hawaiiantraveler

Day 4

Long onsen soak in the morning and then the buffet breakfast which is the best we have ever had in a business hotel of Japan. Of course they do charge you an extra 1000 yen p/p for breakfast but so worth it imho. While prepaying on Kayak I had noticed that they were also offering the breakfast at a special rate but did not take advantage thinking I wanted to see it first before I pay. There are American ham, eggs, sausages and cereal with waffles and omelets. The Japanese choices are endless with all the condiments and soups and salads, fish and seafood you would expect at any Japanese breakfast. Chinese dim sum and noodles are also present at this buffet.

So it was out the door to use and learn about the main transportation in Nagasaki, the tram system. The city of Nagasaki is served by four tram lines. These tram lines provide easy access to most of the city's main attractions and run approximately every 5-8 minutes from 6:00 to 23:00
Enter the tram through the rear door and exit through the front door as you do in any Japan city bus. Pay the driver when exiting. One ride costs 120 yen regardless of how far you travel so no need for a ticket. A 1-day pass for unlimited use of the trams for one calendar day are available for 500 yen that you can by onboard from the driver. The tram network is designed in a way in which it is possible to reach almost any tram stop from any other tram stop without the need of a transfer.

We noticed that at all tram stops we stopped at or used had announcements in Japanese and English over a loud speaker and the signs atop the trams were also in Japanese and English so you know which tram to take and where they were headed.
Only at the Tsukimachi tram stop, it is sometimes necessary to transfer between lines 1 and 5. We did this when going from Glover Gardens to the Peace Park. Therefore, transferring passengers can ask for a transfer ticket when exiting a tram at Tsukimachi in order to avoid paying twice. The ticket is called a noritsugi in Japanese. Just tell the driver “noritsugi” as you leave the bus and he or she will hand you a transfer ticket. Hand the transfer ticket to the driver of the second tram when exiting.

The Tsukimachi stop is a 5 minute walk from our Dormy Inn so we go there and take a short tram ride on the green line and get off at the Ouratenshudo-shita tram stop for our short trek up to Glover Garden.

Glover Garden is an open air museum which exhibits mansions of former Western residents of late 1800’s and early 1900’s Nagasaki. It is located on a hill above Nagasaki Harbor where Western merchants settled down after the end of Japan's era of seclusion in the second half of the 19th century.
The exhibited buildings include the mansions of British merchants Frederick Ringer and William Alt and the former residence of Thomas Glover, a Scottish merchant. A beautiful panorama of the city can be enjoyed from the gardens. Some pictures are included in our photos linked to above.
Along the walk up to the Garden you will pass by many little shops typical of the shopping doris leading up or to a tourist attraction in Japan. Also along the way is the Oura Catholic Church. We did not take pictures in the church as they were having a Sunday Mass when we passed by and I didn’t want to be that tourist with no respect for others. Oura Catholic Church (Oura Tenshudo) was constructed in the last years of the Edo period in 1864 for the growing community of foreign merchants, who took up residence in Nagasaki after the end of Japan's era of seclusion.

Oura Catholic Church is considered the oldest standing Christian church in Japan, and is the only Western building to be designated as a national treasure. Lots of stained glass used in the church and surrounding buildings I am guessing from the Portuguese influence of the times.

hawaiiantraveler

The Glover Garden opens everyday from 8:30 to 18:00 with longer hours during the summer and peak seasons. Charge is 600 yen p/p for admission. This museum is worth the price of admission and good for at least a two hour stay. All signs in the various houses and buildings of this particular museum are in Japanese and English which is a rarity in our Japan museum travels throughout the country. Lots of nice scenery and vista views with some very good photo ops. We really liked this venue for its offerings and views and recommend it highly to future Fodor’s travelers.

After a couple of hours it was back down the hill to the tram stop and with a quick transfer at the Tsukumachi stop it was off to the Nagasaki Peace Park a short walk from the Matsuyamamachi tram stop on the blue line. The Nagasaki Peace Park commemorates the atomic bombing of Nagasaki of August 9, 1945, which destroyed wide parts of the city and killed ten thousands of its inhabitants.

