Author: COLO

Memories of Kunisaki (Originally posted on 2022-Jul-02)

Last year, I had visited to Oita Prefecture for the first time. As I had heard, Oita Airport was located at an inconvenient location. It was about 50-minute bus ride to Beppu and over an hour to Oita City. The Oita Airport is located on a peninsula called Kunisaki, a rounded peninsula in the northeastern part of Kyushu, facing the Suonada Sea.

The Kunisaki Peninsula is said to be famous for its old stone Buddha and temples. I was intrigued, but it seemed difficult to visit the Kunisaki Peninsula by public transportation. I heard that best season to visit the peninsula was the time of autumn leaves. However, as I do not like driving, I missed the opportunity to visit the peninsula while I was too busy worrying about it.

This year, I checked about the Kunisaki Peninsula again and found that regular sightseeing bus was in operation. If I take first flight leaving Tokyo Haneda, I can join the tour from a bus stop along the way. The fresh green season is also the season for horse mackerel of Bungo Channel where is south of Suonada Sea. I thought it would be a good time to visit Oita.

I was a selfish guy indeed, so once my mind was set, a group trip on the sightseeing bus seemed not attractive. Since main purpose of the trip was to take photographs, I wanted to focus on the time spent at each place rather than the numbers of places to visit. Moreover, if I took Japan Airlines morning flight, which had seats available on frequent flyer award ticket, I would not be able to catch the scheduled sightseeing bus.

In the end, I decided not to take the scheduled sightseeing bus but rent a car for the first time outside of Hokkaido.

Normally I travel by public transportations, which means advance research is essential. This time, however, I was satisfied with my rental car reservation completed. I had no idea about the Kunisaki Peninsula and its surrounding area even a few days before my departure.

Despite my inaction, I had no intent to waste my vacation time, so I hurriedly started researching at last minute. I identified temples to visit and circled them on a map. The rough plan was completed the day before departure.

I rented a car and drove around the Kunisaki Peninsula, simply following the directions of the car navigation system. Besides the Kunisaki Peninsula, I was able to see the Stone Buddha in Usuki and the Yabakei Gorge during the 3-day visit, so a fairly efficient route was made.

Anyway, Bungo Takada City on Kunisaki Peninsula is famous for its soba (buckwheat noodles). Many restaurants in Bungo Takada offer “jyuwari (100%)” soba, or buckwheat noodles without any flour binding.

I had never eaten soba in western Japan including Kyushu Island. I thought I would try soba in Bungo Takada, I might discover something different.

The first place was a soba restaurant run by a Japanese inn in the mountains. I heard that there were long lines on weekends, but I could get a table without any trouble maybe because it was a Friday. It was a rather fancy restaurant. I would love to have a lunchtime beer or sake, but it was not possible. Regrettably, driving is not truly free by its nature. I ordered a plate of soba while mumbling to myself.

As soon as I tried it, I felt something strange. Was it a little thicker than I was used to in Tokyo, or was it because I was not accustomed to the “jyuwari” soba? I would try second plate to solve the mystery, but since I was not able to drink alcohol, I carried the mystery to the second restaurant in the evening.

The second place was at the hotel where I stayed. The soba of this restaurant was thin and firm. It had similar texture of the “nihachi (20% flour – 80% buckwheat)” soba that I got used to eat in Tokyo area. It made easier to understand the mystery.

After all, soba sauce was sweeter. It was more than a mild finish to me. I found out when I ate sashimi before eating soba, the local soy sauce was quite sweet. I felt soba sauce of Bungo Takada was influenced by this.

I knew that soy sauce in Kyushu was sweeter than Tokyo, but I had experienced it only in Fukuoka, northern part of Kyushu Island. As going south to Oita, it became even sweeter. I tasted it as a new discovery, or rather, a bit strange sensation.

When I rented a car in Hokkaido last year, I felt like driving a car was all I did during the travel. I had no time to think while driving, whereas I often came up with blog ideas onboard trains, buses, or airplanes.

That was true that if I had taken a regular sightseeing bus, but I would not have even thought of eating soba in Bungo Takada nor I would not have thought about soy sauce in Oita Prefecture. This soba experience would have been possible thanks to the rental car.

On the other hand, renting a car does not allow me to enjoy a lunchtime drink at all. This is much bigger price to pay than the time to think for blog articles.

I wonder if there is any way to enjoy lunchtime drink even if I rent a car.

