The beautiful and peaceful island....
I left Hiroshima for Miyajima Island in the afternoon. Please checked the time table for your plan but you do not have to worry much for connections between train and ferry as the ferries come quite often. The train will take around 26 minutes from Hiroshima to Miyajima-Gochi station and you have to walk for only 5 minutes to reach the ferry.
The ferry service is under JR so, you can use your JR pass. The ferry is quite big, it will carry cars across as well. The traveling time to Miyajima Island is only 10 minutes, so no need for seasickness medicine.
Along the way you'll see some Oyster Farming which really made me hungry.... and could not wait to have my dinner. I pre-booked this hotel called Yamaichi-Bekkan which I heard from my friend that it is a Restaurant as well. I also pre-booked the 5000 Yen dinner (They have 3000, 5000 and 8000 Yen options) and 1000 Yen breakfast.
The hotel is sooooo close to the station. But it's got no English sigh that can be seen easily. I struggled to find this place a bit before I asked the local who was very kind and took me there. I was greeted and took care quite nicely, the staffs are very warm and welcome. After checking in and everything I went up to the room... It's half of the size of the one in Beppu but I did not really mind at all. It's only a place for me to sleep, as long as it's clean and safe :)
And now, it's feasting time! The dinner was served promptly as the time I told them at the check in.
The presentation was great and so as the taste for the first two sets. :)
When the lady served me the Tempura, she was trying to tell me about the radish needed to be put in the sauce... she's mistaken me for a newbie of Japanese Food hehehehe
And now the last set arrived, some kind of fish dish, clear soup and Unagi. After I finished everything I was thinking..... it's a big expensive for 5000 Yen.... hmmmm BUT I found out later on that the tiny fish dish was very special and seasonal. The tiny bowl alone can cost 1500-2000 Yen. Opps... And I didn't even like it. But over all everything was great. :)
Then it's time for a walk around. Just only 5 minutes from the hotel you can reach the Otorii Gate which is one of the most photographed site in Japan. Along the way there are a lot of shops which still open quite late.
And then there it was...
It's amazing to see the real thing!
And since I was trapped on the Island and have no place to go, I could spent as much time as I wanted to photographed it. hehe HOWEVER, during the time that I enjoyed taking photographed... the bloody deer (there are a lot of them around the island) went to my bag and
ATE my map! So, you guys just becareful for this though look cute and harmless creature. You're warned. sighhhhhhh
Not far from the Gate, you'll see the Itsukushima Shrine which is very beautiful at night too.
After pressing the shutter for hundreds of times, it's time to go back to the hotel and rest. I will continue more of Miyajima Island soon.
Hiroshima, a peaceful city.
I slowly made my way up and back to Western Honshu. And the more I went up, the more tourists I saw. During my Fukuoka - Beppu, I didn't really see many tourists at all. In my original plan, Hiroshima city is only the passage way to go to Miyajima Island, but since I was there quite early I made a brief stop and browse around the city a bit.
Hiroshima was a well known city but not for a good reason... It was the first city that experienced the horror of the Atomic bomb during WWII causing hundreds of thousand death. So, I decided to go visit the peace memorial not far from the station.
Again, do not forget to pay a visit at information centre at the station as they will provide English Map, the best way on how to get to the places that you want. As I will go to Miyajima Island next, they also provided the time table for trains and ferries in and out of Miyajima Island... Perfect!
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The best way to commune around Hiroshima city is by tram service. The fee paying system is just like the general bus system around Japan. And you can catch it just infront of the station. The city map will also show where the tram will stop. And again, every stops at the light, the drivers will turn the engine off, so don't be alarmed. :)
Only 10 minutes the tram will arrive at the Peace memorial site. The park is huge and very quiet and peaceful, even with a lot of group tourists. The first thing you'll see is the "A-bomb Dome", it's all that remains of the old bombed city.
Less than 5 minutes walk across the bridge to reach "The Cenotaph", erected in memory of the victims of the bombing.
Children peace monument also not far. Japanese made a lot of Paper Cranes surrounded it at one point and they're all kept in the show boxes as you can see in the background.
During that time, there's a Japanese kid handed me this postcard of peace and I'm very touched and I promised him to spread his message around. :)
As I still had a bit of time left, I walked out of the Peace Memorial site to have a glimpse of Hiroshima Castle. I knew that I could not go up close and personal so, I settle with a few pictures from a far.
Just a few notes here: this castle was completely destroyed during WWII and it was reconstructed and completed in 1958.
