mr mink

This may well be the very first blogette (it is) and who knows how I will manage any more - let alone "catch up" with what has been. Be grateful for what you get peoples. (written on train) I have been on the train from Ankara to Kayseri in the SE for some 5 hrs now – so better do something other than look out the window at the passing Turkish scenery – rather like a sun burnt country down under as not a lot out there. There are often clumps of poplar trees on river banks, as it is mid-October after all, which have really quite a developed yellow autumnal colour. The stops have been a few whistle stops in the middle of nowhere and 3 or 4 bigger places. Time to summarise Ankara. If ... read more

This was mostly written in the Yeosu bus terminal so I am on my way outa here (to where? You will have to wait and see). Spent two nights in Yeosu cos getting here was such a trial – what could go wrong did go wrong (the trials of travel – one of worst ever but you have to just grin and bear it sometimes). Had got some info at main Busan station just up the road from hotel but I think only the fast KTX services. Was directed by station staff there to go to Bujeon train station (10 mins away on same subway line) for train to Suncheon, change to Yeosu. So far so good there. I got there and had about 8 mins to get a ticket but the old pensioner dear in ... read more

10 June – Kumamoto-Kagoshima Although shamefully in Hakata I really only saw the station building and my hotel, had decided to thrash the rail pass on Monday 10th and go down to the S of Kyushu as had previously seen Beppu, the hot springs capital on the East coast. So just went to the station and got the next shinkansen to Kumamoto (confusing my Japanese syllables, as you do, first asked for Matsumoto, in Central Honshu and wondered why the routing was via Shin Osaka!). Anyway the Kyushu shinkansen, a 700 series, was just as efficient as all the others and took only 45 mins. Once there some ood English help form the info centre and got myself an all day tram ticket for 500Y as I knew I would take 3 @ 150 – better ... read more

I had decided that to hell with revisiting Kyoto sites and temples (I was not that struck by the place the first time frankly) I was going to try and cross off another one on my Japanese bucket lists. Namely the scenic area of Amanohashidate. Its about 2 ½ hrs to NW of Kyoto out on the coast. Getting there can be a bit of a trial due to fact that JR can only take you so far then you have to change to a private railway, the wonderfully named KTR (Kita-Kinki Tango railway). I had to the station to check what times connections etc were and lo and behold there was a JR limited express in 2mins. I knew there were only a couple of these a day so jumped on it. I knew that ... read more

I first went to Takayama in 1999 I think on my first trip to Japan with Intrepid. It is picture postcard perfect for a tourist town in all its mini-Kyoto historical houses etc. It was definitely worth visiting again as a stopover on the way to the shinkansen mayhem which awaits me no doubt on the southern coast. The minshuku (guesthouse) I had chosen was close enough to the station that I could find it quite easily. It was not exactly cheap at almost $90 but I think that is Takayama tourist prices and it was not necessarily the flashest place. It had tatami floor mats throughout and in a way what other way could you do Takayama really – even if there is a Best Western there (which was actually likely slightly cheaper) and quite ... read more