In the park stand the Peace Statue as well as various other memorials. A monument around a black pillar marks the atomic explosion's epicenter in the nearby Hypocenter Park and stores the name list of bomb victims.
Above the park stands the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum across the park and up the hill (steps). In the Museum they ask that no pictures be taken but I constantly saw tourists (99% Japanese Nationals) snapping away with their phone cameras.

The history explained is all from the local Japanese perspective as it should be and all signs in this museum are in Japanese and English which I love. It is a very sobering experience into the Atomic weaponry age and its effects. All types of history from pictures to bomb and crystallized artifacts of that day that bring it all into focus. A must see if visiting Nagasaki imho and worth the 200 yen price of admission. The hours on the door listed 8:30 – 16:30 daily and closed 12-29 through 12/31. Pictures with comments on both the above venues are included in the photo link above.

We were pretty tired out of walking as there were lots of stairs and walkways done today so I voted the heck with the tram and took the first taxi we saw as we exited the museum. I neglected to mention that not only is the first drop cheaper in a Nagasaki taxi than the Tokyo ones at 500 yen but it only jumps 50 yen every 500 meters as opposed to the 100 yen of Tokyo. The fare from the Peace Museum all the way across town to the Dormy Inn was 850 yen and a ten minute or so drive. Just in time for a nice long soak in the onsen then get ready for a twilight view from Mt. Inasa…..Inasayama.

Mara

Great, ht, keep it coming! I will save your report when it's finished as I am hoping to replicate parts of your trip in the spring!

hawaiiantraveler

Thank you

Inasayama

If it is a clear day like it was the day we went I wholeheartedly recommend a trip up the ropeway to Insayama. Mt. Inasa (Inasayama) is a 333 meter high mountain in close distance to Nagasaki’s city center.

The summit can be reached by ropeway, bus or car and offers great views over the city. In fact, the night views from Mount Inasa are ranked among Japan's three best night views besides the views from Mt Hakodate and Mt Rokko above Kobe. We have now done all three views and consider Insayama the best followed by Hakodate and really close behind Rokkoyama.

Several television and radio antennas and an observation deck with restaurant (which was closed when we went) are located at the summit. Lots of vending machines located on the first floor of the 5 story observation center with an open air deck on the top level which can be quite chilly in the evening so be sure to be prepared depending on the season.

We opted to take the tram from our hotel to the Takaramachi stop and walk to the rope way entrance which the guide books say is a short ten minute walk from the station. Well, try a nice twenty five minute walk before we finally arrived at the ropeway entrance. We took the shortest route and anyone who can walk that in ten minutes is my hero. It was a very nice walk though as we saw a part of town we never would have taking the bus, crossing over a river on the way.

The ropeway ride takes five minutes, is lackluster and costs 700 yen (one way) or 1200 yen (round trip). You can catch the bus down or I guess you could walk but that would take a while as the road winds its way around to the top. A few locals were there with their cars in the parking lot (free parking). There is a bus from the main JR station that operates every half hour I think and is cheap and takes you all the way to the top. Operating hours for the gondolas are from 9:00 to 22:00 (closed for maintenance in early December). Gondolas depart every 15-20 minutes.

As I mentioned earlier we had a very clear day and evening with virtually no clouds in the sky except maybe on the horizons. We sat inside (warming up) and outside as the sun set and the dazzling lights of Nagasaki began to come on. It was a special sight to see and we are glad we had the good fortune to witness it.

Then it was on down back to Chinatown this time hailing a taxi as we were walking back from the Ropeway. 700 yen had us back in Chinatown in 10 minutes where we found a cocktail bar in the first floor level of the JAL Hotel that also served as the hotel restaurant. We had our first cocktails in Japan here and dinner. I had the steak special and Linda had the clams with linguini sauce and we both had several cocktails. Surprisingly the bill came out to “only” 6800 yen which is amazing in Japan especially for what we ate and what we drank. Beers, wines, sakes, souchu and the likes are reasonably priced in Japan but when you want to drink hard liquor such as Vodka, Scotch, Gin or Tequila expect to pay dearly for a drink. A Belvedere Martini will cost you 1600 yen and up in a bar on the Ginza or a classy bar in an International Hotel chain in Japan. Caveat is if you must drink a lot you can buy a bottle of whatever name alcohol you require at the local liquor outlet for about the same price as in the US and drink in your room but where’s the atmosphere in that? Lol

When we got back to the Dormy Inn the kitchen mama was serving free hot somen noodles with veggies and dumplings in them. The Dormy Inn does this every night from 21:00-23:00. You just walk into their dining room and order through the window and she calls your name to pick up in a few minutes. The warm soup really hit the spot and we slept like babies that night…..at least I did.

hawaiiantraveler

Day 5

We got an early start this day with long onsen soak and breakfast done by 8:30 so it was a five minute walk to our first destination Dejima.

