Scenic Photos of Kyushu - Oita Prefecture

Beppu's Five Famous "Hell-like" Hot Springs, known as the Blood red hot springs, the Ocean, the Stone-goblin, the Hot pot and the Mountain hot springs . The water temperature is more than 99 degrees Celcius. For English map, click http://www.beppu-jigoku.com/images/English.pdf

Along the scenic drive of Yamanami Highway, you can see green pastures where horses and cows lay resting in the sun or busy eating grass.

Unless you are allergic to eggs (like me), you can enjoy a freshly "hot springs" boiled egg, which supposedly contains a lot of minerals.

People of all ages stroll along the road of local towns, Beppu and Yufuin, where you can find various shops, from pottery to home-made roll cakes. Those who prefer not to walk can take a rickshaw or a horse wagon ride.

Scenery of Kyushu

Kyushu is an island located in the southern west part of Japan. You can drive from Tokyo to Kyushu, but it will take many hours or you can fly from Haneda Aiport and arrive at the local airport, such as Kumamoto, Oita, or other cities in Kyushu.

This time, we took a four days trip down to Kyushu, by air then rented a car to enjoy the scenic drive of Yamanami Highway, to visit Japan's "hot springs" city, Beppu and Yufuin (Oita Province), then a walk along the famous Takachiho Gorge.

During the four days we managed to cover the best part of Oita, Kumamoto and Miyazaki. These places are popular spots for tourists from Korea, Taiwan and China, naturally since geographically they are near. There are only a few travelers from US and Europe, therefore at public places we see many signs translated into Chinese and Korean but not English.

For more information about the provinces:

http://www.pref.oita.jp/english/

http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/english/list.html

http://www.kanko-miyazaki.jp/Language/english/index.htm

Okinawa In Winter

Those who do not like the cold winter of Japan, can take a two hour flight from Tokyo to Okinawa or other islands located in far south of Japan. What to see and do in Okinawa?

1. Fishing or just take a boat ride

2. Diving or snorkeling or other marine sports

3. Play on the beach in a pleasant day

4. Enjoy Okinawa delicacies

5. Visiting rare castles or temples and watching Okinawa dances

or go to the Sea World and play with dolphins or take a walk in the wildlife forests and caves.

Okinawa delicacies are very much similar to Asian food, the popular ones are:

Sweet pork cooked in soya, goyah campur, pickled seaweed, papaya salad, sweet tofu, ladies finger salad, aloe vera salad, various fish dishes ... and many other tropical vegetables arranged raw in salad with peanut dressing.

Does Travel Manners Matter To You?

Source: http://sankei.jp.msn.com/world/europe/090710/erp0907100945003-n1.htm

The world largest online travel company, Expedia, conducted a research at hotels in various countries, interviewing hotel staff and managers about how they rate travelers from different countries. The research was conducted last year among 4500 people working at hotels, in 27 different countries. They were asked to rate travelers in terms of 9 elements among which are attitude, behavior/manners and generosity (in tipping).

Top 5 nationalities on overall score are Japanese, English, Canadians, Dutch and Swiss. The most surprising result was that the French was rated the second worst in terms of manners and attitude and the worst in terms of generosity. Spanish and Greek were also rated poorly on overall evaluation.

I found the results unbelievable, since i am actually quite fond of its art, culture and history. It is rather difficult to comprehend why, France being recognized by many as a first class country in terms of art and culture, but the French can be considered the worst in manners and attitude as travelers. Doesn't culture and history of a country influence people's attitude and behavior? Or perhaps too much pride in oneself bring a negative effect in one's attitude and behavior towards others? (... this sounds rather familiar, perhaps, in our life :)

And finally, perhaps for a fair view, the research should also have been conducted among travelers - how do other international travelers view the French attitude and behavior in general?

I hope this can be a good input for us travelers.

Fun In The Snow

I spent the first 15 years of my life growing up in a tropical country, where it was warm all year round. So to me the word winter means cold. I was 25 when i saw snow fall for the first time and at the best timing of the year, it was on Christmas eve. It was a breathtaking view and emotionally moving ... perhaps it was more about the Christmas than it was the snow. But to this day, gentle snow falls (not the one with blizzard) always give me a sense of peace ... i can almost hear the sound of every drop.

Thirteen years has passed, i have evolved from just watching snow falling to love being a part of the picture and actually having fun in it. Compared to Canada, the US or Swiss where they have more ski resorts with larger capacity and variety, Japan has moderate size resorts which is just good enough for beginner skiers (like me :)

What i like about skiing in Japan is that popular resorts usually have natural hot springs facility. What can be better than a dip in the hot spring after a long day playing in the snow :)

One point advise for ski trip in Japan: avoid public holidays and long weekends, since you will expect crowds.

