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Blogs from Kumamoto, Japan, Asia
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February 15th 2013
It has been my dream to look into the crater of an active volcano and now it has come true. A tip how to get to Aso volcano from Kumamoto: We took a bus from Kumamoto bus station, it takes about 2 hours to get to the cable car at the foot of the volcano. I've seen information on the internet that you can go there by train - that's not convenient. The train doesn't go directly to that place, you'll have to take a bus after that anyway. The cable way may be closed because of volcanic activity, but you can still go up using a walking path. When we came closer to the crater there was a smell of sulphur and the viewpoint was closed because volcanic gas was going just in its direction. ... read more
Kyushu #2: Aso Crater, Kurokawa Onsen Village and Fukuoka
Published: February 21st 2013Asia » Japan » Kumamoto » Aso
February 10th 2013
10th Feb: Up early this morning. I had a good night's sleep, but still felt knackered. I need a lot of sleep. Apparently the TV in the room came on randomly at 6 am, and pout the shits up the people it woke up. Thankfully I slept through that. After getting ready and packing up, we went down to breakfast. Oh my god! It was sooo cute. Proper traditional looking. We were given rice, miso soup, salmon, and some other bits. It was nice. A bit gutted I had to pay extra for coffee, as it was 100 yen a cup I had to ration myself to one, when I could of happily downed three or four. Onto the bus for the drive to Aso crater. The drive took about 40 minutes and it was a ... read more
February 8th 2013
8th Feb: Onto the bus at 11 (at night) in Seoul and we were off on the long drivedown to Busan. Hoping that the traffic wouldn't be too bad, even though it'sSeolnal (Lunar New Year) and they had extended the bus only lanes for a few more hours. 9th Feb: Well we made it to Busan around four, half four ish. The traffic wasn't that bad, a lot better than it had been at Chuseok. The bus was freezing though, which made it difficult to sleep. We dropped off the people, who were staying in Busan for the holiday at their hotel and then drove to the port. We parked up in the carpark and slept until about 6 or 7. When I woke up the bus was like a sauna. It's was bloody lovely, after ... read more
July 28th 2012
In the last 5 days we’ve visited 3 places in Kyushsu, an island just of the south of the main island. Started with the seaside town of Beppu. The whole of Kyushu is known for its various forms of volcanic activity and Beppu is bubbling with hot water pouring out of vents and drains. Nearby is the town on Kannawa where steam seems to be coming out of everywhere and has eight ‘Hells’ hot springs to visit. Some were impressive, quite like Rotarua in NZ. The second stop was the lovely Aso. It had been hit by serious flooding just a week or so ago and the train line was blocked due to a landslide but the railways had put on a bus between affected stations, it took a bit longer than planned to get there ... read more
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May 11th 2012
Hello During Golden week we went with our friend Chihiro to Amakusa and went dolphin watching. For some reason lots of dolphins hang out in this area, we saw about 40 dolphins which was awesome. Before we went dolphin watching we did some fishing, I caught two fish but could only eat one because the other was a puffer fish. Enjoy the photos. Vikki... read more
March 28th 2012
Kurokawa onsen is a beautiful place hidden in the mountains. It took us almost the whole day to drive there from Kirishima. The road was crazy. At one point there was a 720 degree turn. There are also local buses running from Aso city to Kurokawa which are not that frequent. Kurokawa is a real onsen town. The whole town has nothing but ryokans. You can tell it's so tiny that the whole place can be explored in about 2 hours. But I also have to say it's my favorite onsen town so far. I like how it's so hidden and peaceful you just need to be in it to completely relax and not worry about anything outside. Our accomodation is called Shinmeikan. It's a really nice ryokan, traditional style but super clean and neat at ... read more
March 25th 2012
Our next destination is Kumamoto. You may know that there is a big ramen franchise called Ajisen Ramen. They have 2 stores in Sydney CBD. Ajisen Ramen is actually based in Kumamoto. The author of the anime Natsume Yuujinchou is also from Kumamoto. I've always been a fan of ghosts and spirits so I was really looking forward to the trip. I took a Kyushu Express train to Kumamoto. Unlike most other countries, trains in Japan have individual characters and they even have names. The most famous one in Kyushu is called Yufu no Mori. It won some kind of best design award. I didn't know this kind of awards exist for trains! The Kyushu Express train we took was awesome. The ride was so pleasant I bought a beer to go with my bento. I ... read more
March 23rd 2012
M – When we started planning our round the world trip Japan was one of only three must-see countries for me. Beyond these (Japan, India and Namibia) I didn’t really care where we went as long as we saw different things. As such I was pretty excited on the ferry ride over from Korea to Japan. Our first few days in Kyushu Province in southern Japan have more than lived up to expectations. Already we have been buried in hot volcanic sand, ridden the bullet train, climbed an active volcano, visited an ancient samurai castle and witnessed a traveling Kappa’s performance and been invited to spend the night at his house in Tokyo. Apart from the weather being a little mixed it has been a great start to our Japan trip. We find we can gauge ... read more
Photo Collection 15: Mt. Aso Tour in Kyusyu
Published: March 18th 2011Asia » Japan » Kumamoto » Kumamoto
March 18th 2011
Mt. Aso (http://www.japanwelcomesyou.com/cssweb/display.cfm?sid=1254) is located almost in the middle of Kyusyu Island and famous for the largest caldera it forms in the world. It’s also famous as the largest active volcano in the country and, more importantly, famous for its breathtaking scenic landscape. There are a lot of onsen spots around the mountain as well.... read more