The Japanese are restoring the island of Dejima which was a man-made island in the port of Nagasaki constructed in 1636 to segregate Portuguese residents from the Japanese population and control their missionary activities.

A few years later, the Portuguese were expelled from Japan, and a Dutch trading factory, formerly located in Hirado, was moved to Dejima. The Dutch workers, the only remaining Westerners allowed in the country, were restricted to Dejima during Japan’s 200 year isolation period.

Today, Dejima is not an island anymore, as the surrounding area has been reclaimed during the 20th century. However, a number of Dejima's historical structures remain, have been or are being reconstructed in the area, including various residences, warehouses, walls and gates. Work was started in 1996 to restore the island and is ongoing today as we witnessed in our visit.

The size of the island surprised me at first as the whole area does not seem big enough to hold a settlement of foreign traders as it reminded me more of a smaller scale model. Then as we started self touring the buildings and seeing and reading (English and Japanese signs) exactly how life was on this little island you begin to understand what the Dutch traders went through in order to be the sole traders with the Japanese. There are all types of displays and even a section of the island where they have dressed characters of that day interacting with the guests and students with demonstrations of the weighing systems and fielding and answering questions in Japanese only.

Dejima is open from 8:00 to 16:00 daily, no closures with a 500 yen admission fee. You can get to Dejima using the blue tram line and getting off at the Dejima stop. The entrance is adjacent to the stop. We were at Dejima for a little over two hours. I could have stayed at least another hour reading all the displays and soaking it all in but I noticed that Linda lost interest about an hour in as museums are not her thing but she did let me read and soak it all in patiently.

hawaiiantraveler

When we were done with the touring and being our last full day in Nagasaki Linda gets to shop for the rest of the day. So it was off on the blue line tram to the JR Nagasaki station stop (Nagasaki eki-mae) where we cross the street and start to walk back towards Chinatown on the main dori.
We were at well into our walk going in and out of stores, looking here and there but always heading in the direction of our hotel, or so we thought. Then somehow we ended up going towards the dock area when Linda lets out a gasp……..

”I found it”.

“Found what” I thought.

“The mall” she answered.

Nagasaki has a beautiful indoor 6 story shopping mall located right on the waterfront complete with cruise ship berth and great views from the plethora of restaurants on the top level dining area and we found it.

Well now you know where and how spent the next 4 1/2 hours eating a late lunch looking over Nagasaki Harbor on a picture perfect fall afternoon.
We walked back to our hotel and took a very long soak in the onsen before dinner which was at the same JAL hotel restaurant. This time I had the “meat special” in the waiters limited English which turned out to be fantastic. The dish was a set meal that included a small soup and green salad, parma ham and melon appetizer, a small beef filet (6 oz), a small braise beef short rib (4oz) and the dessert (chocolate cake and ice cream) for 2400 yen. Linda had a green salad and their soft shell crab entrée for 2400 yen and shared my dessert. No noodles when we got back to the hotel but early to bed as we were tired and we had to move on to Kumamoto the next morning on the train.

ladytravels

Following along from the West Coast and loving all of your details HT! Having been to Japan 3 times now I appreciate the little details you are letting out that will help first time travelers to Japan and ones like me too. I am thinking about Kyushu as a future destination and this report is in good timing.

rhkkmk

more great reporting

Kathie

I'm finally catching up with your report (too busy writing my own). I love Linda's "I found it!" - I should have known it was a shopping op! lol

hawaiiantraveler

Days 6 & 7

Kumamoto
We awoke rather early this morning I guess because of the excitement of travel,lol. Had a little something from the Family Mart Store on the first floor for breakfast then took a last morning walk around the neighborhood to see what we hadn’t already.

