Bye, bye Okinawa; Hello Kagoshima

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My time in Okinawa has come to an end and unfortunately I am writing this to you from Beppu, not that Beppu isn't a nice place but it's no Okinawa. I had a really really good time there. The people were friendly and so laid-back, the weather was fantastic and the beaches and scenery were to die for! There was nothing I didn't like. OK, maybe the boat trip you have to take to get there, that was sure interesting, but a lasting memory! Oh, and the occasional typhoon. It looks like I picked the right time to go and leave Okinawa, like I said in my last entry there was a typhoon heading for Miyakojima the day after I left and I watched bits of it on the news, it looked pretty bad, heaps and heaps of rain, very strong winds and huge waves. It also ended up in Ishigaki that typhoon, they canceled all the boats and planes and everything. That would have been a big disappointment if I turned up and got typhoon weather! There is also supposed to be another heading towards Naha, set to arrive today I think but I haven't seen the news so I'm not sure. However last night on the news they were comparing that one to the hurricane in America, it actually looked a bit bigger but that was yesterday and it was still out at sea, who knows what it will be like once it hits the city? In fact that same typhoon is supposed to head up to Kagoshima, where I just came from. I've been pretty lucky, looks like I'm moving in the right direction: away from them!

As it was we got a bit of rain and very strong winds in Naha from the first one in Miyakojima. I was walking down the street against the direction of the wind and it felt like I wasn't going anywhere, I really had to put my head down and push forward to take a step. But I'm proud to say that I did eventually win that battle. It was really weird wind actually, one minute it would be blowing from the front and the next it would be coming from behind and I hadn't changed direction. If I lent back a bit then I had some control and it didn't feel like I was about to face-plant into the ground, must have looked like an idiot, but who cares? I wasn't about to let the wind get the better of me! When you're traveling by yourself you have to make your own entertainment so battles against the weather, however sad they sound, keep it all interesting.

Remember I said it was raining the night of my last entry, well it just wasn't just raining it was pouring! And of course I had no umberella! They were selling them ridiculously overpriced at the shops along the street but there was no way I was going to buy one. I reckon they put up the prices when it rains, you see no-one really carries an umbrella in Naha, especially in summer, so they must make a fortune. I did however, buy a big canvas bag, which I am now using for all the extra little things that I have bought along my travels, and I held that over my head as I ran back to my hotel, not that it helped much. The wind was still crazy so the rain was coming from every direction, but even the people who had bought those expensive umbrellas were just as wet as me.

The next day in Naha I had wanted to go to a beach called Moon Beach about an hour north of the city, but when I woke up it was still raining a bit so I went back to bed and slept in instead. For the rest of the day I walked up and down the opposite side of the street that I didn't look at the day before, and shopped. The only thing of interest to report is the price of fruit. Fruit in Japan, everywhere I've seen it anyway, is very expensive, I've no idea why. Hakodate especially, it costs about $2 for one apple in Hakodate, and I don't really like those ones much, they mostly sell red ones but I'm a green Granny Smith apple girl! And the melons in Hakodate! A small watermelon, a round one maybe the size of a regular rockmelon (that's the orange fleshed one right?) is at the least ￥3000, about $35!!! I have to admit that they are delicious, especially if someone else buys it for you, but still, $35?! And that's a cheap one! As a consequence I don't buy much fruit in Japan, which kills me cos I love fruit, occasionally I splurge but not often.

But back to the topic, fruit in Okinawa. As you can imagine the fruit they sell in Okinawa is tropical type fruit, pineapples, mangoes, dragon fruit, star fruit etc etc. And they sell them extremely fresh in little stalls along the street, in Naha especially. Anyway one of the stalls I saw was selling huge mangoes (about 15cm from top to bottom, oval shaped, and looked very delicious!) for ￥5000 each, that's $59!!!! Who would buy those? They were however, selling small slices of the mango for ￥250 each (about $3), how generous of them!

So that was my last day in Okinawa and my new found love. You'll be glad to know that I've almost finished my present shopping now, the canvas bag has come in handy! Thursday I had a 10.50am flight from Naha to Kagoshima, back up in Kyushu. It was a beautiful day in Naha, the sun was shining and very hot, just made me not want to leave even more! I took the monorail to the airport and it took about 20 minutes so I arrived at the airport at 10.20, a half hour before I had to leave and I thought that would be plenty of time. Wrong! The lines were huge, and because I had bought and reserved my ticket on the internet before I left Hakodate I couldn't just go straight to the check-in counter I had to go to the ticket counter where they would give me my boarding pass and check me in at the same time. Well, I'll give you one guess which line was the longest? I waited in line and it didn't seem to be moving at all, the people at the front were taking their sweet time, and the clock was ticking. After 15 minutes there were still about 15 people in front of me and I noticed that the NOW BOARDING light was flashing next to my flight, and soon after they announced that everyone who was on that flight was to proceed to the gate immediately. After a quick look in front, I realised the line was still too long and it was going to take heaps of time to get to the front, and time was something I didn't have! I spotted an airline staff member walking around and leaving my luggage in line I ran over to her and explained my situation. Well it turned out I actually didn't have to wait in line, as I already had a reservation and already paid I could use the automated ticket machine which would give me my boarding pass! She rushed me over to the machine and sure enough I got my ticket, if only I had known! It felt like such a waste of time waiting in line, you know that Simpsons episode where they go on the "line ride", that's what I felt like I was doing. Anyway by this time it was 10.50 and the lady said to quickly check my luggage in and she will radio to the gate that I was on my way. I ran back to get my bags and funnily enough the people in front had moved forward a fair bit and because my bags were still there the people behind hadn't, so there was a huge gap in the line, and I could tell that some people were not too happy! I grabbed my bags and was apologizing (albeit quickly) to the people behind me when a couple of foreigners jumped in front of me and all these other people, even though it was obvious that the end of the line was way back and they were jumping queue.

