Kyushu

Oita’s Old Merchant Town

November 6, 2015

“Simone! There’s even more back here! Come look,” Conor yelled from the other room. We were in the Mamedamachi district (豆田町商店街) of Hita City, browsing through what I thought was your average soy sauce shop, when we discovered a secret museum with (literally) thousands of dolls on display.

These hidden gems are part of the charm of Hita’s oldest merchant town; you never know what you might find walking in to one of its many shops, or at the end of its many alleyways and side streets.

Mark and I had finally made the trip up to see our favourite Irishman, which we had been promising ever since Conor was transferred from Miyazaki to Kumamoto, and after spending the night in his new town, Yamaga, we were off exploring in the neighbouring prefecture of Oita.

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Japan Kyushu Okinawa

Postcards and Poetry from Okinawa

October 2, 2015

The rope of islands in the East China Sea that make up Japan’s southernmost prefecture once prospered as an independent territory before falling under the control of modern-day Kagoshima in the 19^th century. The Ryukyu Kingdom then became known as Okinawa, and was taken over by the US during World War II, under whose administration it remained until the 1970s. Several thousand military members are still stationed on the main island today, and that is one of the reasons it is so famous. The other is for the islands’ surrounding seas, which are considered some of the most beautiful in the world, brimming with coral and marine life. The Ryukyu spirit lives on in Okinawan culture, language and cuisine, which is nothing like the rest of Japan. In fact, arriving there from the mainland is like falling down a rabbit hole. During Silver Week, I was lucky enough to follow Alice for 8 glorious days through Naha and Miyako with an awesome bunch of humans otherwise known as the Okinawarriors (check out our hashtag on Instagram!) We saw whale sharks for the first time, dined in the only Little America I know, bussed to a Peace Park that we never saw, drove across the longest toll-free bridge in Japan, caught flights and missed flights, and swam and snorkelled our days and nights away, feasting under the moonlight with new friends that welcomed us into their home and hearts like family. It was a holiday like no other and I don’t believe I’ve ever visited a more magical place. How to do it justice? I can only offer a few snapshots and words that began to take shape on our last night at the beach…

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Festivals Japan Kagoshima Kyushu

In Pictures: Chiran’s Nebuta Festival

August 4, 2015

Every year on the third Saturday of July, Chiran holds its own, miniature, version of the famed Nebuta Festival that takes place in Aomori City. Large washi lanterns, decorated with images of legendary warriors, are hand-wheeled up and down the town’s main shopping street, accompanied by drums, flutes and dancing. In the Chiran adaptation, the performers still wear the traditional haneto costume and chant “rassera, rassera’ to liven up the crowd, but it has a character of its own, with a smaller crowd and oozing a charm that only small towns can.

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Japan Kagoshima Kyushu War History

Kagoshima’s Kamikaze Town

August 1, 2015

“Why are you taking pictures of yourself?” Mark asked with one eyebrow raised as he turned around and saw my lens pointing into the window. “I’m getting bored, there’s nothing else here to photograph,” I replied.

The humidity had produced rivers of sweat on my forehead, which were running down the back of my neck and feeding into the giant prickly pear that was now my ball of hair.

“Don’t be a Negative Nancy, there’s plenty of things to see,” he teased.

“Dude, the bamboo isn’t even real.” I motioned to two plastic stalks lying in the sand.

“Fuck it, let’s get food.”

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Festivals Japan Kyushu Miyazaki

A Horse-Blessed Harvest

July 21, 2015

Here in the inaka, rice fields are woven into the scenery like squares on a patchwork quilt. The need for a calendar is obviated by their narrative of the seasons; glassy strips in early spring, neon sprouts in summer and golden ears by the end of autumn. Kyushu is where paddy cultivation is believed to have begun in Japan some 3,000 years ago. Since then, the grain has endured a long and complex history in the country, and although consumption has declined in recent years, it is still considered a cultural and an economic staple.

The Japanese word for cooked rice, gohan, literally translates to ‘honourable food’, emphasizing the esteem in which the crop is held. In Misato town, a special festival is held on the first Sunday in July to honour the fields and pray for a good harvest.

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Festivals Japan Kagoshima Kyushu Miyazaki Waterfalls

Ookawara Gorge and the Firefly Festival

July 11, 2015

If ajisai is the quintessential flower of tsuyu season, the firefly must be it’s insect. Called hotaru in Japanese, these lightning bugs swarm around streams and rivers in the countryside from late May to June and can be viewed in some places up until August. In Kobayashi, Idenoyama Park hosts a firefly festival every year, and after talking about going for almost a month, I finally got to it.

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Flowers and Gardens Japan Kyushu Miyazaki

Ajisai and the Plum Rains

July 2, 2015

Due to the stubborn Mei-yu front, most of East Asia experiences a two-month rainy season. During June and July, the weeks become an endless parade of cloudy days, accompanied by debilitating humidity and, if you’re not careful, drawers full of mould. In Japan, this period is known as tsuyu or baiu [梅雨], which literally translates to ‘plum rains’; the season is supposedly named for coinciding with the ripening of the plums.

This year in Miyazaki, which delivers up to 1,000 mm (39 in) of the wet stuff during tsuyu, we bid farewell to our sunshine and good hair days at the end of May. It’s been pretty much a constant downpour ever since (it’s raining as I type this), and it’s getting depressing. Thankfully, there is an upside: the hydrangeas are in bloom.

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Japan Kagoshima Kyushu

Cape Noma

June 29, 2015

Have you ever seen a place that’s so beautiful it doesn’t seem real? That’s how I felt staring out the car window as Mark and I made our way down the coast to the Kasasa region of Minamisatsuma.

The road took us to a hook-shaped peninsula, known as Nomahanto, that extends 10 km (6.2 mi) into the East China Sea. Designated a prefectural park, the peninsula and its uniquely jagged coastline, characterized by sharp cliffs and dozens of reefs and islets, is a setting straight out of a Famous Five novel.

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Festivals Japan Kagoshima Kyushu

Fukiagehama Sand Sculpture Festival

June 16, 2015

Fukiagehama beach is one of Japan’s three biggest sand dune systems. Bordered with pine forests, and facing the East China Sea, it’s also a beloved spot for both the residents of Minamisatsuma City, and the loggerhead turtles who come to lay their eggs there. But it is best known for hosting an annual event that brings artists from all over the world to showcase a unique talent; sand sculpting.

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Flowers and Gardens Japan Kagoshima Kyushu

Senganen Garden and the Cat Shrine

June 10, 2015

“This… is so wonderful that I don’t know how to express it,” said British diplomat Harry Smith Parkes of his sojourn at Senganen in 1866. “Anyone who visits there must be stricken by a desire to stay for three years at least.”

The historic garden was built in 1658 by the second lord of the Shimazu clan, and contains within it the family’s former summer villa. It was used to entertain guests of the daimyô and, overlooking Mt. Sakurajima and Kinko Bay, often left a lasting impression on its visitors. A small pond and hill are integral to the design of Japanese gardens; Senganen ‘borrows’ these elements from the ocean and volcano.

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Japan Kagoshima Kyushu Waterfalls

Ryumon Falls and the Ancient Road

June 8, 2015

I must have woken up half of the forest with the scream I let rip when I felt my legs giving way beneath me, but Mark grabbed my arm and steadied me before I hit the ground. “Hahaha, you’re so weak,” he retorted with a smile. Three minutes later, he slipped and almost knocked himself out.

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