For references on how to have fun in Japan snow this season:

http://www.skijapanguide.com/index.php

http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/prefecturedata.php?prefecture=Hokkaido

For ski resort with hot spring, suitable for nite-skiers, located near Tokyo:

http://www.g-jmt.com/norn/eng/

with recommended hotel (Japanese homepage only): http://www.matsunoi.com/

For telemark skiing, lessons, day trips, suitable for beginners:

Makino Kogen, Saga Prefecture (contact: sarc-kuga@telemarkers.com)

Minami, Gumma Prefecture (contact: info@pension-mokuba.com)

A little far but has got everything i like (well, almost everything):

http://www.grandeco.com/english/grandeco.html

Mt. Kumotori For Hiking and Climbing

Mt. Kumotori is located on the west end of Tokyo, at Oku-tama area, just beside Yamanashi Prefecture. The mountain (2017 meter height) is a nice mountain for hiking and climbing especially for beginners and even children. For those more experienced there is a "challenging course" that requires twice longer time than the basic course. Because it is only about two hours away from Tokyo it is a popular spot throughout the year.

This year it is especially popular among winter climbers, as the weather was good even with snow falls. Christmas party was held at a cottage on the top of the mountain, where climbers can stay overnight for a rest, a drink and make themselves a simple meal before they climb down.

Click Title for link to photos taken recently at Mt. Kumotori (December, 25th, 2009), or go to :

http://picasaweb.google.co.jp/dmtjandra/2009Dec2526ClimbingMtKumotori?authkey=Gv1sRgCLbcoNOY6faOhAE#

Visit Tokyo In 2012

The Sky Tree Tower, 610 metres, will be standing new among

the many high rise buildings in Tokyo ... waiting for you to take a good shot :)

Sky Tree's official website: http://www.tokyo-skytree.jp/english/

Narai-jyuku Japan's Antique Village in Nagano

...simple lunch at a local soba shop

the main dish was soba (sorry, not in the photo) ...

... tried some old time tools and stuff...

... these crafts looks familiar in Asia....

... experienced a time slip ....

... found some interesting old toys ...

Enjoy a 1 km walk along one of the oldest street in Japan (Kiso Road) and feel the atmosphere of old Japan during Edo era (1603-1868). During the era Tokyo and Kyoto was connected through the Nakasen-do-highway. Off this highway, was the Kiso road, one of the famous road for sightseeing and Narai-jyuku was a village located on this route. This old village has been maintained over the years for historical and academic value.

At Narai-jyuku you can stay overnight at a traditional ryokan (not many choices though) or spend half a day taking a stroll along the street. For those who wants to watch the traditional summer festivals, you should come around August 12-16 for Bon-odori festival. (For photos of festivals: http://www.naraijyuku.com/saiji/f-set.html)

Foreign visitors can take an express bus from Shinjuku to Narai-jyuku. Check out Japanese timetable below, departing 8:10 from Shinjuku station (West Side) and arriving at Narai-jyuku at 12:20. http://www.naraijyuku.com/bus/index.html

Alternatively, it is worth checking a timetable with JR station in Tokyo area for train connection to Narai-station.

Marathon and MB Race @ Otaki Village, Nagano

You probably have heard of Nagano, where the winter

Olympic XVIII took place in 1998. Nagano is indeed

a suitable place for many type of sports.

During this season more 1000 people visit Otaki, a small village in Nagano,

to join a 42 km, 100 km or 120 km (professional) mountain bike race.

Some also join a short marathon of 20 km or 42 km the following day.

The race is conducted twice a year, in late spring and autumn,

in May and September.

http://www.outdoorjapan.com/contents/CALENDAR/

2009-09/1252641823/index_html?language=english

Rough path and some dangerous ones, overlooking the cliff.

Don't worry, there is an ambulance and even a helicopter standby

for those who got injured.... but of course, it is better not to.

A group of bikers were taking a short break.

The view of Ontake Mountain

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ontake) is breathtaking.

For those who loves mountain, why not visit Ontake Mountain,

and walk on the second highest mountain in Japan.

"West of Izu Beach and Mountain View"

For more photos click "title" above, to connect to Picasa Album. Photos were taken on August 10 & 11, 2009 during our stay in Matsuzaki city, West of Izu.

What a lovely summer it was on August 10. But, the weather changed the next day, with typhoon approaching and a big earthquake that hit Shizuoka Prefecture quite badly. Awoken early by the earthquake and avoiding the typhoon, we left Matsuzaki and drove up north, still West of Izu, where we get to enjoy another summer day. In the meantime, on the other side of the mountain, South of Izu the sky was cloudy and in some part it was raining.

It reminds us all of how fragile we, human beings are. But we should never loose hope at anytime (with the help from the Above).

Those visiting Japan should note that earthquake occurs quite frequently here. It is important to remain calm and make sure to turn on local news or check with the local people about any warnings and what to do during such a situation. For accurate and latest information on warnings of earthquake, tsunami, and other natural disasters occuring in Japan, click: www.jma.go.jp/en/quake

Well.... beauty comes with a price .... the same it is with nature, i guess.