We returned to the hotel and took a long last Onsen bath and soak (45 minutes) then an easy check out where the staff took our keys and bowed and thanked us for staying. I forgot to mention that the check in lobby is located on the third floor of the building along with their restaurant, Laundromat and Onsen facilities. There is a Family Mart store on the first floor and a Spa/Massage venue on the second floor. Floors 3-12 are the Dormy Inn Hotel’s floors.
So after a speedy check out it was downstairs to take a taxi to the JR Nagasaki station. We arrived at the station ten minutes later and made a reservation on the next train to Kumamoto.

My record shows we left at 10:53 am. We had some time to brows the food venues and get a mid day snack to eat on the train less we perish, lol.

The train was an Ltd Express Kamome 18 and left exactly on time and arrived at our lone transfer point at Shin-Tosu 92 minutes later. We sat on the right side of the first class cabin in order to see the ocean and shore views while climbing out of Nagasaki. As a rule, unless there is a view like this one, we always travel on the left side of a northern bound train in the morning and on the right side of a southern bound train in the morning, so we miss the sun searing shining into your window and cooking you alive. There are blinders you can pull down but I prefer the windows open so I can see what is passing by.

We had an 8-minute layover in Shin-Tosu then our Shinkansen Sakura 303 arrived and had us in Kumamoto 27 minutes later and would you believe hungry for a little lunch. In the JR Kumamoto Station just outside of the shinkansen gates are a bevy of restaurants and shops selling food and souvenirs so it was off to see if we could find lunch. As you exit the gates we find the first restaurant on the right has the pizza and pasta we were hungry for so we sat down and waited for a waitress. There is no English menu but plastic food displays outside in the window so we show them what we want and Linda specifically orders the seto pasta meal. “Oh, the set lunch” the young waitress says in English. Hmmmmmm, we smile and say “Hai” as we walk back to our seats, me muttering to myself. Lunch was very good.

hawaiiantraveler

We then took a taxi from the stand out front to our next hotel, the Comfort Hotel Kumamoto Shinshigai. The first drop on the taximeter is 500 yen in Kumamoto. Total cost was 650 yen to the hotel. The Comfort Hotels and Inns in Japan are the same company as the ones in Wthe US that are owned and operated by Choice Hotels…. you know…. Econo Lodge, Sleep Inns, Cambria, Rodeway Inns, etc.

The Comfort Inns and Hotels throughout Japan are business hotels with the regular free perks; free breakfast and Internet, coffee and refreshments are on hand free from check in to 10:00 pm. Free use of yukatas to sleep in, free tooth brush, tooth paste, razor and cream in a small squeeze ketchup style wrap, free hair brush and this month only a free welcome gift (key chains).

There is a laundry room on premises and the rooms are spotless and clean, modern yet larger than the ones in a say Toyoko Inn (which was right across the street btw) or a Washington Hotel. The cost was $139.00 per night for a twin room which I booked online on the Choice hotel site. I think I mentioned this before but we always book a twin rather than a double while staying in a business hotel in Japan. The twin room has two beds and is usually bigger than the double rooms and the double beds only have one small double bed, no kings or queens. I used my Choice privileges number when booking which evidently got us a larger corner room at check in but no points, as I knew they do not participate in the points program in Japan having stayed in a Choice Hotel before. I also took advantage of their AAA rate but did not have to show the card at check-in. We were early arriving there about 1:30 so we checked in and left our bags with the front desk and went our to explore Kumamoto.

As luck would have it the Shinshigai is a large shopping dori area of Kumamoto about 1-½ kilometers long with streets emanating off every intersection so you can imagine how big this shopping/eating area is. We give it a couple of hours walking and sticking our noses into shops and restaurants. Linda has a fashion thing going on as she notices what the local Japanese women are wearing this season and looks for the good deals while I just look, walk and nod yes every once in a while, works for me. Past by a Cabbages and Condoms Thai restaurant that reminded us of our times in Bangkok so decide to have dinner there tonight. Went back to hotel to settle in and do a load of laundry before dinner…..how exciting….. Dinner at Cabbages and Condoms was good and spicy liked we asked for and at 3400 yen not that bad.

hawaiiantraveler

The next morning we were up late(for us)about 8:00. Then it was downstairs to the buffet breakfast. Breakfasts in a Japanese business hotel will consist of coffee, teas, milk and juice dispensers. Different types of onigiri (rice balls), cereals, usually a green salad with oriental dressing,sausages, sometimes eggs(this place had soft scrambled, miso soup, fruits and Danish pastries, rolls and bread, butter and jelly, the basics. We then walked over to our main sight of the day Kumamoto Castle (Kumamoto-jo) maybe a ten minute walk from the hotel.

