Kumamoto (and Mount Aso National Park)

Friday was mostly a travel day. I did have okonomiyaki in Hiroshima but I didn't do any real sightseeing in either Hiroshima or Kumamoto. At right, you see the train I took into Kumamoto. It is the Kyushu Railway Company's Limited Express "Sonic". All of these kinds of trains are fast, comfortable, and extremely punctual and reliable. (This photo is taken from the JR Rail Pass pamphlet.) I stayed the night at Suizen-ji Youth Hostel in Kumamoto.

The first stop was Kumamoto-jo (castle). It was built about 400 years ago by a feudal lord in Kumamoto called Kiyomasa Kato. Like many castles in Japan, it was reconstructed at one time after it was damaged. Of course, none of this was in my mind as I was walking around. All I could think of was how grand it was to be in such a beautiful place. You'd think a visit to a castle would be all about history and imagined battles. For me, I just enjoyed the great lands they sit on. You go into one of these things and smell the old wood and look out over the entire city. It's really grand.

At right, you see the Masubuchi's next to the castle.

After lunch, we went on to the Suizenji coen (park). Man, this place was great! I refuse to pick favorites regarding this trip, but visiting this park was a pleasure. It smelled good. Everywhere you look, you have gorgeous scenery. I didn't try to photograph everything. I didn't go to Japan to snap photographs of everything and I'm not a particularly good photographer anyway. So, I bought some post cards that depict exactly what it looked like. The last one is my own photograph and includes Sakiko and Yuki. In lieu of taking photos, we just sat next to a pond and relaxed. There were coi (carp) and ducks.

I don't know how you get tired from strolling through parks, but we did. I guess it was sensory overload (something the Japanese seem to be oblivious of). So, we retired for some cold drinks. We went to a shop and got a creme soda with ice cream. Japan is full of delicious cold drinks. They are supreme experts in the field.

For dinner, we went to "Juttokuya", an izakaya (traditional Japanese bar). The food was grand! There were so many good things to eat, that I asked Sakiko to write it down. Indeed, it was a lot to remember. If you see a translation error, please let me know. Here's the run-down:

• sashimi (raw fish): cuttlefish, octopus, red snapper, tuna
• basashi (raw horse meat, like sashimi, dark, aged, tasty - a Kyushu specialty)
• karashi renkon (mustard and lotus root)
• yosedofu (fresh tofu)
• iwashi mentai (sardines and roe)
• kani zousui (crab stew)
• gohan (rice)
• Kouro (Kumamoto sake)
• agedashidoufu (delicious deep-fried tofu)

As you can probably gather, I left this place with an ear-to-ear smile on my face. We sat around a table, had a nice talk, and enjoyed our feast. After dinner, they took me back to the hostel.

Sunday, they picked me up at the hostel and we went for breakfast at a Western-style place called "Joyful". It was a nice, light meal to start the day. The corn soup was particularly good. Not an obvious choice for breakfast, but I'll definitely have it again in the future.

• corn soup
• iced coffee
• scrambled eggs
• toast
• bacon

After breakfast, we set out for Mount Aso national park. This was a memorable trip. It was my first exposure to Japan's real countryside. We drove for miles on the Yamanami highway. In some parts, there was no human development in sight in any direction, except for the road we were driving on. What a contrast this was from, say, Tokyo. The first photo is Sakiko. The second is Toru. The third is Yuki and me. The fourth is Sakiko and Yuki.

For lunch, we went to "Asoji", a delightful restaurant in the Mount Aso area. It was a nice traditional Japanese lunch. We sat on tatami mats and pillows and had a nice talk. I remember thinking that without my friends, I would never see such a place, let alone eat there. It was not the least bit tourist-oriented. I had takanameshi (rice with pickled takana vegetables) and dagojiru soup.

Once again, my head was spinning with all the delightful sights, tastes, and experiences my friends were introducing me to. From there, we went on to a very famous hot spring - Kurokawa Onsen. It is a rotenbura (open-air) hot spring.

Before entering, we cleaned ourselves. You do these completely naked, so it is gender-separated. It felt a little like bing in an aquarium. There were lots of plants around us. The water was very warm. Well, it was hot. There were streams of water falling from above. I guess you'd call them waterfalls. If you got under them, you could get a back massage with the streams of water. It was really hot in there. Really, really hot. It felt good.

At right, you see us all standing at the entrance. I dare not take a picture inside the onsen where everyone is nude.

After a hard day relaxing, we were ready for some work. (A little backwards, isn't it?) So, we stopped at Toru's office for some real language study. Toru works for a company called Aquas that makes water-related equipment. With my inadequate Japanese, I wasn't able to find out more specifically. Anyway, I taught them my current Japanese vocabulary. They were learning Japanese to English. I was learning English to Japanese. In other words, we were starting from opposite sides of the flash cards. It was pretty neat.

While we were there, we took a couple photos of Yuki. Yuki is five years old and very intelligent. She is also quite cute, as you can see. She is in kindergarten. She is very interested in castles. She usually carries a book around with information about various castles.

• Nabemono, Chankonabe - a big stew with various vegetables, meat, and tons of seafood. See the links below.
  • tori no tsukune (a chicken meat loaf made with egg, put into the stew uncooked, seen especially in the third photograph)
  • nira (leeks)
  • daikon (Japanese radish-like root vegetable)
  • ninjin (carrots)
  • hokusai (Chinese cabbage)
  • mochi (sticky rice cake)
  • maroni- (don't remember)
  • salmon
  • pork
  • moyashi (bean sprouts)
  • udon (Japanese thick white noodles)
  • remeji (don't remember)
• agedashi nasu (deep-fried eggplant)
• anzu no osake (Japanese apricot sake)