Kurume - our base exploring Kyushu

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Thursday 16th March

Kurume was chosen as our base town as it was in the most convenient spot to travel north, south or west. Getting here from Hiroshima was not without a few delays. After breakfast and the tidying of our BnB we made our way to the railway station where we said farewell to David and Helen, they are heading north before flying home. It was a little sad; we had a great time with them over the last 4 days.

We made our way to where we thought our train was leaving for Kurume but the departure board made no mention of our train or the line it was running from. We were told in the past that Japan Rail never ran late but today they must have had a serious problem as trains, including ours, were running 50 minutes late. Didn't worry us too much as we couldn't check into our BnB until after 1500hrs anyway. We caught up with David and Helen again, as they had a later train anyway! Eventually we were ready to go, farewells again and we were off.

On our arrival at the large, sprawling city of Kurume we had to wait for 45 minutes or so for our bus, they ran to the train schedule but didn't consider delays. We followed the directions given us to the unit and managed to get lost, no signage anywhere. A couple of workmen gave us directions, which were nothing like the ones we were following and we found ourselves in a street but still not knowing where the unit was. A young lady on a bike stopped and wanted to help. She spoke no English and on reading our directions had a vague idea where we wanted to go. Judy had her iPad out and pulled up a photo of the entrance to the units. The lady got excited and through sign language told us she lived there too! Five minutes later we were there. What a great little place we got; good security, spacious for Japan with a good living area, kitchen, bedroom with walk-in robe, bathroom and separate toilet. All this and clean and new!

Rather than just stay put, we set off on a local bus, to view the Affectionate Mother Kannon statue. This is set in a buddhist temple and towers above it and all other buildings near it. It can be described as: "the Affectionate Mother Kannon statue was erected, costing a total of 2 billion Yen (or nearly 50 million dollars by today’s standards). Incidentally, the statue is 62 meters (203 feet) tall and made of reinforced concrete. The dot on her forehead is a gold plate 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) in diameter encrusted with 18 three-carat diamonds, and her ornamental necklace contains an arrangement of a crystal and 56 jade stones. The baby she cradles is 13 meters (nearly 43 feet) long."

After walking around the statue and the temple we started off back to catch a bus but noticed a centre named Fly-Z. It was a recycle shop, similar to what we would call a Good Sammy's. In we went and emerged with a pair of gloves for Rags, a couple of glasses for the unit, and a couple of pieces of clothing for two of our grandchildren. The bus was finally caught and on our return to the local bus/train station we had a short explore and found an authentic, local cafe ( no-one spoke a word of English and the menu was in Japanese) Through pictures and sign-language we managed firstly to order a beer and a cocktail, then 3 dishes from the menu. Tasty and not bad value at under A$50.

The rest of the evening was spent in our new home, lovely and warm with the aircon on, and we both sat with our computers working as we normally do. Our plan tomorrow is to visit the city of Kagoshima.



Friday 17th March

We were up by 0700hrs, had breakfast and off south to Kagoshima 248kms away by bullet train. Japanese cities tend to be very grey and brown with few trees but as we moved toward Kagoshima it became greener. We passed through lush green forests and long tunnels through hills before skirting the coast for a distance. Here agriculture was evident - the area has been described as semi-tropical and it was certainly different to the northern cities. Great way to travel, as Judy said, "Faster than fairies, faster than witches, Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches" (R. L. Stevenson, 1913) and it only took us about 75 minutes. We caught a local train from the Kagoshima Chuo station to Kagoshima station and walked a short distance to the ferry dock where we caught a ferry to Sakurajima Island. This island is the symbol of Kagoshima and is one of the world's most active volcanoes. Every so often the volcano sends ash into the air, covering the towns below. The day we were there it was quiet, we had no regrets about that! We walked in various directions from the port, deciding not to take the bus tour as we had our train back to Kurume booked for 1615 hrs and couldn't do the tour justice. Judy found a Dinosaur Park on one of the maps so this is where we headed. Naturally it took us up a steep road but once we arrived we not only found dinosaurs but some paths through some treed areas, it was a pleasant change to not be surrounded by people and walking on concrete.

Back on the mainland we had lunch by the waterfront where we had were overlooked by the brooding silhouette of Sakurajima. We watched Mums taking their young children for a walk or run on the grass, and a couple were trying, unsuccessfully, to teach their children how to fly a kite. Back on the Shinkansen train after a ride back to the station on the local train we were whisked away quietly, northbound. A little snooze had Rags a little refreshed, Judy takes these trips as a chance to work. Not having her laptop she used an App to access and check what her students had written.

