2010.07.22 From Beppu back to Osaka!

Woke up early and did some laundry. Checked out of the hostel, got come chocolates and a postcard. Took some pictures with the staff before I headed down to the station to catch the Sonic back to Kokura.


One last look at the park where the matsuri that I couldn't go to would be.

Apparently, Oita is known for Tori-ten (chicken tenpura) which originated there, so I had to get some before I left. Went to the food court where I got ramen the day before and got a bento.


Here comes the Sonic!


Blurry Japanese countryside photos taken from the train.



Old train.


Waiting @ Kokura for the Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka.





Got to Shin-Osaka then somehow made it down to the subway platform to ride the Midosuji line down to Nishinakajima-Minamigata Station (one stop away) which was near the hotel. Went out the wrong exit and ended up walking a few blocks out of the way and had to cross over some train tracks to get there.

Kind of small room.


It was about 4pm by this time and I was tired so the day ended here.

2010.07.21 Beppu Day 2

People were setting up for a matsuri in the park near the hostel. Unfortunately, it started @ 5pm on the day I was leaving!


Finally, the ocean! Sort of.



Beppu Beach!


Only 47km until I reach USA? Yes and no.


Ended up back at Beppu Station.


Next to the 'hand bath' was a statue of a man known as 'Shiny Uncle', who loved children.


Ramen at the food court. No 'kaedama' this time.


Went back to hostel to take a bath and take refuge from the heat until it was time to go meet Yoshi for dinner.

Went to a place called 'Ariran' which probably is the Japanese approximation of the Korean word 'arirang'.


Hiyamen (cold noodles) and yakiniku!


Apparently, after I left to meet Yoshi, he tried to send me a message suggesting we go to an onsen since Beppu is famous for them. All we had to do was wait for his friends to come and pick us up.

Starbucks: Maccha Frappuccino. Another awesome thing not available in the US.


By the time everyone got it together, the fancy hotel onsen had already stopped selling entry tickets. Only place open was Hyoutan Onsen.

Wasn't bad but had hoped for hotter water. The sauna and cool bath were nice. I lost 2 kilos that night!

2010.07.20 Off to Kyushu!

Knowing nothing more than the fact that the Shinkansen goes to Kyushu and that there is a JR train that goes to Beppu, I checked once more to see which trains I could catch. According to jorudan, it seemed that I'd be on the Shinkansen for 2 hours until Hakata then another 2-3 hours to get to Beppu. Thankfully, my friend Shige not only let me know of a faster route but offered to meet me for lunch at Kokura station, where I'd have to change trains anyway.


After a few confusing minutes of trying to figure out where I was and how he could find me, we found each other and had some Hakata (?) ramen. One of the best things about Kyushi ramen that I found out was the custom of 替え玉（kaedama）. Kaedama is where a customer can get another serving of noodles for only １００円! Of course, I asked for a kaedama as soon as I heard this and it was good!


Got on the JR Sonic bound for Beppu and arrived at the station in about 1 hour. Yasuno said she was going to be late so I had planned to try check into the hostel and drop off my gigantic luggage before meeting her but my phone rang right after I got outside. This was good since she helped me find the place and after hauling my bag up a flight up extra narrow Japanese stairs, we went to get some food and see some things. Went to a place called Ureshi-ya just as they were opening for dinner.

One of the things I had wanted to try ever since I started learning about Japanese food was basashi (horse meat sashimi) and luckily, Ureshi-ya had it.

After the basashi, karaage and nikujaga we walked around the shotengai and alleyways. Maybe this is the case in all of Japan but the fact that a centuries old onsen is only mere meters away from several adult establishments is still kind of a shock.

There was a giant Tengu so I tried to pick it's nose.

Yasuno did no such thing, because she's not weird like me (as far as I know).

There was a golden deer or something outside a store so Yasuno tried to ride it.

There was also some impossible to photograph suit of armor in a store window.

And an evil-looking Billiken.

On that note, day 1 in Kyushu drew to a close.

Went to do some laundry and a strange old lady tried to borrow 3,000 yen from me. NO!