alan11

Oh, and like freecia mentioned in his Kochi post, be sure to eat some katsuo tataki (quick-flame broiled bonito tuna that is still raw inside) wth lots of onions and garlic. Its perhaps my favorite fish dish in Japan. (interesting story behind its creation was that the old ruler of Kochi from many centuries ago banned eating raw fish since people were getting sick, so by inventing this flash-broiling technique, the locals got around the ban)
And likewise on the yuzu. Mid-October is actually the start of yuzu season, so you may see it more than usual (which is a lot to begin with). A good place to get some yuzu products for gifts (including the sherbert for yourself) is here
https://goo.gl/maps/FzxLy2j52voLLgTJ7

KI-NRT

At least at this very moment, Dogo Onsen Honkan (the historic public Onsen facility) is undergoing a multi-year renovation, and the much of the building is covered-up with some unsightly artwork over the tarp. That alone makes it hard for me to recommend. And the ryokans around there are nothing special, unless you want to splurge and stay at the fabulous Bettei Oborozukiyo.

As alan11 stated, the Hotel Niju Kazurabashi Onsen is very nice. Even nicer is Hotel Iyaonsen with the cable car taking guests down to the bottom of the valley, where one can even rent out one of two private Onsens with a view of the river. The only drawback is that the area consists of twisty and narrow roads, so if you're driving with a camper, you'll definitely come across situations where either you or the driver from the opposite direction will need to back up to a wider part of the road to allow the other car through. It can be quite treacherous, actually.

In Kochi, the area around Tosayama is picturesque and has some nice hiking trails, too. About a 45 minute drive from central Kochi (i.e. Hirome Ichiba Market.)

jib71

Interesting origin story. I heard from an amateur fisherman that, even today, Katsuo has a particular reputation for surface bacteria and that searing is a way of dealing with that. He told me that, even after searing, it's not recommended for elderly people because of the risk of food poisoning - to the chagrin of his centenarian grandma.

EqualOpp

Yes, I saw a picture of that onsen by the bridge, looks inviting. A lot of onsens claim health benefits for certain kinds of water...I'm gonna have to call b/s on some of those claims. Though I will investigate. I read some place saying soaking in pH 1.4 water was good....ummm...no. The scarecrows look a bit odd and "scary"...but ok. Yes, I would not go to a big city onsen...that's not interesting at all. No matter what the history. The Soudayama Onsen looks nice....I'll add it to my bookmarks. I think one thing is certain I'm coming to realize -- EVERY area has an English language website geared for tourists! Which makes traveling in Japan - or at least planning - super easy!

[Edit: just found this: [url]https://www.lifeionizers.com/blog/acidic-water-skin-and-hair/] - really?

https://att-japan.net/en/archives/3015




Came across this book at my library, I will check it out.



So realized that SHIKOKU does not have any volcanoes. Also realized SHIKOKU it still rains quite a bit in October. Now, does that fall at night mostly, or during the day as well? Though I see it rains less in NW Shikoku (Matsuyama)

And I see on my atlas map - Shikoku the roads are much windier then on Kyushu or West Chugoku. Thanks for emphasizing this. Also using Maphill tool to compare topo across areas...can more easily see elevation / potential tricky driving.










https://www.sott.net/category/4-Earth-Changes

I follow that website and typed in JAPAN VOLCANO in their search and most of the entries relate to Kyushu volcanoes - which I never realized. Read about some place by Kagoshima you can immerse yourself in natural warm sand...I think I'd like to try that. So I will label - Kyushu - Active Volcano-land! Had no idea Japan had so many volcanoes.

freecia

Kyushu has a higher concentration of onsen (geothermal heated water) than many parts of Japan. Not sure if they have all "types" of water https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2292_water.html but they do have all the settings from the indoor local neighborhood bath to outdoor mega bath to the wild ones. The smaller out of the way or wild ones are easier to find thanks to instagram https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30001381-post30.html though if you aren't an onsen fan, I'd probably just check google maps when you get there using the Japanese characters as the research can be time intensive.

Fun fact: Japan has a lot of ropeways https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...lifts_in_Japan

KI-NRT

The photo above is the communal Onsen at the bottom of the valley from Hotel Iyaonsen. It's incredible. As I mentioned earlier, there are also 2 different Onsen that can be privately rented out - the views are not as awesome as the communal one, but it's still pretty and relaxing nonetheless.

Kyushu is THE place for Volcanoes. Fugendake in Unzen (Nagasaki), Mt. Aso in Kumamoto, and, of course, Sakurajima in Kagoshima (the one that just recently erupted, prompting evacuations of the area), are among the very active ones. It's part of the reason why there are so many famous Onsen places in Kyushu.

The "sand" Onsen is Ibusuki (as you mentioned, it's in Kagoshima.) Btw, if you don't have the time to traverse all the way to Ibusuki, there are a few sand baths in Beppu as well.