On doing a little shopping and exploring at the bus station near the unit, we discovered a store with a huge supermarket section where they had all sorts of prepared and partly prepared meals as well as cooks actually cooking meals in front of you. That was where our dinner was coming from tomorrow!

The two of us are on our computers as is usual, with Judy drinking a can of Suntori Highball, Rags with a can of Sapporo Rich Black, in our delightful BnB unit with the heater making our evening very pleasant. Not to say the day hadn't been.

Saturday 18th March

Today we caught the train and went across to Nagasaki. This went smoothly, including the change-over of trains a couple of stops out of Kurume. On our arrival at Nagasaki Station we caught a local tram for a few kilometres to the stop not far from the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, our major destination for the day. But before we entered the museum we found the Nagasaki National Peace Hall for atomic Bomb Victims. This majestic building with its water wall and pond is a facility for mourning victims of the bombing and commemorating peace. We found portraits of deceased as well as memoirs and other artefacts here. Memorial

The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum is attached and built to mark the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing. It is not far from the Atomic Bomb hypocenter the epicentre of the blast which occurred on August 9th, 1945. The surviving remains of a clock, stopped at 11.02, sit by the entrance. The display and the building it is situated in, is much superior than that of the Hiroshima display and explains nuclear fission and how it affects us today.The Arms Race of various countries is displayed, showing the Russian and American stockpiles as well as the build-up in countries such as China and North Korea. There is a very anti-nuclear weapons message and a call for world peace.

We were hungry but couldn't find any food nearby so took off back up the main road. Lunch was had in a cafe that was in a Food area in a large department store, Judy having her wish to have a good meal with noodles as a base. We are still to find somewhere to eat ramen noodles, udon noodles seemingly more popular. We will continue to keep our eyes open for these.

We had a bit of excitement going back to our unit as by the timetable we only had 4 minutes to change trains on the way back and our train was running late. The sight of an older couple sort of running through the connecting passages must have been interesting! On reaching the platform we saw the train a long way down and it was only the conductor holding back from clearing the driver that allowed us to scramble on. We did thank him!

Back at the bus station we did what we said we would do yesterday, and filled a basket with enough prepared food for both the evening meal and for lunch on the train tomorrow. Of course, a couple of black beers for Rags and a mixed drink for Judy. We could really get to like this lifestyle. These were consumed during the evening and we went to bed, ready for our next adventure tomorrow.

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Photos

Kurume
Judy with our apartment in the background.

Affectionate Mother Kannon
This 62 metre tall statue was for some time the tallest in the world.

Buddhist temple
This temple was attached to the tall statue

"Good Sammy?"
Very similar to our Good Sammy with the goods displayed in a way you could see them all. We bought a couple of things there.

Sakurajima volcano
The view in front of you as you came in by ferry.

Nagasaki
This display at the entry is maintained by the Lions Club.

Nagasaki
This sculpted basin was built in remembrance to those who craved water after the explosion.

Kurume
A typical, older house.

Sakurajima volcano
Another view from the ground.

Sakurajima Island
A buddhist temple.

Sakurajima volcano
A view from a lookout

Kagoshima waterfront
Coffee and a late lunch looking out to the volcano.

Nagasaki
An area for remembrance. At the front are scripts with the names of the 74 000 people who perished in the blast.

Nagasaki
A life-size model of the bomb named "Fat Boy"

Nagasaki
These murals were inserted in the cement slabs around trees and over drains.

Nagasaki
A fountain in the street outside the station depicting waves.

Nagasaki
One of the many trams in the city

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Japan
So many temples so little time.

[MUM]

GLAD I WAS ABLE TO FIND SOMEWHERE TO MAKE A COMMENT THIS TIME ! I FIND IT ALL VERY INTERESTING. THE SCENERY TOTALLY DIFFERENT TOOUR OWN AND THE FLOWERS SEEMTO BLOOM WITH VIBRANT COLOURS. PERHAPS IT'S THE WAY THEY ARE PLACED TOGETHER. I CAN SEE NOW WHY THAT ATOMIC BOMB WAS CALLED " LITTLE BOY " NOW. I T SURE IS A "FATTY"? HAVE YOU LOST ANY WEIGHT WALKING ALL THE DISTANCES YOU SEEM TO BE WALKIN?. YOU'LL BE FIT WHEN YOU ARRIVE HOME, THAT'S FOR SURE. NOTHING OF ANY INTEREST FROM MY END OF THE WORLD. WE HAVE HAD SOME DECENT WEATHER BUT THAT IS DUE TO END TOMORROW WITH RAIN AND STORM FORECAST ALL VERY HO HUM !! ' BYE NOW, LOVE MUM.XX