Kumamoto Castle is one of the most impressive castles we have seen in all of our Japan travels. With large castle grounds and a variety of buildings, Kumamoto Castle is one of the most complete castle experiences we have had in Japan. Only a few of the original structures have survived the centuries since the castle's construction in 1607 intact. The castle keep and most other buildings are modern reconstructions, but the reconstructions are of a high quality and new buildings are continually being added to as was the case during our visit.

The construction of Kumamoto Castle in the early 1600s took seven years, and was designed by the feudal lord (daimyo) who ruled the area, Kato Kiyomasa. Kato was an experienced samurai warrior, and he used his knowledge to build fortifications that were highly regarded for their strategic effectiveness. The steep walls of this fortress are a sight to see and must have seemed impenetrable to the invading forces of the time. Less than 50 years after its construction, the castle and surrounding area were taken from the Kato clan and given to the Hosokawa clan which ruled the area from Kumamoto Castle for the next two centuries. Kato’s son did something to disgrace the shogun and was made to forfeit his fortune and later his life, yikes!

hawaiiantraveler

The castle keep has two towers, a main tower with six stories and a small tower with four stories. Only the bottom two stories of the small tower are accessible, but you can go to the very top of the main tower by stairway only, for fantastic views of the castle grounds and the Kumamoto city.
Besides the castle keep and palace building, Kumamoto Castle features as I mentioned earlier impressive stone walls and also moats, as well as several turrets and storehouses, many of which can be entered. The Uto Turret is one of the few structures that survived the siege of 1877, and dates back to the period of the castle's construction. There is a large tree adjacent to this turret that is in one of our pictures in the above link. Anyway this tree is over 800 years old and as I took a picture of this mammoth I couldn’t help but think, “if only this tree could talk what a tale it would have”.
There is also a unique underground passage that leads to the palace building and a former residence of the Hosokawa clan about 500 meters northwest of the main castle grounds which is in the brochure (which I copied some of this verbiage from) but we did not go as I was getting tired of walking and climbing up and down all those stairs.
Hours were 8:30 to 17:00 when we were there but closes at 18:00 from April-October. Admission was 500 yen for an adult ticket and we were there a little over four hours. You can spend more time there exploring their gardens and the above-mentioned Hosokawa residence but four hours was enough for us.

I will add more to this report over this week and try to finish soon. Sorry for the delays.

Mara

Yay! Thanks for adding some on and I am awaiting more - no problem with delays as long as you finish by spring when I hope to go to Kyushu. ;-)

hawaiiantraveler

We walked around again before going back to our hotel to rest and recoup before setting out for the evening. There are washers and dryers on the 6th floor of this hotel so we did a load of wash while relaxing and watching the Fukuoka Grand sumo tournament on the TV. We hoped to see a real sumo match live while in Fukuoka a few days later. The charge on the washers is 100 yen for the cycle and the dryers are 100 yen for 30 minutes. Soap vending machines are there in the room too with soap at 50 yen/box.

Recharged we set out for a cocktail and dinner, in that order, and just a few steps around the corner of the hotel we stumbled upon the Bar Vespa Kumamoto. This bar is one of a chain of 4 in Japan. The other locations are on the Ginza in Tokyo, in the Gion of Kyoto and in Hakata in the city of Fukuoka. As luck would have it one of the owners of the bars, Tatsuki Kobiyama happened to be bartending and training a new worker there that night. These bars are one of the expensive bars I talked about earlier in Japan where a Belvedere martini was going for 2000 yen ($26.00 US) and the women’s rate (cheaper thank god) at 1500 yen.

