Blogs from Oita, Japan, Asia

Well, after a year of sitting around at home I decided that it was time to move on with my life and go back to school. That's right, grad school was the next step for me. A little background information might help some of you on this. I did my undergraduate studies in Asian Studies with a concentration in Japanese Studies. After being in Osaka for a study abroad, I graduated and moved myself to Sendai, Miyagi for 3 years. I didn't just live in Japan, I became apart of Japan. I traveled extensively, made Japanese friends, and studied Japanese. While I'm a little embarrassed about the fact that I'm not as fluent as I feel I should be, I'm getting there. So when it was time to get back to school I decided that I ... read more

Spring or fall is the best to visit Kyusyu, if you don’t like the sticky summer weather or coldness of the winter. But the weather in Kyusyu isn’t super severe. It hardly annoys you whenever you travel over there. Only the rainy season between the mid-June through the mid-July is probably best avoided to pay a visit. ... read more

Yunohira Onsen Town (湯平温泉) is a picturesque small town on Kyushu about 20 minutes by train from Yufuin on the JR line that connects Oita with Yufuin. A bus service operates between the Yunohira train station and the town and only takes a couple of minutes. The town slopes along the river with many small cobblestone roads, boardwalks and bridges. Yunohira 's hot springs have been valued as curing water for the stomach and intestines for many years. Many of the locals do not have bathing facilities in their homes and use the onsen as public baths which gives us a great chance to bathe with the friendly people of the village after their return from work. I recommend a stay there as the town is magical at night. Check here for more onsen tips.... read more

And we're in Beppu, hot spring ('onsen' in Japanese) paradise, doing some well deserved relaxing after 7 days of intense sight seeing! To start from where we left off: after having spent 4 full days in amazing Tokyo, we left for Kyoto Tuesday night, arriving (very) early Wednesday morning. Kyoto is also one of Japan's biggest cities, but couldn't be more different from Tokyo in terms of architecture and atmosphere. Where Tokyo is hectic and bustling, packed with sky-soaring glass and metal facades with neon lights glaring you down from every street corner, Kyoto is far more down to earth: the buildings are shorter and less imposing, the streets less packed with busy business suits... the general feel of the city is more peaceful, almost suburbian. After having dropped off our packs at the hostel, we ... read more

Hallo zusammen, und da kamen sie nun, die Tage, an denen fast ganz Japan frei hat. Gluecklicherweise konnte uns die Touri-Info noch ein Zimmerchen in Kumamoto auf Kyushu besorgen. Unser traditionell japanisches Zimmer (mit Futon-Unterlage auf Tatamimatten) befand sich in einer kleinen japanischen Pension mit einer japanischen Wirtin, die kein Englisch konnte. Daher haben wir auch erst am zweiten Tag herausgefunden, wo sich die Dusche befand... Von Kumamoto sind wir zum Aso-san gefahren, einem von den Japanern hochverehrten Vulkan. Das Vulkangebiet hat eine riesige Caldera mit einem Umfang von 128 km, die durchaus besiedelt ist und in deren Mitte sich die Vulkane neueren Datums befinden. Der Aso-san hat in seiner Geschichte schon 150 Ausbrueche hinter sich und ist damit der aktivste Vulkan der Welt. Am Tag unseres Besuchs hat er das fuer uns optimale Niveau an ... read more

Je suis certain qu'ils y en a parmi vous, chers 8 lecteurs et demi, qui se disent "Kessé ça BEPPU???". Ben j'vous le dit pas. Fin de l'article. Phil Ok, si vous insistez, c'est une petite ville dans le sud du Japon qui est réputée pour ses "hot springs", ou "onsen" comme ils disent ici. C'est comme si la ville était en feu en permanence, il y a des nuages de fumée partout créés par les onsens. Ça a donc été une première occasion pour nous d'essayer les "shinkansens", les trains ultra-rapides du Japon, qui rende le voyagement presque aussi rapide qu'une téléportation. Oui j'exagère, mais pour vous donner une idée, après 2 heures de train, on était déjà rendu à Nagoya, 380 kilomètres plus loin, et on avait eu le temps de faire 3-4 arrêts. ... read more

에피소드#3 Feb. 18th the third day in Beppu. 씨웨이브 호텔 레스토랑에서 아침을 먹고 가볍게 짐 정리를 하고, 아침 8시에 벳부역 동쪽 출구에서 아소-유휴고원 일주 버스를 타고 아소산 부근을 순환 관광을 함. 코코노에 유메 오츠리하시를 걸고, 아소 신사를 둘러보고, 아소산 정상의 분화구를 봄. 점심은 도시락(벤또)으로 일주 버스 안에서 먹음. 17시 40분경에 벳부역에서 도착함. 저녁 식사는 어제 먹었던 식당에서 다시 먹음. 일본 현금이 다 바닥남. 이 문제를 어떻게 해결할지 고심함. 내일 점심, 저녁 식사는 크레디트 카드로 가능하지만 후쿠오카 시내에서 지하철, 택시를 이용할 교통비와 야나가와를 여행할 경비가 부족함. 내일은 우선 후쿠오카 시내에 도착하면 신한은행을 �... read more