EqualOpp

That's a lot of water types....gonna have my analysis ability working overtime.

yes, interesting so many aerial tramways...turns out Switzerland has even more in my brief checking. Only about 20 or so in the USA. Been on a handful around the world. And a handful of smaller gondola systems. I like taking it up and hiking down...done that in Canary Islands, Hong Kong, among other places.

well...I have my rough Western Japan plan now.

1) Kyushu tour - sand bath, nagasaki, volcano park, coastal parks, samurai town or whatever near Kagoshima or what not

Ferry Oita - Shikoku

2) Western Shikoku tour - with a foray into Iya. Will also do the UFO tour - https://niyodoblue.jp/en/course/deta...=CO002&lang=en and hot spots. Rent from Matsuyama?

3) Western Chugoku - a couple of garden museums

4) Okinawa

If I end up spending more time in Kyushu / Shikoku, I will cut out Chugoku. Other then Okinawa, will probably be moving everyday. But again, that's a detail can figure out on the road.

Just learning/mastering/remembering the names of places is part of the travel challenge.

Will plan for a bicycle ride over those islands in the inland sea. Setonaikai Park. Looks pretty cool. 50 miles? Maybe I'll bike 50 miles one way, and take a bus back. [they hold bicycles?] We'll see how the weather is. used to bike a lot, not at all these days...





So...I get a taste of many landscapes. North / South, inland sea, coastal, forest, volcano, mountain, island, etc... And judging by all the descriptions - i will have "gone to heaven" many times!

seeing that it still rains a bit in Shikoku in October...maybe better to get a mini campervan there, and I can tent camp in Kyushu. Though I can camp in the rain, I don't like it, especially with a small tent. Though I see some places have shelters. But I'll plan that detail later. depends on what's available where and pricing. and the roads are narrow as you say and I read (800+ curves? in Iya?) ...but maybe can find a smaller camper. we'll see.

Nagasaki Joe

I noted your plan to visit Nagasaki, so I thought I'd chime in. Freecia has recommended ropeways and Nagasaki indeed has one on Inasayama, a mountain that overlooks the city of Nagasaki. The ropeway is part of a larger complex at the peak of Inasayama that includes a park and other facilities. Please see Inasayama.com for details. Since you're apparently planning to travel by camper, your best bet for onsen visits is to use them when they are open to the general public (not overnight guests) in the afternoon to early evening for a small fee. There is an excellent onsen on Inasayama just below the peak that has fantastic views from both its restaurant and the outdoor bath (rotenburo). Its website: https://www.fukunoyu.com/nagasaki/. KI-NRT also discussed sand baths in Kyushu, and there are also sand baths in Nagasaki Prefecture but I've only been to those in other parts of Kyushu such as Beppu. There's not much data in English on these local sand baths, but you could paste 砂風呂長崎県 (sand baths in Nagasaki Prefecture) into a search engine and have all the Japanese websites machine-translated with Google. Of course, there are many things to do and see in Nagasaki City and Prefecture, and I'm sure you've researched it extensively, but if you have any specific questions, please let me know.

alan11

A few things to note:

Yes, the UFO Line (the name of the road) in Ehime is awesome. The views are great and a couple spots offer hiking trails to the peaks within here. I forget the name of the one I hiked (the hike was less than an hour), but the trailhead was easy to find from a small parking area, which I had actually car-camped in overnight (awesome sunset). It may be potentially helpful to know that most hiking trailheads usually allow 24hr parking, so you can car-camp at them, allowing for early starts for sunrise. But they often have no facilities, including water, so bring all you need.

For the Seto bicycling, the bike rentals are really well done. You can rent and return from multiple points along the way, so no need to ride all the way back or take it back somehow via bus. I think the only thing is that the one-way rentals cost a few hundred yen more (when I went a few years back you didn't even need to say where or when you will drop it off. Its all figured once you're done.)

And if looking to also take your baggage, (but not on the bike), you can ship it forward from most convenience stores to your next destination via takyu-bin (Japan's version of FedEx or UPS). Its also pretty cheap, maybe a 800-1200 yen per bag. (do some research before you try this though, and be sure to know the sending address exactly. You will also need some time at the convenience store, so go mid-day, not during the evening rush). I once did this by sending my stuff from Shikoku, keeping a small overnight bag for staying in the rather nice and cheap hotel at the start of the route in Imabari, then riding all the way across, then took a train to Hiroshima where my stuff had been sent to my guesthouse there (you should let the place you will be staying know in advance if doing this).

