lakelso

I found myself becoming filled with a childlike enthusiasm as I sat on the train to Izukyu Shimoda and watched the coastline whiz by the window as I was off to the beach. My accommodation was a place called Ernest House (named after Ernest Hemingway) and it was a very laid back lodging only a minute away from Kisami- Ohama beach. The staff were very laid back and were not hung up on timings and rules, more that you just enjoy your stay how you want. Breakfast was served in quite an unorthodox way, at around 8am a hamper filled with breakfast goodies was left outside your door for you to collect when you wanted and eat when and where you wanted. It was a nice change of pace and it felt like a mini beach ... read more

And now for something completely different says the information pack,the modern art island of Naoshima. Indeed different it is! Naoshima is the home to the Benesse Art site which offers visitors the opportunity to see contemporary art in stunning natural settings. It is small inland sea island and is now one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area. There are several galleries on the island and numerous pieces of outdoor art and scattered around the island, most notably the pumpkin sculpture (kusama Yayoi) that has become the island symbol. Despite the searing heat (well into the mid 30s) I decided to check out the galleries and the coast line. I firstly visited the Chichu art museum which is situated largely underground as the building designer refused to have an exterior design rising from the ground, ... read more

Sorry about the poor title pun but I didn't want to write another title bemoaning the weather conditions. After a 3 hour ferry ride I made it to Matsuyama and I don't think I have ever been on a ferry for that length of time let alone one with no seats. It was quite a pleasant way to spend the journey, sprawled out on my bit of floor and sleeping the journey away like the rest of my fellow passengers. Matsuyama is home to a castle which overlooks the town and a luxury public bath with different pricing options depending on which bath and which post bathing refreshments you pick (it all sounded very complicated). The rain continued on and off but did let up for long enough to allow enough time to visit the castle ... read more

First steps into Kyushu see me in the largest city namely Fukuoka and trying to navigate my way out of the world's (seemingly) largest train station. Find my way out I did and was even able to find my hotel successfully even though there were three buildings of the same name on the same street!!! The temperature was notably higher here than I had experienced previously which made it an effort to do anything but I mustered up some energy and took myself off to hunt out the nearby shrines and temples as well a strange game going on in the park that looked like a cross between golf and croquet. It got so hot by the middle of the afternoon that they had started handing out free ice lollies near to the station and I ... read more

Indeed I was flying solo again and just as I was getting used to the company too! My first port of call was to be Tsumago which would be reached by several buses and trains and culminating in an 8km hike to reach the remote town by foot. As the train times scheduled would have me arriving at my accommodation some time around 7PM (and that was assuming I was walking quickly) I decided to take the rainy day alternative and forget the hike, this was a wise move as about half an hour into the first train journey the rain absolutely deluged down. Three trains and one taxi later I arrived at Tsumago and it was like stepping back in time. The scenic town was not blighted by a single telephone pole or modern ... read more