I was glad that I made this detour at Hiroshima. Now it's time to move on to Miyajima Island.
One of the hi-light of my trip...
When I started planing my trip, Mount Aso (Asosan) was very high on my list to visit. There are several things that attracted me. The most important one is it's the Largest Active Volcano in Japan that you can see the crater.
Firstly, stop by at the information centre at Beppu station for "How to get to Aso", they'll give you a piece of A4 paper telling you every possible way to got to Aso from Beppu.
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You can reach Mt Aso from Beppu by Train or Buses. However there are only 4 trains scheduled to go to Aso each day, so, please check the train time table and plan your time wisely. :) Coz I didn't and missed the train, so, the next best thing is to catch the Oita - Kumamoto Bus. There is also bus going to Aso from Beppu but it'll take 3 hours! There are many trains going to Oita from Beppu and it'll take around 15 minutes. The Bus will depart at "Tokiwa Department Store" that A4 paper will have the map and every details how to get there. :) The fare for one way to Aso is 2050 Yen.
I jumped on the 13:00 bus scheduled to reach Aso at 15:00. Along the way the views were breath taking!!! Very green and countryside, I did enjoy them very much. However, half way through, the mist started to cover the area. I thought "Shit, I'm not going to see the mountain". But as we moved closer to Aso things started to get brighter again. Phewwwwww
At Aso station just next door there's an office that sells the ticket for bus to go up to Aso Moutain. Or you can DIY at ticket vending machine. It will take around 30-40 minutes for one way.
As you can see the view along the way is beautiful, the windows on the bus can be openned quite easily for taking pictures.
The Bus will stop at Aso station and I had to catch another bus to go up the mountain. Again, check that A4 paper. :) The bus will make 2 stops, 1 at Kusasenri, Grass Land and Volcano Museum (They're one place) the driver will give you 10 minutes for a toilet break here and the last stop at Asosan-Nishi where you can catch a Cable Car to go up the crater.
I bought a return ticket for the Cable Car with a warning that I might not see anything as the mist came down very badly. But well, since I was there already why not. :)
The rope way will only take 5 minutes to go up to the Crater (it's called as Mt Nakadake). I heard the lady said the last cable car is at 15.50 I nodded and went on. When I came out of the station.... the warning is true... it's very misty and several areas were closed due to the high level of Volcanic gas (Sulfur Dioxide or SO2 )
However, once in awhile, the sky did open!!! I was so happy and fired my camera non-stop. It was really out of the world view and I loved every minute I spent there watching the scenery.
I walked around the area a bit and came back to the station at 15:45 to found out that... the cable car was finished................. the last one was 15:15 not 15:50 Argggggghhhhhh All of sudden my face went pale. As if I did not make it on time down to Asosan-Nishi I would also missed the Last Bus down to Aso station!!!
Luckily there was a Japanese tourist that I helped him taking pictures before still there. So I asked him for whether he can help me and he did. Phewwwwwww I was on his motobike down to Asosan-Nishi safely and on time for the bus. I learned later that I was very lucky as Japanese Do Not take hitch-hiker. I came back to Aso Station and got the train back to Beppu safely. What a day!!! But very well worth it.
Though if I had more time I could have explored the area a bit more, the Grassland looks very nice and peaceful and there's also the Komezuka which is a gentle beautiful hill. I guess I have to come back. ;)
PS: People with Asthmatics, Bronchial Disorders or Heart Trouble ARE NOT ALLOWED to go up to Mount Nakadake.
To Hell and Back.
Today it's going to be very exciting day for me, lots of places to visit and lots of things to do. Of course my day started with a very lovely Japanese Breakfast from the Ryokan (1,000 Yen with options of Western style or Japanese Style). It's very simple and yummy, what a way to start my day. :)
I left Ryokan for Beppu station to catch the bus to go to The 8 Hells of Beppu (Jigoku). The Bus system in Japan is quite unique... Passenger getting up from the Back Door and leaving through the Front Door.
When you get on to the bus, there'll be a ticket from the machine for you to pick up. It'll basicall show you what Area you get on the bus. Then there'll be a board at the Front left side to the driver showing the number of the area and the Fee you have to pay. For example, I get up from area 1 and if I see the board now (from the picture above) you can see that under Number 1, there's number 290 showing. It means that it's the amount you have to pay if I getting off the bus now, simple. :) However, when you pay for the bus fare, you have to have the exact amount. So, there will be the changing machine next to the driver that you can DIY. Most of people will do it before their stops to minimise wasting time of the others.
