rkkwan's Honeymoon to Kyushu

Old Jan 9th, 2013, 05:27 AM
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rkkwan's Honeymoon to Kyushu

I'll skip my usual sections of whys, hows and whats, and just jump straight into the trip report this time. Will try to keep it brief, at least compared to my usual long-winded reports.

Dec 27, 2012

Bonny and I took the only non-stop between Hong Kong and Kyushu on Dragonair to Fukuoka. Nothing too impressive or memorable on the A320 in coach. Riding the jetstream, it only took 2.5 hours to get to FUK. FUK has its domestic and international terminals on opposite side of its single-runway, and it took a long shuttle bus ride to get to the domestic terminal for the subway into town.

FUK is in the middle of the city, and it's only 2 stops (and 5 minutes) on the Airport Line subway to Hakata. Train runs every 7 minutes. But it's not cheap, as 250yen. Ticket machines take all bills, including 10,000yen ones. Nice.

It's a short walk from the Exit West-21 to the Crowne Plaza ANA. We used 25,000 Priority Club points for a standard room, but was offered to upgrade to a club room (36 sq meter vs 22) for 6,000 yen. Room was pretty nice.

We walked back to the Hakata Station for 2 things. First, we went to Yodobashi, the big camera/electronics store, looking for the b-mobile 1GB data SIM. My first time to Yodobashi, and found it neater and more spacious than the Bic Camera locations I had visited in Ikebukuro (or the one we would visit later in Kagoshima); but unfortunately, they only had the regular SIM as the micro one was out-of-stock. Not a must-have for our trip, we decided to skip it.

Second thing was to locate JR's rental car counter at Hakata where we would pick up our car next morning. Couldn't be easier, as it was just the main JR information center dead in the middle of the station.

For dinner, we took Fukuoka's popular 100yen bus to Nakasu, the island between Hakata and Tenjin, to look for the famous yatais or mobile food stalls. We ate at one along the river called "Hyotan" ひょうたん that serves yakitori barbecue. With one glass of sake, we spent 3,200yen there. But we weren't quite full yet, and crossed the bridge to Canal City for ramen at the Ramen Stadium.

We ordered one traditional bowl from "Shodai Hideohan" 初代 秀ちゃん which is local. Then we ordered a spicy one from "Karadaruma" 辛だるま, not knowing it's from the same owner. Should have tried a different one, as we're not that impressed by the spicy one. About 750yen for a typical bowl with a half--boiled egg.

We were a bit surprised at how quiet the city was, even along the river where the yatais are. Canal City was very empty. Also, I was a bit surprised at how few ramen places there are in Hakata, as it's supposedly very famous for it. I was expecting something like Ikebukuro in Tokyo where there are literally dozens of ramen places between the train station and Sunshine City. Not the case.

Satisfied that we had tried both of Fukuoka's most famous cuisine within a few hours of arrival, we walked back to the Crowne Plaza ANA rather than taking the 100yen bus.
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Old Jan 9th, 2013, 06:00 AM
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reading along
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Old Jan 9th, 2013, 09:01 AM
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Me too.
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Old Jan 9th, 2013, 09:28 AM
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Me too.
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Old Jan 9th, 2013, 10:38 AM
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Congratulations, Ray, and a Happy New Year to you and yours. We are back from Hong Kong and South East Asia (you kindly helped me with some issues). Absolutely loved Hong Kong!
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Old Jan 9th, 2013, 11:16 AM
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Great start, anxious to hear about the rest.

Yes, Fukuoka is very different than Tokyo in comparison. I know that ramen alley in Ikebekuro....they have a similar one outside Shinjuku station although Shinjuku alley's nickname is a more colorful one.

Everything is so laid back in Fukuoka and the rest of Kyushu for that matter as you probably found out. We stayed in the Grand Hyatt which is connected to Canal City last time there and it was moderately crowded in the fall.....maybe Christmas shopping was just over this time??

Did the JR rental have English GPS?

More, more!!!

Aloha!
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Old Jan 9th, 2013, 10:59 PM
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hawaiiantraveler - Will get into the part about rental car very shortly.

Dec 28, 2012, am

Rather than having 2,000yen/person breakfasts at the hotel (discounted from 2,750), we checked out of the hotel, left our bags, and then headed back to Hakata Station for food. The whole basement level of the station complex is dedicated to food. We first spent 315yen on 3 pieces of rice dumplings; then we went to a Korean chain called "Shijan" in the section called "Hakata 1bangai" 博多一番街, which has sets for 480 and 380yens.

Filled, we went to the JR main information counter to do the paper work for our car, and were then sent to the 4/F of the Shinkansen Building of the station to get our car. We booked the car through ToCoo for 2 reasons. Their rate can be cheaper than through the rental companies themselves, and they have good English site. Not instant, but in general, I get email confirmation from them within a few hours, and never more than 24 hours. For our 60-hr one-way Hakata-Kagoshima S-Class rental, the cheapest was from JR Eki Kyushu. [Most rental companies only have Japanese language site, though Mazda has English, but their rate is higher.] We paid 26,500yen total, of which 12,000 was the drop-off fee.

