Trip to Kyushu Day 2 (A-Train)

Today's plan is to ride two different trains. One is the "A" train (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-Train_(JR_Kyushu) and the other is the "Aso Boy" (http://en.wikiinpedia.org/wiki/Aso_Boy). Both trains leave from Kumamoto station. The first train I rode was the A-Train, as it was going to be a round trip and I needed to be back in Kumamoto in order to take the Aso Boy train to my next city in the afternoon.
  Started the day off with a very nice buffet breakfast, lots of choices between Western and Japanese style of food. Walked to the station and waited for the A-Train to appear. While waiting, the Aso Boy train left for it's first run of the day. Below is the crew waiting for the train to come in.

Aso Boy arrives!

More about this train later.

 

Here is the A-Train. This is a 2 car train set. 1 car has very nice comfy seats and the other car is the bar/lounge car. The food and drinks served aboard are very good and not too pricey. There are also postcards and other souvenir's one can buy.  

 

The leaves on the tables drop down to make the table bigger

 

Here is the bar area

The drinks and snacks on the train are very good. The crew is very friendly and polite.

How come we don't have such nice trains in America?

The trip to the end of the line in Misumi takes about an hour or so. The track goes along the coast part way and is very scenic.

Didn't have time to get out and check the town out, as there was only about 5 minutes before the train returned to Kumamoto.

Being a seaport, there are some cruise ships to take you around to the various islands. This will be on my list for future trips.

How did that fish get up there??

One thin I've noticed, is that there is a lot of art around cities all around Japan. Keep your eyes open and look up on buildings, signs and lamp posts. It's amazing how much there is to see. I'll do a write up of outdoor art soon, as I've been collecting pictures of it over time.

The return trip was very pleasant, especially with a few highballs for company.

 

My next post will be about the Aso Boy trip, which takes place about an hour after returning to Kumamoto.

 

 

Trip to Kyushu Day1

Flew down to Fukuoka in Kyushu from Tokyo to spend a few days seeing the countryside and ride some interesting trains. After arriving at the airport, took a train down to Hakata and had Hakata Ramen, which is one of my favorites.

 

Had a few hours to wait for my train down to Kumamoto, so I wandered around the station area. There were a whole lot of Doremon figures around the station forecourt.

It was quiet a surprise to see them all! There were lots of kids going bananas seeing them all. The station also had a flower/garden show going on, plus a beer area. Stations seem to act as a community center for many towns and cities, always something going on, plus so many people pass through stations it makes it a logical place to hold such activities.

My Pack (from Duluth Pack) and fish. This is pretty much all I take when I travel, I like to travel light. I also take my computer bag, also from Duluth Pack. They make a very nice product that holds up well to the stress and abuse of traveling. (shameless plug http://duluthpack.com) I have no monetary interest in them, I just think it's a great product.

Right, back to my travels.

Took the shinkansen to Kumamoto. I think it was only 30 min or so to get there.

The train is very smooth and quiet, a very nice way to get around.

 

Checked into the hotel (New Otani) in Kumamoto, had a very nice room They upgraded me to a suite for no extra charge. The hotel is right next to the station and it's also next to the trolley and tour bus stops.

 

After getting settled in, went to Kumamoto castle for the rest of the afternoon.

 

Kumamoto Castle is very nice. A lot of it has been restored and one really gets the

feeling of life in feudal Japan

Here are some pics of the interior

 

Make sure you walk to the top of the tower, it has a great view of the area.

I love these trees !

 

 

Be prepared to spend a good 4-5 hours here as there is a lot to see. Took the bus back to the hotel and had a light dinner and was asleep pretty quick. Nothing like a day of air, train and travel by foot to wear one out. More on day 2 in the next posting

 

 

 

 

Trip to Ootaki Hotel

This trip was taken 12/9/-12/10/13

This trip is about 2 hours south of Tokyo, near Atami. This is one of the express trains to take. There are a few others besides this one. A real nice train that I've ridden before is the Super View. Try and take it if possible.

Some of the views along the way

Beautiful day along the coast.

 

 

Here is the station to get off at.

One of the few stations I've seen that has nice soft cushions on the platform seats. It has the station name, Yugawara in Hiragana on the left.

 

The hotel is about a 20 min bus ride or 40 min walk from the station. Take the bus, it's less than 2 dollars and it's all up hill to the hotel, plus the stop is less than 100 feet from the hotel, so no getting lost!

 

The hotel is downhill from the bus stop about 100 feet or so.

The room was very clean and being up on the 8th floor, had a nice view of the hills across the way.

 

Looking outside. Shooting picture into the sun, sorry for the glare.

 

Here are the pictures of what everyone is waiting to see, the bath area!

Really nice.

Here is the changing room. This onsen changes the  men's and woman's sides part way through the day. So be careful! Both sides are almost the same.

 

Below is the soap/washing area

 

Here is the outside bath. It has a nice view of the trees across the way.

There was a nice rain/hailstorm that lasted about 1/2 hour. It was so pleasent to sit and listen to the rain and hail hit the roof. Natures natural symphony, very relaxing.

 

There is a waterfall on the right hand wall (the green light area)

 

Another great thing about staying at an onsen is the great food they serve. This place didn't let me down!

Kanpai!

The girl in the above picture is setting up all the food. No one at the hotel speaks English, but not a problem.

Oiishi!!!

 

There is a nice road to walk along right in front of the hotel. turn right and go up the hill for some nice river views.

Not too far up from the hotel is a small shrine and waterfall. I missed it the first time I walked by.

It will be on the right hand side as you walk uphill. maybe 100-200 feet from the hotel. You will see a public restroom next to another building right off the road. That's the place.

Right near this sign.

 

 

This bridge leads to some trails that go up into the hills. Next time I'm down here, I'll have to go hiking and see what's up there.

Didn't take the bus to the station, walked instead. Took about 90 minutes as I stopped and looked at things on the way back.

 

The remains of an old hotel

Tanuki chan. On top of a restaurant in town

Lots of interesting old buildings

A Blue Heron

 

The statue in front of the station 

Had some time to kill before the train arrived, plus it was cold and windy so went over to the Denny's across from the station and had chocolate lava cake and coffee. Yum yum.

What's nice about Denny's is that you get free coffee refills. Most places don't do that

 

This was a very nice overnight trip. Not too far from Tokyo, about 2 hours travel time.  There are quite a few more onsen's in the area. I will be back and stay in another place next time. It's a great place to get away from the stress of the big city, plus you will probably be the only foreigners (if your not a native Japanese) in the area as it's not a tourist destination per say. Perhaps there are more foreign visitors in the summer, but judging from the way they looked at me, I don't think they are used to seeing too many round eyed white devils LOL.

 

More Soon