So, I jumped on the bus as the Tourist centre told me (it's in the station), however, the bus drivers don't speak English at all, and I've tried many of them. But good thing I've got the "8 hells of Beppu" brochure with me, so I point at the brochure and he knew where I wanted to be and told me to get off accordingly. There're announcements along the way telling you what is the next stop. Oh and one thing I've found funny is.... they turn the engine off at the red light. Not only Beppu but EVERY Where in Japan. I'm not sure how much fuel they save by doing that, coz the red light time is not that long.
I got off the bus, and the Jigoku was right there. I had to pay the fee to get in. You can buy a booklet which let you go in all 8 of them for 2,000 Yen or you can only pay per location (350 Yen each). The Hells are basically the (very very) hot spring sites (they are not Onsen!) that got very unique colours and different from each other scattered to the East side of Beppu City. The temperature of the water on each site are varies, from 90-100 degree celsius. The first 6 are quite close together but the other 2 need another bus or you can spend around 25 minutes walk.
I started from Hell number 3 (Yama-Jigoku) This site got tons of smoke coming out but the smell is not strong at all and there're not only the hot springs, it's got a bit of Zoo in it as well with African elephant, Flamingos, Hippo and monkeys. As I walked from site to site, each site got its own thing. Some of them offer the hot spring for the guests to put their legs in, some selling boiled egg from the hot spring some even got Crocodiles.
After finished the first 6 then catched a bus to see the final 2 which are Chinoike-Jigoku and Tatsumaki-Jigoku. For the Tatsumaki-Jigoku, it's the geysers which means a hot spring spouting out boiling water and stream in intervals. It'll redo every 20 minutes and I didn't have time to stay and watch (sob sob) as I was a bit behind with my schedule.
Overall, the experience with 8 hells of Beppu had been amazing and it's highly recommend for anyone to go. :)
Leaving Fukuoka was harder than I thought, I really had great feeling for this city. But just to think about relaxing time in the Capital City of Onsen, Beppu made me continue my journey with excitement.
I again catched the JR Train to go to Beppu, it'll take around 2 hours. This train looks nice and the seats are very comfy and even I could sleep in these seats.
About 30 minutes thru the journey, the train changed direction.... Almost all the passenger stood up and swing their seats to the other direction as the train. It's quite weird but when you're in Rome do what Roman did. :) The view along the way was very very Green, very natural and countryside.
I arrived in Beppu in the evening time. And in the station, you'll find information centre for tourist. You can ask for maps and more information on the places you want to go. However, the staffs are not very chatty, they will just only tell you what you ask in very short sentences. So, try to plan your trip in more details and ask them very specific things.
First thing I saw when I came out of the station is the Hotspring! It's free for you to put your legs in to relax. I've booked the Ryokan (traditional Japanese Hotel) called Nogamihonkan Ryokan for 2 nights. From their website, I printed out the direction and map, but one thing to make it clearer, take the South Exit from the station.
This Ryokan is very cheap! Only 5,000 Yen a night with huge room (Can fit 4) and internal bathroom with shower and bathtub. This price is not including any meals, breakfast is selling at 1,000 Yen and Dinner for 3,000 Yen.
During the check in, the staff will ask you book the private onsen time straight away. There are 4 styles of Private Onsen that you'll be able to use twice a day with 50 minutes for each session. During your session, you can lock the room and make them completely yours. :) After checking in, I put all my belonging in the room and changed to Yukata to be ready for my first ever Japanese Onsen. I've picked the semi-open air type as it feels more open.
For Japanese Onsen, it's a must that you take a shower first and there will always be the facility for that around. The first thing I noticed when I put my first leg in the water.... it's very very hot! Onsen will have the water temperature around 40 degree celsius. Luckily there's a cold water tap that you can turn on to cool it down a bit. But after awhile I got used to the temperature. It's very quiet and relaxing. sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
After the bath then it's time for dinner. It's a set menu and it costed 3,000 Yen which I found totally worth it and very yummy.
Now with a full stomach, I wasted no time and walked around straight away. The place I picked was Asahi Tower to take pictures of the city at night. It's a bit further down south from the hotel around 10 minutes walk.
The entry fee is 500 Yen (If I remember it correctly) which is not much. There are dinning table around, I guessed it (is/was) a restaurant. The tower open til late (10:00 pm) and that time I was the onlyone. I took a few pictures around and finished it quite quickly.
Then it's time to head back to the Ryokan for a goodnight sleep, will continue with Beppu 2 tomorrow.
