Business Inn D-1 Kagoshima

... br>
Eikä pelottanut yhtään, vaikka Sakurajima-vuori tuossa uhkaavasti koko ajan tupruttelikin! Jos se päättäisi nyt posahtaa, niin tulisipa ainakin tosi komea loppu! :-) Paljon enemmän olen huolissani Suomen harmauteen, pimeyteen, kylmyyteen, kateuteen ja totaaliseen luovuuden kadottamiseen hajoamisesta! Siinä on todellinen pelko!

Minä ainakin sain nyt Kagoshimasta ihan uutta energiaa ja tästä jatketaan mahtavilla mielillä eteenpäin! Näitä päiviä lisää kiitos...

... verran hyvin, ettei tarvitse niiden kanssa enää arpoa.

Kagoshimaan saavuttiin viimein klo19 maissa ja päätettiin kylmästi kävellä hotellille, koska sinne oli ainoastaan kilometrin verran matkaa. Varasin pari päivää sitten netistä AreaOne Kagoshima hotellin (jotain 60€/yö), jonne löydettiin nyt ihan helposti perille ja olipa mahtavan avuliaat ihmiset tiskillä. Siis aivan uskomatonta!

Äsken käytiin vielä pyörähtämässä kaupungilla ja hakemassa kaupasta lunch ...

... row of seats along a pool of hot dark water from the volcano! I tried it, and it was very relaxing! As far as I could tell, since this is an open-air spa, and since I saw no way for it to be locked up at night, this public amenity is available all day and night! As someone old enough to remember when Pathmark pioneered the 24-hour supermarket, I was impressed to find that both the ferry and foot spa are both available all night!

... Weg zum Sandbad, haben wir auch noch einige gesehen. Kätzchen waren dort auch, eins hatte eine offene Kehle und einen gebrochenen Fuß, arme neko.

Dann haben wir uns auf zum Sandbaden gemacht und festgestellt das das wie in Dörfern bei uns ist, da grüßt auch jeder jeden (vor allem die älteren Leute haben uns immer freundlich gegrüßt) - das gilt ja am Berg auch (letztes Jahr bei der Misen-yama besteigung hat uns auch jeder gegrüßt). Beim Sandbad angekommen rein in die Yukata und zack ...

... auch anders auffassen kann und hab noch "ich kaufe es" nachgerufen, was sie scheinbar nicht gehört hat)und holt dann eins raus und schneidet es in zwei teile und gibt es uns. Dann packt sie eins ein und reicht es uns und ich gleich "nein passt schon, wir haben ja schon eins" - ja aber die hat es uns dann doch aufgedrängt - Peinlich Peinlich - und der Spott folgte sofort von Andi - "Jaa diese Gaijins immer so aufdringlich alles wollen sie sich erschnorren, schrecklich sowas...."

After catching an early train out of Hiroshima - arrive in Kagoshima around 12 noon and make our way to the traditional Japanese Ryokan we're staying at there. In Tokyo we picked up a free magazine which mentioned sand baths just outside Kagoshima so after dumping our bags we decided to head out to Ikubusi to check them out. The baths involve wearing a hakata (a traditional Japanese robe) and nothing else and heading out from the public baths to the beach where ...

... I finally get a wave which I use to stand up and immediately dive into the water. My knee is throbbing but after floating in the water for about 10 minutes the throbbing starts to subside. The ocean in Yakushima is just beautiful. I want to stay longer but know getting out is going to be tough so decide to face the challenge earlier than later. I manage to get out despite the pain and that's when I notice my bathing suit ...

... of the sumo tournament is also the second hardest day to get tickets. So my first post family was very nice and contacted the local police chief who knows a sumo boss. After several days and a lot of negotiations we were finally able to secure a box seat on the fourth row for half price! Tickets this close usually run to tune of $250/seat. I was able to get my ...

... gas station on the island. The black pork noodle soup was tasty in the noodle restaurant near the airport. Black pork seemed a speciality of the island.

The next day, on our way back to Nagoya, we dropped by Kagoshima, where we took some pictures around the Takamori Saigo statue and then headed for Sakurajima Island. Actually it used to be an island, but it's not any more, because the lava from the volcano erruption in 1914 made a way ...

... until the late 19th century. Apparently the Russians had sent expeditions to the Ainu (indigenous Japanese) inhabited island, so the Japanese set up the Hokkaido Colonization Commission to 'colonise Hokkaido before the foreigners did'. Dave had a little ***** about the guy that introduced beer into Japan (a bit of a lightweight when it comes to beer (or any other drink it appears), Dave also isn't too keen on our intended visit to the Sapporo ...