Kobiyamasan had an interesting story, which he started to tell us in perfect English. He had learned his craft from a Philippine bartender in Hawaii at the “Top of Waikiki” restaurant. He worked there for 13 years learning and saving all his money to finally come back to Japan and open his own business. Well of course when we heard he had lived in Hawaii we told him where we were from and the conversations turned very friendly as he recalled his life in the islands and his past loves there.

He is also a collector of fine art and while we were there he received a FEDEX box with just one sake cup exquisitely wrapped inside. The picture and explanation of the cup are in the pictures shown at the beginning of this report. The cup is made with special clay and in the old traditional ways somewhere in Japan but I forget where he said, where the cup ahs a quality that actually enhances the flavor of the sake.

Really, I asked?

He then poured his best dai ginjo into a regular sake cup then also filled the new cup and offered both to me. The sake really did taste better in the cup he just received. He then told me the cup had cost him $750.00 US. I put the empty cup down very gently and exclaiming its virtues. He then refilled it gladly to my delight. It really had worked.

After a couple of hours there with lively conversation, a lot of laughs and a few more martinis I asked Kobiyamasan for his recommendation for a good Italian meal in Kumamoto. Tutti is the English name of the place but I have little else for you as information. He called a taxi for us and when we arrived we were greeted at the door and led into a very modern and busy restaurant.

The chef is Kobiyamasan’s friend and came out to meet and greet us in Japanese, as he spoke no English. In fact there was only one young girl working that night who spoke any English and very little of it but enough to explain the all-Japanese menu. They served prix fix meals here so we ended up with the chef’s reco and it was all very good. I had the Ossco Buco and Linda the giant shrimp and fish. There were also pasta appetizer dishes and desserts included with the meal. We had one glass of wine each with our meals…….maybe I had two. The price was very expensive at 9100 yen.

Days 8 & 9

Kurokawa Onsen

Check out and a short taxi ride to the Nissan car rental located across the street from the JR Kumamoto station. We had reserved the car online beforehand on the Toocoo car rental site.

http://www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_inbound/main

Nissan car rentals in Japan are the only company that has English GPS systems in their rental cars throughout Japan except in Okinawa where I think its Orix.

Renting a car in Japan is relatively painless. You need your valid passport and international drivers license. Have the phone numbers of your destinations, as this is the easiest way to set your destination on these GPS systems. The rental agency will give you a pictured step-by-step instruction paper of how to operate your GPS. Make them show you how to work the GPS before you leave and have them set in your first destination.

Our destination is the small Onsen town of Kurokawa about a two-hour drive northwest of Kumamoto through the beautiful Aso farmland areas, which are located on the upslope of Mt. Aso the largest and tallest mountain on Kyushu.

Kurokawa Onsen is one of Japan's most attractive hot spring towns, located in the middle of the southern island of Kyushu about 20 kilometers north of Mt Aso. Well-coordinated efforts by the town to maintain a pleasant, traditional atmosphere have kept Kurokawa free of the massive concrete hotels, neon advertisements and loud colors that are encountered in many of Japan's other resort towns.

Instead, natural colors and materials, wooden buildings, earthen walls, stone stairs and a river flowing through dominate Kurokawa’s townscape. The town center, located in a forested valley, is compact and easily explored on foot, except for a few ryokan, which are located less centrally, and is where we were staying at the Sanga Ryokan.

Ryokan, public baths, attractive shops and cafes, a small shrine and bridges that lead over the river directly to Ryokan entrances, lines the town’s lanes. A walk through town is particularly enjoyable for the Japanese locals and some gaigin tourists in yukata and geta sandals provided by your Ryokan.

As I mentioned it is a very nice drive through the Aso farmlands and on towards Kurokawa. Mt Aso was a wonderful side journey, as we did not want to be at the Ryokan too early as check in was not until 3:00 pm.

Mount Aso is an active volcano. Its ancient caldera ranks among the world's largest, with a diameter of up to 25 kilometers and a circumference of over 100 kilometers. In the center of the caldera stand the mountain's active volcanic peaks, including Mount Nakadake.

Not far from the Nakadake crater, Kusasenri-ga-hama is a grass covered plain with grazing cows and a few horses. Horse riding is possible from early March to mid December. On the opposite side of the road stands the Aso Volcano Museum with explanations about the volcano.

