17/12/2015
Summer in Kyushu! Hakata Gion Yamakasa …
Having lived in Singapore all my life, I always thought hot weather is not a problem for me.
16/12/2015
Kyushu round island trip
清水竹灯り aka Bamboo light festival is an annual event in Ogi , Saga. Every year from 15Nov to 23rd Nov it will be held. This is my first time seeing Bamboo light up and was very amazed by how it's done. Not because they did the carving on the bamboos , but to light up so many candles every night for this event is a huge task, Yes it's not electric light bulbs but candles like those use in aromatherapy , there must be at least 1000s of it. and the grand finale is the light up at the waterfall. The other thing about visiting events like this in Japan is that , transport is well taken care of to prevent traffic jams. They provided free shuttle bus services at 2 different carparks to the event place.
15/12/2015
Keindahan Yang Tersembunyi Di Fukuoka
Tempat Terbaik Untuk Melihat Bunga Sakura Bermekaran Saat Musim Semi Di Fukuoka Adalah Taman Maizuru Fukuoka Karena Taman Maizuru Berada Didekat Istana Fukuoka. Di Taman Ini Pula Selain Kita bisa Melihat Bunga Sakura Bermekaran Denngan Bentuk Terbalik, Kita Pun Juga dapat Berekreasi Bersama Keluarga,Berfoto Selfie Bersama Teman Dan Kerabat,Ataupun Hanya Sekadar Berjalan Mengelingi Taman Dan Duduk Di Bangku Taman Sambil Menikmati Indahnya Bunga Sakura. Perlu Diingat! Saat Anda Ingin Berkunjung Ke Taman Maizuru Sambil Menikmati Keindahan Bunga Sakura Ini Hanya Berlangsung Pada Bulan Maret Dan April.
14/12/2015
Dancing All Night
Every winter, the tiny mountain town of Takachiho in Kyushu’s Miyazaki prefecture hosts an all-night dance party. But it’s not what you think--Takachiho’s yokagura festival is an 800 year-old tradition, and all of the gods and goddesses of Japan are invited. Every weekend from mid-November to early-February, local men take turns performing in a sacred dance marathon that lasts from dusk till dawn. Kagura, a series of 33 ancient Shinto folk dances, reenacts the Japanese myth of the sun goddess Amaterasu. According to legend, she was so upset by the violent antics of her brother, the storm god, that she hid herself in a cave and plunged the world into darkness. The whole pantheon of deities gathered to try to find a way to lure her out of the cave; eventually, another goddess called Ame-no-Uzume led them all in a dance (including a strip-tease) so uproarious that it made Amaterasu peek out of the cave to see what all the commotion was about--and the world was once again illuminated by her radiance. Kagura dancing can be found all over Japan, but Takachiho’s all-night kagura is something special--in fact, it was designated as one of Japan’s Intangible Folk Cultural Properties in 1978. Takachiho kagura is said to be close to the art’s original form because of the town’s distinct connection to the Amaterasu myth; Takachiho is the actual location of the cave where Amaterasu hid.
Yokagura is also special to me because for the last two years I’ve called Takachiho home. Since I'm planning on moving back to America next summer, I knew that this year would be my last chance to experience the remarkable ceremony. So I invited a few friends--Japanese, American, and British--to share one last night of dancing in this magical place.
13/12/2015
JAPANESE HOLIDAY IN KYUSHU (KAGOSHIMA) …
Two intrepid English pensioners took off from Manchester on Tuesday the 3rd November, to tour the southern Japanese Island of Kyushu (and to escape from the dark, damp English winter!), a delay possibly due to the foggy conditions but arrived in Munich in time for the connection to Tokyo Haneda. After a quick exploration of Tokyo left for the main part of the holiday in Kyushu.
Arrived by plane in Kagoshima and got the bus to the main station where our Hotel was, and was greeted by the sound of music, in the station. Here they are into a 2 week festival; unfortunately we had missed the fireworks. But the whole area still had a real buzz about it. The station was a real hub of activity with a department store, lots of shops and eating areas. A good information centre where we bought a ticket for 2 days whereby we had easy access on most buses. So after putting our cases in the hotel, went for a lunch. It turned out to be our dinner as much larger than expected, the specialist pork and fishcakes of the area. We were sat in front of the chef so he could make sure we got the right things. The same thing happened the following night, just wandered into a place just outside the station; we were greeted well, as you are everywhere in Japan, and given a seat overlooking the cooking area. This proved very entertaining for them and us. I did get a book out as they first tried to explain the food, then the chef got onto his i-phone, speaks into it and so of course an immediate translation, except with some of the translations into English we had still no idea of what we were eating. We started with a lot of raw fish, of which some we recognised. After many courses, out came cook your own food in the broth. However we were well supervised and the chef was putting the right food into the container over the burner at the right time. This eating experience was typical of our meals all over Kyushu cities. The resort hotels were very different, but more about that later. The first afternoon, took the circular town bus to get a feel of the area, and got off at Shrogama and had a good view of Sakurajima volcano; Kagoshimo is twinned with Naples, but the only thing they seem to have in common is the volcano.
12/12/2015
Ureshii! Ureshino (嬉野) – top three be…
Beauty - no longer a daily-topic just for the ladies, men too, are getting more receptive towards grooming.
If you are going to Kyushu and would like to indulge into a holistic retreat (be it as a solo or a family trip), you will never choose to miss going to:
Ureshino Onsen Town in Saga 佐賀Prefecture (northwest part of Kyushu Island): 1 of the top 3 beauty onsen in Japan!!!
I did a day-trip from Hakata ward of Fukuoka Prefecture/ City (so simple! so convenient to a gaikokujin/foreigner who doesn't know Japanese language) and it will not take you more than 100 minutes to reach the onsen town from Hakata.
So what is so happy and wonderful/ureshii about Ureshino? Ladies and gentlemen, vain or not, read on!
11/12/2015
8 Reasons You Should Explore Kurokawa O…
Japan's age-old onsen culture is one of the many unique aspects of this delightfully quirky island nation. Although there is an endless array of onsen hotspots to choose from in this country, Kurokawa Onsen Village stands out among the rest as one of the most beloved places by amateur onsen-goers and seasoned experts alike. The onsens in this beautiful, mountainous area of Kumamoto prefecture are abundant, steamy, serene, and easily accessible to everyone!
Nearly four months ago, my husband and I moved to a sleepy Japanese town in northern Miyazaki as English teachers with the JET Program. After a visit to Fukuoka, we elected to take the back roads home, which turned out to be one of the best decisions we’ve made. We’re just cheap so we wanted to avoid paying tolls, but we had no idea about the hidden gem we were about to stumble upon! Just as we had started looking for an onsen where we could take a quick soak on the way, we saw the sign for Kurokawa Onsen Village. Neither of us had heard of an onsen village before so we jumped at the opportunity. After a wonderful, fresh meal of meat, mountain potatoes, and other vegetables cooked over hot coals in the middle of our table, we set out to find an onsen. What we found was one of the oldest, most beautiful, indoor-outdoor onsens we’ve ever been to.
09/12/2015
Addicted to Kyushu
The leap near Fukuoka Yufuoku! Dome reflects how I feel about my family trip to Kyushu.
"Wow!" x 1,000,000
Food, scenery, designer trains and Japanese-styled ryokans contribute to the "Wow!"s.