The car we got was a 5-door Toyota Vitz (Yaris in N. America) with I believe 1,300cc (though could be 1,000). It has a Clarion GPS built-in. ToCoo has JR Eki switch the turn-by-turn guidance to English, and provided us with a English printout. But the buttons and menus are still Japanese only. We hardly needed that printout since we read Kanji, though we did have to go through the menu to switch the navigation to allow use of toll-roads.

[hawaiiantraveler - ToCoo list which companies have English guidances on their GPS, and JR Eki Kyushu is one of them. Our second rental from Orix in Yakushima in a K-Class Daihatsu Move didn't, but we hardly need a GPS there, and didn't bother to play with the settings.]

Final thing about using GPS in Japan. The easiest and quickest way to enter a destination is by using the business' phone number. Therefore, it's extremely crucial to find out the phone numbers of the all the hotels, restaurants and attractions prior to the trip.

The staff at JR Eki were very polite and helpful, and we were on our way pretty soon, first to go back to the Crowne Plaza ANA to pick up our bags, and then onto the expressway towards Kurokawa. In my original plan, I had considered visiting Dazaifu on our way, but since it was raining and already close to mid-day, we decided to skip it, but rather paid a quick visit to the Mameda Town in Hita instead.

For Bonny and I who live and drive in Hong Kong, driving in Japan was super easy. We can read kanji and English only, and doesn't speak Japanese. Signs are extremely clear, drivers there super courteous. I think even for those who usually drive on the right and doesn't read Japanese or Kanji, it'd still be easier than driving in, say, Italy. But the real shock was the cost of using the toll roads. The ~8km stretch of Fukuoka Expressway #2 cost 600yen; and from the Dazaifu IC to Hita IC on the Kyushu and Oita Expressways, it cost 1,650yen for 57km. Crazy expensive!
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Old Jan 10th, 2013, 02:51 AM
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Bookmarking. And Congratulations and Best Wishes (I can never remember the correct Emily Post instruction)
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Old Jan 10th, 2013, 05:09 AM
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I!m following and congrats on this blessed event in your lives.
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Old Jan 10th, 2013, 06:02 AM
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amazing costs for the toll roads.... is the time savings worth the price or would normal roads be ok too?
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Old Jan 10th, 2013, 07:57 AM
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Bob, that's why everyone travels by train in Japan and the train systems are so efficient. You can set your watch by their train systems time schedules it is often said. The areas that the trains don't cover well are usually the places that renting a car to tour around is a good option although there are always local buses that service those areas.

Tolls on major expressways and tollways are excessively prohibitive both to encourage commuting and tax you to death,lol. Travel in the countrysides for the most parts are toll free, note the most parts. I avoid driving in areas of expressways and larger metropolitan areas as often as I can.

Aloha!
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Old Jan 12th, 2013, 11:53 PM
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Dec 28, 2012 pm

We got off the Oita Expressway at Hita, and drove to the preserved Mameda-Machi section, which is sometimes called "Little Kyoto". Nice to walk around, with some traditional stores. Bonny bought a pair of local-made geta (wooden clogs) for 2,200¥. Some cost over 10,000¥, and we shared a small dumpling for 100¥ as our "lunch".

From Hita, we took Highway 212, 387, then 442 to Kurokawa Onsen. Two-way non-divided highways along mountain valleys, but well maintained and easy to drive on. The section along lake formed by the Matsubara Dam before Tsuetate Onsen is particularly beautiful.

Finally, we arrived in Kurokawa Onsen at around 4pm. We were able to book a room at the Ryokan Sanga (山河旅館) for that night. The room we had was "Ho No Ki" that's 8+8 tatamis plus our own outdoor private bath. With the two meals, it came to 50,000¥ for two persons. Honestly, I didn't do too much research - I just found that Sanga has English website, and is rated #1 on TripAdvisor among those in Kurokawa, and #2 in all surrounding areas. With our date nearing the New Year holiday, I was glad to be able to find any room in Kurokawa at all, at around early October.

The short-cut bridge that cross the river west of Kurokawa was being rebuilt, so we had to drive through the main village to get back to Sanga. Immediately, we realized how Sanga is different than most of those we passed by. Because it's an 15 minutes walk west of the village, it is much more exclusive and quiet. In fact, during our stay, we found very few "outsiders" there to use the baths, only hotel guests.

