13
2012
1,727 
Kyushu Winter Vacation 2012
Hello! .gif){kind=small}
Obviously I’m back from my Kyushu winter vacation. .gif){kind=small}
First of all: HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012! .gif){kind=small}
Let’s hope that the year of the dragon will give us strength and let this be a good year!
Unfortunately I’ll move in 6 weeks. It will be my first move within Japan and there are so, so many things to do that I won’t have much time to post, I’m afraid. I might even be without internet for a while. .gif)
I thought I should at least give you a short preview of my Kyushu winter vacation until I have more time again!~
Here we go:
I went to many places in 11 days. Among them were: Nakatsu and Yufuin (in Oita Prefecture), Takachiho, Nobeoka and Miyazaki (in Miyazaki Prefecture), Yakushima (in Kagoshima Prefecture), Gunkanjima, Omura, Hirado and Shimabara (in Nagasaki Prefecture).
Previously I’ve already been to many other places in Kyushu, so this time I wanted to visit places I’ve not been to yet.
Shopping and relaxing in Yufuin. It was super cold. Luckily Yufuin in a onsen town, so you can soak in a hot spa to warm up any time!
One of my personal highlights was definitely Takachiho! .gif)
I went there on December 31st, so there were a lot of people!
I also took a boat tour for 1500yen. At first I thought it’s a waste of money and boring alone, but it was totally worth it and a lot of fun!
Power spot: Pile stones to get lots of power for this year! I did it, too!
And one of the absolute highlights: Kagura dance at night at Takachiho Shrine!
I took many videos and will upload them to Youtube sooner or later. I still need to figure out how I can edit them and put them together while keeping the HD quality (^-^’)
On January 1st I went to a shrine on a hill (Imayama) in Nobeoka City with a huge statue. If you touch its feet, you’ll be blessed with good fortune.
On the way to Aoshima, a very small island in Miyazaki that can be accessed via a small bridge. Famous for Aoshima Shrine and the demon’s washboard.
Another highlight for me was Udo Shrine, also in Miyazaki, Nichinan coast. So beautiful.
Actually this was the only day with good weather!
Moai at Sunmesse Park, also in Miyazaki.
Yakushima. Don’t be fooled by this photo, the weather was absolutely horrible! .gif)
First of all, the weather changed every few minutes and my first driving experience was in the middle of a typhoon with super high waves, extremely strong rain and whatnot!
There was also lots of snow and it was super cold. Crazy, but beautiful island!
Most of the time the weather looked like this!!
At least I got to see so many rainbows thanks to the super crazy weather :)
There are many smaller and bigger waterfalls on Yakushima.
Of course, I also went to Yakusugi Land and Shiratani, but only the short walking courses were easily accessible, because the other routes just had far too much snow!
I also went to the “Princess Mononoke” forest (the forest that inspired Hayao Miyazaki).
Back from Yakushima I went to Nagasaki to visit yet another small island: Gunkanjima (also known as: Battleship Island).
It’s an uninhabited island. Until 1974 up to 5000 people lived there, working at a coal mine, but when the demand changed to oil, business didn’t go too well, so all the people left the island rather quickly.
Since then the island has been exposed to typhoons and tsunamis and so the buildings there slowly fall apart.
That’s why until recently you were not allowed to even access the island. Now it’s possible again, but only to certain areas and only with a tour guide (Japanese only)!
Hirado in Nagasaki: the only place where you can see a traditional Japanese temple with a Christian church in the background! It’s a very popular motive for postcards.
While in Nagasaki I ate a lot of “chanpon” (ちゃんぽん) and “sara udon” (皿うどん). I love “chanpon” so much that I eat it even outside of Kyushu, but it tastes best in Nagasaki – if you ask me!
In Hirado I also visited the grave of “Anjin Miura” – or “William Adams” which is his original name. Some of you might know him better from the drama series “Shogun” with Richard Chamberlain??! (note: the movie doesn’t match with the real story!)
I’ve been a huge fan of Anjin and so it was such an honor to be able to visit his grave!
I got to see a lot of awesome castles again! I think by now I’ve been to over 60 Japanese castles.
In the picture above you see Shimabara Castle (Nagasaki).
I also came across a lot of cute and funny things again.
I visited yet another active volcano in Japan: Mt. Unzen in Shimabara City!
And when there’s a volcano, hot springs are not far!
The “hells” of Unzen are not as great as the ones of Beppu (I visited them in winter 2009 – will post about it in the future, too!), but have a sad history.
When Christianity was forbidden in Japan again, they dragged all Christians to the “hells” and tortured them there, finally throwing them into the boiling hot water of the hot springs if they refused to throw away their faith … .gif)
And there you go.
