt blue water of Ume Jigoku – literally, sea hell – emerged during a volcanic explosion a millennium ago. Its billowing bursts of steam from 200 metres deep are blistering. I continue past my second hell, Oniishibozu Jigoku, where boiling mud slowly bubbles up to appear like a monk’s shaven head; and Shiraike Jigoku, named for its piping-hot milky water. At the murky Kamado Jigoku, a demon statue oversees boiling ponds. Drinking the filtered water here is like sipping hot tea from a Sprite can. While hand and foot baths are tempting, the allure of Oniyama Jigoku, Monster Mountain Hell, beckons. This lugubrious pond is kept watch by crocodiles writhing and slithering as they snap their jaws for food. The intense force of its steam can pull one and a half train cars. At Chinoike Jigoku, the Blood Hell, hot water from deep within the earth melts clay and seethes a bloody red. Its mercurial glow is hypnotic.
22/12/2014
Kyushu, What led me live here: Friends,…
First of all, I want to introduce myself. I am “typicaltomato”. Now I am an exchange student at Kumamoto University. Turn back to a year before I am here, I had to make many decisions for example where I would spend my time of exchange student, How the weather is, What are fascinating places around place I would go. Finally, I decided to come to Kumamoto, a prefecture in Kyushu.
Why did I choose here? There are three factors that led me here. First, my Japanese friends in Fukuoka we’ve met in other previous exchange program. That time I knew a lot about Japan and Japanese culture from them. Second is Kumamon, my bear friend who always tells me about Kumamoto and other prefectures in Kyushu and Third is JR Kyushu train, especially limited train designed by Mitooka Eji.
20/12/2014
First Time in Kyushu
For koyo (red leaves) hunters, it’s impossible for them to miss Japan as there are so many beautiful places that we can see Koyo. I’m one of these hunters so I’ve visited Japan every year. However, this is my first time in Kyushu.
I was a solo traveler who explored some parts of North Kyushu during 30 November to 5 December 2014. Although it was autumn, Fukuoka welcomed me with shower. Dazaifu Shrine was my first destination. The rain could not stop me from looking for red leaves.
18/12/2014
Sweet Memories of Kyushu
Me and my sister are no strangers to Japan. Both of us have been to Japan many times visiting Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima etc But this is our first time travelling to Kyushu in November 2014. Hence, we planned for a 2 weeks trip to give us enough time to take in all the sights and attractions that we have researched on. In this article, we will give some highlights and insights on those that left a deep impression on us as we travelled through Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Oita, Miyazaki.
First up is an idyllic getaway on Nokonoshima Island (Fukuoka).
Nokonoshima Island is about 10-15 minutes by ferry from Meinohama. It's a very small, tranquil and scenic island to explore. You can rent a bicycle to cycle around the island, like what we did. There's hourly rental and full day rental. We rented 2 bikes for 2 hours. It's very cheap and convenient to rent a bike. The bike rental kiosk is right in front of the Noko Ferry Passenger Terminal.
18/12/2014
A day with the animals at "African…
At Beppu, Oita, the 2 attractions that left the most impression with us were the
Natural Zoological Park ''African Safari'' and the Takasakiyama Monkey Park. You can visit both in a day like what we did. We went to the Safari in the morning and the Monkey Park in the afternoon.
"African Safari" is the largest safari park in Japan. There are altogether 70 species, 1400 animals living there. We ride in a Jungle bus like this into the “Safari Zone” where we come very up-close with wild animals like tigers, lions, bears, giraffes, elephants, deers, zebras, camels etc. The feeling is simply exhilarating as it's our first time seeing these big animals at such close range without fear of being attacked by them as we were shielded by the protective jungle bus.