The experience was amazing. Heading down the driveway, a staff came to lead our way to the main building, took our bags and then parked our car. After the quick check-in (no passport scans required), a middle-age lady with fairly good English took us to our room in the East Building, explained to us how and when to change to the sandals or getas. A electric-blanket provided warmth at the table in the main part of the room where Bonny and I sat while the lady went to make tea for us. Then she knelt by our table to explain to us the various public and private baths in Sanga, the map, and so on.

Besides the yukatas (in two sizes for the two of us), there were also thicker "haoris" to wear over the yukatas when going outside, PLUS scarves since it was quite cold. We would wear them anywhere inside the ryokan. And in Kurokawa, one can even wear these to the village and visit the other onsens. No need to change back into regular clothings.

Dinner can start at 6p, 6:30p or 7, and is served in the main building, not in our own room. We chose 7, so we could have a little time to figure out the place. We used that time to relax in our room and then to soak our feet in their dedicated footbath.

At 7, we went to have our Kaiseki dinner, which was a 11-course full Japanese dinner, that took about 2.5 hours to finish. They really emphasized local ingredients and speciality dishes. That include the horse-meat sashimi popular in Kumamoto, grilled local fish, steak from Aso and so on. It was really quite an experience.

And let me say something about the cost of the room. 50,000¥ (US$570 or HK$4,400) may sound a lot for a night's accommodation, but it was not expensive at all. The dinner alone will cost close to US$200 per person anywhere in the world, and there would be another amazing breakfast. And that a standard room without private bath would cost even less! In fact, I would almost call it a steal! [The rate is all inclusive - it includes all taxes and fees, use of all baths in our ryokan, plus the wooden passes to use at 3 other Kurokawa onsens. Only things not included are alcoholic drinks.]

Anyways, after dinner, we went back to our room. Our beddings were laid out, and we would use our own private outdoor bath. The temperature of that spring was quite hot as the source was listed as over 70C, so it would not be possible to soak our whole bodies in the water for too long. But the water here (and in all onsens we've tried in the area) are all very soft with no or barely noticeable smell of sulphur. Very very clean and comfortable.

I would highly recommend any visit to Kyushu to include at least a night in a ryokan in Kurokawa, and I can whole-heartedly recommend Sanga, unless you want to be right inside the village.
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Old Jan 13th, 2013, 01:02 AM
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Dec 29, 2012 am

We got up early, as we wanted to try one of the reserved private baths at Sanga before breakfast. We had wanted to try the bath made of bamboo, but someone took our key, so we "settled" for a lined-stone bath. Didn't matter anyways, as this bath was super comfortable, with a slighlty lower temperature that's fine for soaking for longer. From the refraction of the bottom of the bath, it's apparent that the water has pretty high density of minerals.

At 8, we went for our full Japanese breakfast. With many many small dishes, along with soup and rice and all, it still took an hour to finish. Check-out time was an early 10a, so we only had time to soak our legs and feet back in our private bath before packing. Being greedy, we also wanted to use our passes to try out as many other onsens in Kurokawa as possible - but that meant we didn't get to try the several other indoor AND outdoor baths at Sanga. In fact, the outdoor ladies' bath at Sanga is the largest of all in Kurokawa. Well, there's always next time...

We parked our car in the free visitors' lot in the middle of the village and walked down to the "onsen row" along the river. Following the recommendations from our Taiwanese guidebooks AND the reception at Sanga, we decided to visit these three onsens witih our passes - Shinmeikan, Okyakuya, and Ikoi. First up was Shinmeikan (新明館), which is set out along the caves across the river from the main village with a total of 15 rooms. It has its own bridge and it's known for its "cave baths". However, we found it a bit gimmicky; but also, there are no bathing areas, and the changing areas are not very clean nor comfortable. Just not as relaxing as it sounds. The "fun" part is that the male/mixed bath (no women dare to use it) is outdoors and passerbys in the village can see the bathers (and vice versa).

It was already lunch time, and though neither the village or the baths seem crowded on this peak-season day, the restaurants were. We decided to go to another onsen and avoided the crowd. Next up was the Okyakuya (御客屋), the oldest ryokan in Kurokawa, founded in 1722. With just 10 guest rooms, it's a small inn, but very clean, very beautiful, very quiet. Even though we just walked in with our passes, we were treated like VIPs, and were led individually to our changing areas and so on. In fact, for the whole 45 minutes I was there, there was just one other male guest beside me in the very comfortable and beautiful outdoor bath. If one would stay inside the Kurokawa Village, I would highly recommend Okyakuya!

For lunch, we had curry at Warokuya. Not bad, and the portions are so large that one set lunch was enough for the two of us. 2,500¥ including drinks.

We then came to a realization that soaking in pretty hot onsens is tiring, as the circulatory system has to work hard to deal with the heat. So, it was not really just relaxing, and that the claim of weight loss by soaking in onsen can be true. Anyways, we decided that going to a third onsen right after lunch would not be a good idea. Instead, we would take it easy and just head out to our second onsen ryokan - Ayanosho (彩の庄) - in nearby Ota Onsen.