This was a super brief review of my winter vacation, I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless. .gif)
Despite the horrible weather it was a really nice vacation. I met a lot of interesting people and saw so many beautiful things again.
Too bad it’s already over.
Thanks for reading!~
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Oh, thanks for finding time still to post about your vacation. I know you’re too busy with so many things right now. I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy your full posts about your travel later on as much as I enjoy reading this preview. Nagasaki is a to-go place on my list. The boat ride under the waterfalls in Takachiho looks fun. The view in Miyazaki is amazing!
Nagasaki, Miyazaki and Kagoshima are great! Definitely worth a visit!.gif)
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I’m gonna work hard so that I’ll be able to post a lot again soon!
Welcome back!.gif)
I kinda miss your entries since they’re always something that I look forward to (aside from manga and anime XD) when browsing the internet so glad to hear from you again. .gif)
Anyways, you seemed to have a rather exciting and interesting vacation with all those beautiful places you’ve been. I’m looking forward to see the rest of your winter vacation with much thrill..gif)
Happy New Year~!.gif)
Aww, thank you so much!.gif)
Comments like yours give me the motivation to keep posting even during busy times like now!.gif)
I truly enjoyed this post, as I do all of them, really, but I am fond of Kyushu and Yakushima. I remember Yufuin well, and its myriad shops, and Unzen “hells” [saw them in very overcast weather, though].
I have some photos of the devil’s washboard at Aoshima, if you care to add them to your post. Let me know. Your picture of the gorge at Takachiho is breath taking. I regret I have not seen it.
Takachiho is often overlooked, though much better than Miyazaki City!!! Highly recommended!.gif)
That’s so nice of you, but I guess I took too many photos of the washboard(s) anyways, so it’ll be already hard enough to choose which ones to post..gif)
Have you posted about your Kyushu trip yet? If so, I’d love to read about it!.gif)
I’m really looking forward to your detailed reports! I’m also back from my vacation, let’s see when I get to finally posting about it :)
Oh, where did you end up going?.gif)
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*hugs*
And thank you so much for helping me out again!!
These photos clearly illustrates why Kyushu is one of my dream places in Japan (or the World for that matter). I’ve always wanted to travel down the Miyazaki coast, and also visit Yufuin for a good onsen splurge. Takachiho is definitely a new one for me, it looks amazing there from your photos :) I can imagine a boat trip there must be awesome!! Aaah, and I can imagine champon tastes best in Nagasaki ^_^
Personally I beg to differ. When I say I love Kyushu I’m mainly talking about the southwestern-most parts like Kagoshima, Miyazaki and Nagasaki Prefectures! ^-^;.gif)
Kitakyushu and Fukuoka are not THAT much different from the rest of Japan, but the ones mentioned above are … at least for me!!
Takachiho is often overlooked. It’s quite a bit outside of Miyazaki City, but it’s so worth a visit!.gif)
You’ll understand why once you’ll see the full post!!
And yay, congrats for your first comment here!!.gif)
Your pictures are fantastic! I always think that, but your skill is still improving, it’s obvious. Very professional!
Thank you so much for finding time to post.
Hello Patrick!.gif)
Thank you so much! They definitely don’t look professional, but I sure hope I’m slowly improving!.gif)
Thanks for your nice comment!
Hi, C! Please tell me what your definition of “professional” is. Does professional mean you shoot fashion models, or movie stars or nature for National Geographic?
EVERYBODY compliments you on your photography and you are published, so YOU ARE PROFESSIONAL!!!
Get it? Wakadimaska?
No, but a pro usually KNOWS what he/she is doing. I don’t!!.gif)
I really just point and shoot, not thinking too much about it.
As I take tons of photos it’s only natural that there are a few “good” photos among them.
But thank you so much for believing in me!!!!.gif)
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hey, thanks for this, I went to some of these places and it’s really inspiring to hear and see your take with such awesome photos, and some good writing.
I was planning a trip to see Mononoke forest this month too!, I just went to Beppu and Yufuin during New Year’s, mm good, but a really special treat was the wild natural onsen I found in the mountains.
http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxu8rcc3kH1r1spw7o1_500.jpg
Hello!.gif)
Thank you for your comment and compliments!
The onsen looks awesome!! There’s a similar one at the coastline in Yakushima. However, I couldn’t use it when I was there because of the typhoon and high waves.gif)
I still think it’s easier to explore Yakushima in warmer months with less snow, though..gif)
Very beautiful, I have not seen princess mononoke, but I will do it soon.gif)
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I love japanese castles
by the way, you have very good photographic skills
I love Japanese castles, too!!.gif)
I really hope I can update my list and post it here soon!
There are so many awesome castles most people don’t even know about (even the Japanese!!)
Eh? Thank you! I don’t think so myself as I really just point and shoot, though!.gif)