Day 8 Pictures
Rise and shine for an 8am train and another bakery supplied breakfast on board a train. This time it was a Trans-Kyushu train that dissected the island in the middle. Our destination was right in the middle at Mt Aso.
This train ride was quite lovely as we made our way up the coast of Kyushu for a while and then headed up into the mountains.
At Aso station we caught a local bus up to the mountain base buildings. From here we were able to catch a cable car to the summit or walk if we were feeling energetic. I decided that since the last few days of the tour had been rather sedentary that I would hike up the remaining portion rather than take the cable car.
Two others of our group decided to join me.
It was cold and miserable with light rain falling but I didn’t really care I just needed to get out and walk for a bit. The track up to the summit follows a road way and was paved so it wasn’t much of a challenge.
At the top we were able to see evidence of eruptions and the so called seething green lake. I suppose I should mention that Mt Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan and has produced more explosive eruptions than any other volcano in the world. The last eruption was in 1993.
Dotted all over the mountain side were concrete bunkers which one needed to duck into if an explosive outburst was to occur.
All over the place were warnings to asthmatics not to venture to the crater as it emits sulphurous fumes that could trigger an attack.
Fortunately for us the wind was blowing in the right direction and we could barely detect any odour from the crater. Unfortunately for us as it was raining there seemed to be more steam visible than seething green lakes.
We walked back down only to find that we had beaten our cable car travelling brethren who only managed to make it to the top as we had started down the hill again.
A lovely warming lunch of sansai udon was had at a restaurant at the mountain base. Of all the foods I ate in Japan the Udon soup dishes were my favourite. After being out in the cold and the wet this lovely bowl of steaming noodles, soup and mountain vegetables really hit the spot.
After we were all fed and watered we caught the bus back to Aso station and a local train the two stops to our destination town of Miyaji.
After a short walk down the street and we were at our guesthouse for the evening. It was bitterly cold outside and not much better inside the house. As with all Japanese homes it was shoes off as we got in the door and slippers on. Of course none of the slippers fit my feet.
We were shown to our very basic room that was simply a tatami matted floor with a small TV, and tea making facilities. The owner came along shortly after with hot water urns to make tea. The rooms had inadequate heating and the communal facilities at this place were very dirty and the less said about this place the better. However, on the up side the food was really quite nice. The other major concern for most of the group at this place was the all pervading, never ceasing, constant, irritating, repulsive, obnoxious (you get the picture) smell of cigarette smoke. Many people complained of asthma and breathing problems at this establishment. Even though it was bitterly cold we opened the window to our room just to get some fresh air in.
We decided it was best to spend as little time as possible in the building and went out for a walk before dinner. The town of Miyaji was quite lovely and had a shrine dedicated to the mountain. There were also many shops selling quite beautiful hand made earthenware.
After wandering around the town it was time to head back to the smokehouse to have some dinner. It was a blessed relief to find that the dining are was at least warm. Tonight’s feast was a cook it yourself BBQ affair with many meats, fish and vegetables laid out for us to throw on table top BBQs. It was a fun evening watching the gang attempt to cook on these BBQs using chopsticks as their only instrument of trade.
After dinner a group of us decided to take up the tour guide's recommendation of visiting a local bar. We all piled out onto the street and made our way to the bar, in the rain. It seemed that the weather had ganged up on us this day to make the experience of staying in the least clean, least liked accommodations on our tour truly a forgettable experience. Of course being Japan you can buy 2 GBP umbrellas just about anywhere and I pulled out my trusty 10cm long fold up umbrella to provide a bit of shelter along the way to the bar.
At the bar we had mega sized glasses of beer, with some opting for sake and others for shoshu which is a type of grain alcohol popular in Japan. More food was ordered and a very fun evening was had by all. The locals even attempted communication with us with our little Japanese and their little English. Eventually we had to drag ourselves back to the smokehouse and attempt some sleep.
Day 8 Pictures