Komezuka is a small, beautifully shaped volcanic cone on the northern slopes of Nakadake. There are pleasant walking trails in the vicinity (but not to the top) of Komezuka, however, easy access by public transportation is not provided. After about three hours of driving the area we set our gps to our Ryokan in Kurokawa the Sanga Ryokan we reserved through our friends at Japanese Guest Houses.

http://japaneseguesthouses.com/db/kurokawa/sanga.htm

Mara

ht, thanks for continuing....
btw, how would you compare Yufuin and Kurokawa - that is, if you've stopped in Yufuin - that's where I plan to stay - of course, I won't have a car and there are supposed to be some shops and little museums as well as the lake - sort of touristy I read, but then again I'm a tourist....
Also I hate to say this to you but I'm not that much into the idea of onsen.....

rsm

Here is the info for Tutti

http://r.tabelog.com/kumamoto/A4301/A430101/43000402/

hawaiiantraveler

Mara, We got close to Yufuin but did not go all the way there as time was running short and we were anxious to check in at Sanga Ryokan. Are you planning on coming from Beppu or Nagasaki?

I had inhibitions about ryokan stay and onsen but our first onsen stay a few years ago at Tsurunoyu Onsen cured us.......literally.

I often read people ask "Where can I find the <b>real</b> Japan"? One place I always suggest to find it is to stay in an ryokan in an onsen town out in the countryside.....the heart and soul of Japan.

Aloha!

Mara

ht, I'm not sure yet about my itinerary - my newest idea is to spend my first night in Kyushu in Usuki in which case I would be coming from there by train via Oita....

I have no problem with a ryokan - but I'm not a big bath person...I know that's heresy to some here. ;-)

hawaiiantraveler

We arrived at Sanga Ryokan's parking lot at 3:05 pm. There was a Japanese male attendant in the lot who directed us to a parking stall and welcomed us by name. He unloaded our 2 bags and carried them down the short lane to the front entrance of the Ryokan.

There were two female attendants at the front entrance to also greet you and help you with your shoes. None of them spoke any English but were fully aware of that first mistake that most foreign tourists make at a Ryokan. Forgetting to take off your shoes before entering the door (in this case the first level step).

I deftly pass the two “shoe guards” who are smiling and beckoning the Japanese welcome expression “irrashimase” while just waiting for me to step onto the second level with my shoes. I wear slip ons so I quickly,in one step, slip out of my shoes and into the first pair of waiting slippers I see. The guards are impressed as I hear one let out a sigh of relief.

I walk straight to the check in desk without looking back but can feel their eyes on me. Customarily the women in Japan would handle the check in and check out at all hotels, Ryokan or whatever while the husband sits behind them like the Shogun he is supposed to be and looks, grins and lords over everyone but Mrs. HT won’t give into me about that custom (I wonder why)

I mentioned earlier that I usually use Japanese Guest Houses to make Ryokan reservations while in Japan. I have also used Japanican dot com, The Ryokan Collection site and Agoda but have found that JGH will always get us, if not the best room in the house, one that is very close.

We were appointed one of the four rooms in this small 15 room ryokan with hot spring bath ensuite. Our bill for two nights including two bottles of French white wine and all taxes was 76200 yen or $994.00 US at today’s rate. There are pictures of the kaiseki dinners and the traditional breakfasts served us here over the two days in my picture link above.

The Sanga Ryokan itself is located about ¼ mile out of Kurokawa town right along a river in the forest groves, which makes for an isolated and serene environment. Our room’s view windows opened up right onto the river and the forest across the with the beautiful fall colors…it was a sight to behold.

Dinners are served kaiseki style or “traditional formal dinner” in your room on the floor on a large table. Your server will serve you course after course usually taking two hours or more to complete the traditional feast. If you want more information about the procedures and customs this site has it all typed out so I don’t have too.

http://japaneseguesthouses.com/about/ryokan/kaiseki.htm

Breakfast is also served traditional style in the dining rooms located near the lobby. There are staggered times for dinners and breakfasts and you will be asked what times you want when you check in. This Ryokan also has four private outdoor baths that can also be reserved for an hour at a time, which they will also ask about at check in. No charge for the private baths.

By traditional style for breakfasts I mean you sit on a low private table on the floor where they serve you the traditional fish, egg, condiments, soup and rice, quite a lot of food actually. Of course tea, coffee, juices and water are available. I even saw an old Japanese man drinking a breakfast beer.