Memories of Mt. Haguro (Originally posted on 2022-Aug-03)

Of the three mountains of Dewa Mountain Shrines, I had visited Mt. Haguro and Mt. Yudono in 2017. It was one of years called “Yaku-doshi” in Japanese, which unlucky years were said to come at certain ages. I received a talisman at Mt. Haguro to ward off the bad luck. I did not think that my life had been particularly happy after that, but I did not have any real bad luck either. Five years have passed since then, it was about time to return the talisman with my gratitude.

Since I had made one-day trip at my last visit to Dewa Mountain Shrines, I tried to stay overnight and enjoy the sunset over the Sea of Japan in this time. I looked Google Map for several times along Sea of Japan coast. I found “Chokai Onsen” in Yusa, Yamagata Prefecture, and “Sannemu Onsen” in Kisakata, Akita Prefecture.

The plan was to take the first All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight to Shonai Airport, gateway to Tsuruoka and Sakata Cities, on a Saturday morning. I would walk around in Tsuruoka City, including Mt. Haguro, and the neighboring Sakata City for 2 days. On the Day 2, I would take JR “Inaho” express train departing from Sakata Station around 5:00 p.m. heading to Niigata and transfer to the Shinkansen for Tokyo. The express train “Inaho” runs along the Sea of Japan, nice sunset can be expected on its way to Niigata.

While making the plan, I looked at the weekly forecast and found that the weather would not be good. At the same time, it would not be rain heavily either. The weather was not stable in the spring, with only a few sunny days after Japan’s Golden Week in May. If I waited too long, it would be entering the rainy season in June/July. The cloudy weather would not be a problem as long as I take photos of stone steps of Mt. Haguro in the dense forest.

I was planning to visit the Kamo Aquarium in Tsuruoka when I visited Mt. Haguro. However, upon some more researches, I learned that the aquarium’s main displays were jellyfishes. I heard they made a photogenic exhibit of jellyfishes, yet jellyfishes were just jellyfishes to me. They would be tasty as a Chinese appetizer, but I was not a fan of real ones moving around the underwater. I had decided to pass on the aquarium.

If I did not go to the aquarium, it would be useless for me to spend two whole days in cloudy Tsuruoka and Sakata, because I was not interested in visiting museums and fancy cafes. Since I would not be able to see the sunsets for two evenings, I decided to make a one-day trip again.

I woke up early in the morning and took an ANA flight from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Shonai Airport. I took an airport bus to Tsuruoka Station, then transferred to another bus to Zuishinmon Gate of Mt. Haguro.

Last time, I had to receive a talisman before the transfer bus from Mt. Haguro to Mt. Yudono. The schedule seemed tight, so I took a taxi which I was told about 30 minutes ride from Tsuruoka Station to Zuishinmon Gate. I had imagined the taxi fare of Tokyo for the 30 minutes, but because there were not much of traffic lights, the fare ended up quite expensive which made me a little regretted.

I took a local bus this time, and entered the realm of gods from Zuishinmon Gate without remorse in my heart. I was well prepared for climbing up the stone steps this time since I was only able to recall how hard it was in my last visit.

This time I felt much easier, perhaps because I did not feel guilty due to the fare difference between taxi and local bus. I was easily able to arrive at the teahouse, where was a halfway through the hike.

I had some rest at the teahouse and ate rice cakes for breakfast. Feeling a little more energetic, I started the second half.

As nothing to hurry, I proceeded rather slowly and took pictures. In order to take photos, I had to wait until people on the stone steps had cleared from my camera angles, which further slowed me down. I had recalled that there were less people last time, because I arrived at Zuishinmon Gate about 1.5 hours earlier thanks to the taxi use. The taxi fare might not be wasted at all.

I arrived at Hagurosan Shrine in good spirits. I felt quite refreshed. For this visit, I initially thought I would just return the talisman to the Shrine, but I then wanted to have an excuse to come back to Hagurosan Shrine again, so I decided to get a new one.

I went down the mountain on foot as well. Although it seemed physically easier than uphill, but the downhill was unexpectedly severe. The stone steps were not evenly spaced. Even worse, they were narrow and steep. It required more control on each step. I kind of wished to keep it in myself, but I began to regret my decision within the five minutes I started walking down.

This was the first time for me to go down Mt. Haguro on foot. Even though the route itself was the same stone steps, I saw different views than on the way up. By challenging something new, I can see things from different perspectives.

Reincarnation is the theme of the Dewa Shrines. Even at a middle-age, one can be reborn through new challenges.

I left Mt. Haguro with a little more positive feeling.

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Mt. Haguro

Times listed are as of timetables at the time of visit.