It was a short 10-minute drive from Kurokawa on an one-lane road over a hill. But the scenery and view of the two places cannot be more different. Kurokawa Onsen is in a valley with a winding river, while Ota Onsen is in a little quiet plain that's wide-open, with small farmlands. It's very quiet and the ryokan was very easy to find.
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Old Jan 13th, 2013, 05:41 AM
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Following along. Looking for the next Ryokan.
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Old Jan 13th, 2013, 07:17 AM
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now i am beginning to think that i should yield to one of these experiences...
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Old Jan 13th, 2013, 07:43 AM
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It all sounds quite wonderful so far!
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Old Jan 14th, 2013, 05:57 AM
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rhkkmk, yes you should, one night would be good for you.....


ray, loving this report. The wooden rotenburo is the best one imho at Sanga Ryokan. You are right above the river with a fabulous view from the bath. We also had a rotenburo attached to our room. As I understand there are only two at Sanga like that so we must have had the one you didn't. Our dinners were served in our room but breakfasts were in the dining room....we stayed two nights. Waiting for more!!!

Aloha!
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Old Jan 14th, 2013, 06:11 AM
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Dec 29, 2012 pm

Like our stay at Sanga the previous night, I didn't actually "choose" Ayanosho. Rather, I just took whatever onsen ryokan was available nearby and easily bookable. I found Ayanosho on the big booking site JAPANiCAN for 40,000¥, which is a good 10,000¥ less than Sanga. Yet, it still offer a private bath in our "room", which turned out to be more like a tiny individual villa.

What's most unusual about the 14-room Ayanosho is that it has quite a bit of English/European elements, which is most apparent on their website. When we arrived, we realized why. In the middle of the complex is an old farm house, which was built exactly like a English home, sunroom and English-garden included. Ayanosho kept the western furniture there, and used it a gathering/coffee area for its guests, which is a nice little twist. In the main lobby and our room are more western furniture and stuff, but otherwise it's still a Japanese ryokan in practice.

Check-in was again very quick and the service was very attentive and friendly, if a little bit less formal than Sanga. Our room is a little bit smaller than the one in Sanga, but still very spacious, and the TV is actually larger. Like Sanga, our room is named after a tree, this time Nire (にれ) or elm. Again, a electric blanket is provided at the table to provide warmth, though we had to make our own tea this time. Our private outdoor bath is a bit more "artificial" than the very natural one at Sanga, and it's possible to adjust the temperature as there's also a cold water source. Again, two sizes of yukata were provided along with the haoris, though no extra scarves. The man's and woman's getas (wooden clogs) were, on the other hand, nicer than the generic Kurokawa ones at Sanga.

After settling in, we first relaxed in the sunroom in the English farm house and drank fresh coffees. Then we decided to use the large shared baths before dinner, and save our own private one for later.

The public baths are the same on the men's and women's side. Large and clean bathing areas, a very nice indoor bath and sauna, and then two levels of outdoor baths. Water was very very nice and the two levels of the outdoor pool provide some temperature gradient so we could find one that's comfortable. Neither the men's or women's side was crowded, and both of us enjoyed the onsen a lot.

Our Kaiseki dinner was served at 6pm (no choice) in our room private room in the dining area. This time, there were "only" 9 courses (vs 11 at Sanga), but just as amazing. Again, they emphasised local ingredients, so some of the dishes were similar, but never identical. In fact, they were a bit more "free" in creating the meals with a bit of western touch at times, including the dinnerware, while Sanga was 100% Japanese. And, somehow, they "guessed" that we were on our honeymoon, and gave a complimentary half-bottle of sparkling wine.

Having soaked in 5 different onsens during the day, both of us were actually very tired. As a result, we had to take a nap before we could go enjoy our private bath. The bedding, which was laid out while we were having dinner, was again very comfortable. There was no issue with sleeping on the tatami for two nights in a row.

It'd be hard not to compare the two ryokans, which are very different. As a foreign tourist staying in the area for one night, of course the clear choice would be something like Sanga for its 100% Japanese experience. But in our case, a second night at the vastly different Ayanosho was surprisingly fresh. No regrets at all for having to move away from Kurokawa. And this also lead to another realisation - while it would be nice not to switch accommodations, staying at the same place for two nights in a row would mean eating the same kaiseki meal twice. From what we observed, most of the guests at either place (and most of them Japanese) were staying only for one night.
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Old Jan 14th, 2013, 06:16 AM
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hawaiiantraveler - We didn't have the option of eating in our room. But I figured that neither Bonny & I would be very comfortable sitting for 2.5 hours at the low table anyways.

Also, did you have basically the same meal two nights in a row then? Did they change anything in the menu for you?
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Old Jan 14th, 2013, 08:05 AM
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Continue to read along with great interest...
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