And as far as rain in Shikoku, actually, its unlikely to be all that many more rainy days there than in Kyushu or southern Honshu since there isn't much climatic or geographic difference. I think the stats you saw say this because October can still get typhoons, and though these storms will affect the whole southern/western Japan region, they often tend to dump much more rain in Shikoku (particularly coastal Kochi and SE Tokushima) due to how they approach from the south and spin counter-clockwise. So in a way, there is probably just as many non-typhoon rainy days in Kyushu and Honshu as there are is Shikoku, but due to the occasional October typhoon historically (the later in the month it is, the more rare they become) the actual amount of water released will be more in parts of Shikoku than elsewhere. (you'd be amazed at the amount of water that gets dropped in a typhoon. To get 30cm (1 foot) of rain in 24hrs is not uncommon, and I think a place in south-east Tokushima has a record from a few years ago of over 1 meter (3+ feet!) of rain in 24 hrs)

*Due note, typhoons are unpredictable, and by no means am I saying that Kyushu or Honshu won't be affected in any less severe way if one happens.

Happy trails!!

freecia

I rode the ropeway to Inasayama as a "ehhhh, might as well" thinking it was overselling itself as a winner of "'World's New Three Great Night Views' along with Monaco and Shanghai". Japan is really into ranking things. Anyhow, the view at night was pretty memorable due to how it wraps around, gondola passes above terraced neighborhoods, and the ropeway is also a nice glassed in gondola. I've seen plenty of night views, ropeways, & top of building (skyscraper and castles) observatories and this one does rank up there. Also gives you a clue on the bountiful hills of Nagasaki. So. many. Not the place to have extra leg days if your calves are already sore from hiking.

Nagasaki Joe

I never rode the Inasayama ropeway as my visits to the peak were back in the 80s before the ropeway was built and I haven't been back since other than to visit the Fuku-no-Yu onsen numerous times, which is near the peak. Based on your description, the ropeway (there's even a tram now) sounds very much worth a trip, I had no idea the night views from the peak rivaled those of Monaco and Shanghai. Despite the bountiful hills, most of the major sightseeing spots in Nagasaki City are on flat land. Glover Garden, though elevated, has numerous escalators for transporting tourists up the hills, and some of the older British-style homes and the Dutch Slope require hiking uphill, but it's not too bad. OTOH, there are tour trails that take you further up the city's hills to see out-of-the-way spots such as the home of Pierre Loti, the French novelist and naval officer who wrote Madame Chrysantheme, on which Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly was based. But it's probably best to leave the intense hiking tours till after the summer.

HnDsolo

Shikoku is definitely a place worth considering, if you are looking for wilderness. Below the Median Tectonic Line -south of Matsuyama, Niihama, Nakatado (Kompira-san) and Tokushima cities- it offers lots of unspoiled nature with hints of well-preserved history. (As pointed out, roads are not Japan’s fastest in here).

Shikoku Karst, split between Ehime and Kochi prefectures, (https://shikoku-tourism.com/en/see-and-do/10069) brings in lovely landscapes and unforgettable views of the stars -weather permitting-. Do not hesitate to pay a short visit to Yusuhara and its trendy timber architecture (created on the desks of one of the most recognized living architects of Japan).

The highest peak of West Japan, Ishiduchi-san 石鎚山, is also worth a trek.
If you cross from Beppu with the ferry, do not leave Yawatahama 八幡浜 without buying some mikan. They are renown all over Japan. (October is just the beginning of the season but you should be able to find early varieties). And you may consider stopping by in neighbouring Ozu https://www.visitozu.com/en-gb , to visit the unique Hiji River, and explore their ongoing urban regeneration project (salvaging abodes or storehouses, transforming them into shops, co-working-spaces or hotel rooms). Uchiko deserves also some time. Hints of history within unscathed (for Japanese standards) nature.

EqualOpp

good info about Shikoku weather rain!





So...starting to just type in VISIT xxxxxx, and xxxx= prefecture, which leads to official tourism websites. Specifically looking for camping...and here's a couple awesome places I found in Oita just now. And I think to myself -- if I rent a campervan, I can't camp on a tent platform like this!




or in a forest like this:

Hatotsu Beach is the southernmost beach in Oita Prefecture. One of the 100 best white sands and green pine trees in Japan. Selected as one of the 100 best white sand and green pine trees in Japan by the Society for Preserving the Greenery of Japanese Pine Trees.

Wow...there's actually such a "society." And there are that many white sand/pine tree beaches? anyone able to find the link to that society?





So...i don't want to camp at roadside stations...i'd rather pay for a nice place. Google Maps CAMPGROUND search combined with tourism websites is the strategy now.

If I find enough places like this...I think I can definitely cut out Chugoku and just focus on Kyushu / Shikoku. Already leaning in that direction.

bmwe92fan

You do realize that SM <> Real life - right? As someone that lives in Japan I can post the most amazing pictures -- but that doesn't mean that is what it is really like -- just be careful....

THECLIPPERS

Now I just want to drive all around Japan!