Ryokan Fujimoto Minamioguni-machi

This charming village may be a highlight of the trip -　a touch of `old Japan` so elusive in the cities. Found another old ryokan where no one spoke English, but managed to get a room, and head straight to the onsen.

Decided to spend a second night -- in part to rest from ...

... colorful sky-high portable shrines carried during the Hita Gion Festival and Kangien (a progressive educational institution that produced some of the famous personalities in Japanese history and was run by the ancestors of the current Oita governor).
The hotel itself looks out on to Mikuma River and offers a variety of plans for rest, relaxation, meals, and best of all the yakata-bune which is a traditional river boat with tatami mats and ...

... Ski Tournament is held here in the fall. But dont let the word "Aqua Park" fool you. Its basically just a floating raft on the water where local surfer types hang out. They all seemed pretty absorbed in getting their own turn at wakeboarding that it would be really hard for a someone just passing by to get a real chance without a reservation. Plus at 3000yen ($30 for 15minutes) its not exactly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Im ...

... un rato hablando se nos junto una chica de unos 19-20 anos, que resulto ser de Valencia. Para mas coincidencia, estaba estudiando en la Universidad de Leeds. Le habian mandado a Beijing a hacer su ano de intercambio. y ahora estaba en Japon de vacaciones con su hermano mayor, que acababa de terminar la carrera en Leeds tambien. Era una chica super-maja. Muy jovencita, pero muy espabilada tambien. Hablaba espanol, ingles (con muy buen acento), chino, frances y ...

12 Julio 2009 - Llegada a la zona de Aso
La idea para hoy era ir a la zona montanosa de Aso a ver la caldera y varios volcanes, pero la combinacion de trenes no era muy buena. Cuando llegamos eran las 4 de la tarde y ya no habia autobuses siquiera para subir al hostal que estaba a 1.4 km.
El hostal me recordo al de Nikko. Estaba en medio de un pueblo perdido, rodeado de arboles y bastante tranquilo. Las duenas son dos mujeres, una de unos ochenta ...

... in Beppu. Even on the main street which was a bit disturbing. I wonder what parents tell their kids.... I find it strange that next to public places like
public baths and barber shops that they can have a big sign next door for the brothel!

I will definatley return to Beppu one day and try out all the different types of baths. I don't know if I could come with a mate though as I would not want to sit naked with them in a bath!

Vanmorgen hebben we een cadeautje gekregen toen we de Ryokan verlieten. (hadden wij ook iets mee moeten brengen als bedankje voor het logeren????) Rond de middag zijn we aangekomen in Kumamoto (de klemtoon bij Japanse steden licht op de twee-na-laatste lettergreep KuMAmoto dus, zo hebben wij zelf bedacht). Het is hier zeker 30 graden, wat onze reisproductiviteit niet ten goede komt. Toch zijn er een ...

... hour and half in a loud (and probably obnoxious to the other patrons) conversation. Despite the little time here and a light rain in Beppu (the first of the trip), the bath and food made my experience here rather nice, especially since I worried it was all neon and no substance. Maybe it would be in the day or on a weekend, but right now it fit just right.

And now I'm really tired, so I'm off to bed. Next up is Tsuwano--small town culture in Shimane-ken.

-mike

Arrive in Aso-san around 1pm and after a quick lunch we decide to head up to one of the craters - Kijima-Dake which is one of 4 volcanos in the area. The walk up from the bus stop half way up the mountains only takes 45 minutes but it's really steep and very windy on top but the views are fantastic and it really shows how large this calder is (i.e. the original volcano crater) - it's approximately 23km wide - that's a very big volcano by ...

Sun Ming Ming is the tallest human being I have ever seen. The Chinese center is 236 cm (7 foot, 9 inches) tall. He is shy and soft-spoken and doesn't seem particularly interested in doing interviews with sports writers. But I've been happy to have my chance to chat with him twice in English this season. Still haven't written the "big ...