As I was walking away the people behind me were engaged in a "discussion" with the foreigners, who didn't seem to want to budge, how rude! Oops! I felt bad but I didn't have time to worry about it. They opened a baggage check-in counter just for me and once I had no heavy bags weighing me down I ran all the way to the gate and sure enough the ladies were waiting for me, gotta love the Japanese, even when you hold up a plane they greet you warmly with big smiles on their faces! In fact, I wasn't the last passenger to board there was one guy after me, so that made me feel better. But it actually would have been pretty cool to say I delayed the plane (is that bad??), maybe next time!

I had the afternoon to fill and it was a really nice day in Kagoshima so I decided to head out of the city and went to an island just off the coast called Sakurajima. I could have just walked around Kagoshima but there really aren't that many sights and I probably would have just ended up at the shops and that was not something I wanted to do. So I caught the ferry out to Sakurajima, it only took 15 minutes. Sakurajima is basically made up of a volcano, which has 3 peaks, and there are small towns around the coast but that's about it. In fact one corner of Sakurajima is connected to the mainland due to one of the eruptions where the lava connected the island and mainland. The last eruption was 1946 but the last big disastrous one was 1914, it's still classified as an active volcano and I believe that because there is still smoke coming out of it every day! A lot of the island, especially the rocks around the coast but also some buildings are black from the ash that has fallen on them for years. Even in some places along the coast in Kagoshima you can see ash on the ground. Can't be too healthy. You can actually stay on the island if you want, people do live there, but the thought of curling up for a night at the foot of an active volcano doesn't particularly appeal to me.

I had wanted to go to the highest observation point, which is only about 370m high, that's the furthest you're allowed to go up the mountain due to the status of the volcano, too dangerous. But, after a quick inquiry at the information office I found out that the regular buses don't go there and the only bus that does, the sightseeing bus, had finished for the day, although it was only 2.30pm! Most of the other places that the regular buses go to are pretty far away and the bus service is slow and infrequent, so it was a bit disappointing. I did however, go on a nature trail walk that was close to the ferry terminal, which wound its way through the bush and along the coast and up to a different observation point, which wasn't as high but you could still get a good view of the volcano. And the nature trail was pretty good, had good views of the ocean and even though it was hot a nice breeze was coming off the water. The trail was 3km long, so a 6km return trip, it was a nice walk and a good workout! I even did arm curls, or bicep curls, or whatever you call them with my water bottle as I walked along, just another way to amuse myself! The walk was very peaceful actually, I only passed a few people along the way (and I felt like an idiot when I did, doing my arm curls!) but the rest of the way I was alone. The nature trail was actually called a "lava trail" because supposedly in the last eruption that was the EXACT trail that the lava took on it's way down the mountain, but I find that hard to believe, the trail wound its way down AND UP the mountain, winding along the coast to all the scenic places, it was either very curious lava that wanted to have a good look at the island it was devastating (an lets face it why not?) before it went out to sea, OR they made it up. But who am I to question its validity?

One thing I have noticed about the south of Japan, there are so many dragonflies! They were everywhere on Sakurajima. Strange cos you don't really see them all that often in Oz, well not on the Central Coast anyway, they had a lot down in Okinawa too. They also had a lot of butterflies down there. So what with that and the fact that Kagoshima, still being far enough south, has palm trees, I didn't truly feel like I had left my tropical paradise totally.

I caught the ferry back to Kagoshima and from the terminal looked around for the tram stop that would take me back to the station where I left my bags. I found it alright and the next tram that came along said Kagoshima station on the front so I jumped on. Well, when we reached our destination, as the station was the last stop, I got off and looked around at the very unfamiliar surroundings, I then found out that Kagoshima has TWO stations, and I was at the wrong one, I actually needed to go to Kagoshima Central station. So I had to get back on the tram to take me to the other station, and to my embarrassment it was the same tram with the same driver! He gave me a sympathetic, all-knowing smile and I smiled sheepishly back at him, I swear he was laughing at me!

I did eventually arrive at the right station, and collected my bags and then found out that the easiest way to get to my accommodation was to catch the tram! And I had to get off at a station that I had passed not once but twice before, de ja vu? Luckily it was a different driver! And the tram was packed this time, you know those images of trains in Tokyo that you see, where the people are stuffed into the trains like sardines in a can? Well that was me! But of course I had my bags this time and they took up a considerable amount of room, the commuters were not happy, aahh the fun and games of transportation!

My accommodation was really easy to find right in front of the tram stop so no long walk, and the man that runs it was lovely! When I arrived he showed me a map of the city and where some places were, like an internet cafe, restaurants etc, and then he asked where I was headed the next day and I said I was going to Beppu by train. "Well, be careful" he said, "because there are two stations in Kagoshima and you don't want to go to the wrong one" Aah, yeah, already knew that didn't I? The place where I stayed was really nice, they had a lot of english books and magazines which was cool, I've been missing out on so much goss! It's the smallest things that I miss so very much, just the simple pleasure of reading a magazine!

I am in Beppu at the moment, still Kyushu, at the north of the island though and to the east, but tomorrow I am heading to a place called Matsuyama on Shikoku. Shikoku is the 4th largest island of Japan, fairly small though, so tonight is my last night in Kyushu and southern Japan! I have been traveling for 4 weeks now and it has gone so fast! And like I said before, now that I am travelling back up it feels like I'm on the journey home. Well, Hakodate home.

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