If you stay two nights you can tour the town after breakfast or if you have a rent a car like us then the world is your oyster…....or till after 1:00pm or so when they’ve cleaned all the rooms and baths so you can have them all to yourself before the check ins start.

It was raining that day after breakfast and the forecast was for rain all day long, oh well. We entered the lobby and the English-speaking receptionist asked us where we were going to. When I told her to Takachiho she said that it was at least a three-hour drive one-way. I didn’t think so from all my planning but it kind of floored me because it meant we might be back later than I had planned. Well no matter, we were in for the duration.

In the interim our car appeared at the front door as the attendant had gotten it for us so we wouldn’t get wet walking to the car, how nice. The “shoe guards” got us our shoes out of the closet and tried to help us put them on, funny sight. The doorman handed us both umbrellas as we got into our car and drove off, wow.

Like I said it was raining but not too heavily and we made it to Takachiho in 1 hour and 45 minutes. I googled a Hotel Takachiho’s phone number and entered it into the GPS. As luck would have it the hotel’s phone number was maybe ½ mile from the actual Takachiho gorge we were heading towards and by the time we hit the village the local signage that is in English and Japanese prominently led
the way.

Takachiho is a small town in the Miyazaki Prefecture that is steeped in Japanese mythology. It is the supposed site of legend where Amaterasu, the Shinto Sun Goddess, disturbed by her brother's cruel pranks, hid herself in a cave, prompting the other gods and goddesses to try and lure her out.

It is also the disputed landing place of the god Ninigi no Mikoto, grandson of Amaterasu, who was sent down from heaven to establish the lineage of Japanese emperors, a distinction which it competes for with Mount Takachiho-no-mine in Kirishima National Park.
Takachiho is known as a "power spot", a place of profound religious importance and natural beauty, which radiates spiritual energy. Among the best spots for a spiritual experience are Amano Iwato Shrine and Takachiho Gorge on a calm day.

There is public parking at the gorge site for 300 yen per four hours. Although it was raining quite heavily at times there were still crowds of Japanese local tourists as this was the height of the fall colors seasons and this is one of the sights to see. Well it was a beautiful site even in the rain and crowds and we are glad we got to see the gorge. We spent about 90 minutes climbing up and down the trail until the rain and cold got too uncomfortable and hunger started to creep in. We got back into the car and set the gps for our Ryokan and started to drive back looking for a roadside restaurant of sorts, mainly some hot noodles in soup of some kind. Our problem is we can’t read Japanese or any Kanji characters. We know by our travels and driving around that when you see stores with flags, it usually means food but can also mean a myriad of things. Got to learn how to read,lol. It doesn’t help any that we are in the countryside and not a big city so we start driving down the country highway with nothing but farms and wilderness till we pass what looks like a little diner with flags. I park right in front and hop out and up the stairs and stare inside. Yup it’s a restaurant alright and everyone is eating hot noodles. I scan the place for anything in English to no avail but at this point who cares I get Linda and we walk in the door and are greeted in Japanese by the irrepressible “irrashimase” (sp). Leads us to our tables and drops off two menus.

I ask for an English menu and am told there is none. So in slaughtered Japanese I ask what do you serve. “Udon” she proudly answers. Kitsune Undon I order then look at Linda who is looking back very sternly if that is the right word. Linda does not care for udon noodles. I ask if they have somen or ramen noodles but no, only udon. We order something she thinks she would like, a tempura udon, then wait for our order.

The tempura udon is actually very good with shrimp and vegetable tempura in a great soup broth, which Linda eats except for the noodles, which I am given to finish. I do it with great restraint,lol.

We make it back to the Ryokan about 2:30 in time for a lot of soaking and relaxing before another stellar kaiseki dinner. The dinners both nights included two types of sashimi and basashi (raw horse meat), served with various pickled vegetables and fruits. A whole trout smoked on the ryori along with a salmon cooked in the oven in a wooden wrapping. Miyazaki wagyu beef steak one night sub with beef sukiyaki the next. I am missing some of the entrees and appetizers and all the desserts but you can see pictures on that thread I left in the beginning of this report.