Day 1

Tokyo Haneda 0705 (All Nippon Airways ANA393) >> Shonai 0805
Shonai Airport 0815 (airport bus) >> Tsuruoka Station 0845
Tsuruoka Bus Terminal 0940 (local bus) >> Zuishinmon Gate 1019

– Round trip to Hagurosan Shrine on foot

Zuishinmon Gate 1443 (local bus) >> Tsuruoka Station 1520
Tsuruoka Bus Terminal 1615 (airport bus) >> Shonai Airport 1643
Shonai 1745 (All Nippon Airways ANA400) >> Haneda 1850

Tips for Day 1
– From Zuijinmon Gate to the top of Mt. Haguro took 80 minutes uphill and 60 minutes downhill at my pace. There was only one teahouse on the way, and no other benches for rest.
– The transfer bus from Hagurosan Shrine to Mt. Yudono which I used in 2017 did not seem to be in service in 2022. It was possible to go to Mt Yudono by combining an express bus and a pick-up service from bus stop.

Memories of Shiretoko

The story goes back to the day I left for my summer vacation. I worked at home on that day, and my mother stopped my home during the daytime. She said she wanted to go to Hokkaido in the fall. I then recalled that the last time I visited Shiretoko in Eastern Hokkaido in the fall, the weather was not good and it was a little early for the autumn leaves. That time was in late September, so it might be good to try a little later.

While heading to Tokyo Haneda Airport after work, I checked schedule and found that all fit in mid-October. Since I was going to visit Shiretoko, I decided to go from Friday to Sunday and added a visit to a sushi place in Oumu Town as well. Using Wi-Fi in the All Nippon Airways (ANA) lounge at Haneda, I sinfully booked Japan Airlines (JAL) award ticket, and set off for Croatia.

While I spend days lazily after returning from the summer vacation, time to go to Hokkaido was approaching. I thought that accommodation fee in Shiretoko would probably be expensive the night before Sunday, so I decided to stay in Shiretoko on Friday and stay in Oumu Town on Saturday. However, to my surprise, the Hotel Hinodemisaki in Oumu Town was fully booked on Saturday night. I secured the last remaining room at the hotel on Friday night and decided to stay in Shiretoko on Saturday night. This would allow to visit Shiretoko Lakes on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

When I arrived at Memanbetsu Airport on Friday morning, the weather was clear. This itself was wonderful, but the problem was poor weather forecasted for Saturday and Sunday. The bad weather during the last visit to Shiretoko was one of reasons to choose the destination in Hokkaido. If the forecast was correct, I would encounter bad weather in Shiretoko again.

I had a vague recollection that it was not too far from Memanbetsu Airport to Shiretoko. I also recalled that it was not too far from Memanbetsu Airport to Oumu Town either. If so, it would be a good idea to go to Shiretoko on that day while clear skies expected.

I rented a car at the airport and arrived at Shiretoko before noon. It was not crowded probably because it was on a weekday, and I went to the pathway. The autumn leaves stood out in the blue sky, and the blue sky and the autumn leaves were reflected on the surface of Shiretoko Lakes. It was beautiful.

When I finished taking photos and looked at the watch, it was just before 3:00 p.m. It was about time to head for Oumu Town.

I then realized that I had underestimated Hokkaido geography. When I entered the Hotel Hinodemisaki into car navigation system, it estimated time of arrival at 7:30 p.m. When I repeated the phrase “not too far” twice in Hokkaido, it would be quite far, or rather too far away. I had made a 7:00 p.m. reservation at the sushi restaurant in Oumu Town. Anyhow, I got in the car and started driving.

Since there is no such boorish thing as highway along the Okhotsk coast, I followed cars with highway-like speeds of locals and caught in slow-moving traffic in the towns. I arrived at the hotel by 7:00 p.m. despite unsteady speeds. I left my luggage in the room and made it to the sushi restaurant before 7:20 p.m.

From this point on, I hardly remember anything. I disliked driving, so I felt a great sense of relief by the safety arrival. On top of that, there were delicious sushi served. Without a second to think about, I ended up drinking like fish.

When I came to realize, it was 4:00 a.m. and I had been asleep in bed. The hot spring in Oumu have a high salt content probably due to its proximity to the sea, and they are quite warming. I thought it would be a bad idea to leave without taking a bath after having come all the way there. Since it was too early in the morning, I thought there would be no one in the bath. It should be nicely quiet. I still felt a buzz from last night drinking.

I went into the bathhouse without thinking anything at all. A voice called out from the darkness, “good morning”. It seemed that there was a night shift employee taking the bath in his break time.

I calmly responded “good morning” but I could not help myself blushed.