Blogs from Kagoshima, Japan, Asia - page 3

After our visit to Nara we had two more days left in Kyoto. At the time I was doing my diploma we had an exchange student from Japan in our lab. We hadn’t had any real contact for the last 4 years, but he read our blog and contacted me via facebook. Therefore we decided to meet for dinner on the 24th. When we arrived in Kyoto in the morning I had at first to get the address of a kendo shop at the tourist information center (Reason in the next kendo related post). In search of the center, we mixed up the Japanese floor ordering. In Japan there is no ground level, it is already called first floor. So we went to the third instead of the second floor, but this was a lucky accident, ... read more

Tiistaina heräsin vasta yhdeksän jälkeen eli tuli nukuttua yli 10h vaihteeksi. Nopea vilkaisu opaskirjaani sekä turisti-infon karttaan ja päivän suunnitelma oli selkeä. Otin raitiovaunun kohti satamaa ja siellä kävelin lauttaan joka juuri oli lähdössä Sakurajiman tulivuorisaarelle. Nyt kun oli valoisaa, rannasta näkyi tummaa savua puskeva tulivuori. Lauttamatka ei ollut pitkä ja perillä nappasin opaskartan mukaani. Kartassa näkyi taukopaikka matkalla kohti Yunohiran näköalapaikkaa, joten kävelin ensin sinne lounaalle. Ruoan tilaaminen toimi automaatista, ja vaikka en mitään kirjoituksesta ymmärtänyt, kuvien perusteella löysin mielenkiintoisen annoksen. Automaatista löytyi oikea nappi hinnan perusteella, kun hyväksi onneksi mikään muu menussa ei ollut tarkalleen samanhintaista. Lounas sisälsi friteeratun porsaankyljyksen, riisiä, salaattia, ja kaikenlaista muuta jota en varsinaisesti tunn... read more

Well started the day off well got up and got the bus (yes, Mike does travel on a bus - only when PJ makes him though, ha ha) and then the ferry over to Sakurajima. Mike did a risk assessment prior to us going as he worked out that the volcano had erupted 4 times a day this year and today it would not erupt. Sometimes good having an actuary in your company as they can work out the odds - just thought should I take him to the horse racing, might win a million!!!!! We took a foot spa which is from the volcanic water - it is supposed to be medicinal, does that mean it cures everything - course it does I am in Japan and in the land of plenty - with so ... read more

As we were driving towards Kirishima, we saw a baseball center and we thought we should give it a go. Baseball is the national sport of Japan sometimes I wonder why it's not as popular in other countries. I've never watched a baseball game or played baseball myself. It was surprisingly fun. It might look like it's just hitting a ball but it's really challenging. 90% of the time the ball was going so fast I can't even touch it. My success rate increased after I changed to a lower speed. After this experience, we were really looking forward to the baseball game that we booked for our last day in Japan. Then we head on to the famous onsen at Kirishima hotel. I saw this place on a brochure at a train station and thought ... read more

We were on a boat for 10 hours to the first island Amami. When we got off the boat at 5am we noticed a few people from Switzerland. Their plan was to head to the airport and rent a car, we decided to follow. Once at the airport we hitched a ride in their car and headed to the closest beach. When we got there we were greeted with a sign that said "beware of the many poisonus snakes near by", eek! Once down at the beach we very quickly realised we were going to be the only ones on the beach. We hung out for a while and then decided to hit up another beach. Again the same thing we were the only 4 on the beach, and then just when we were about to ... read more