Plan B

Day 5

Let me start by saying that japanese futons (beds) are thin and hard. Jorge slept fine. Manuel doesn't like it. I turned in bed several times at night. I think it might take some days to get the body used to it.

Breakfast with mountain view. Definitely a luxury!

The plan for today was a morning trek around three lakes and an afternoon trek on the volcano ridge (the part of the ridge that isn't off limits due to vulcanic activity). However, yesterday's cloudy day got worse, clouds were really low mixing with the condensed water of the hot springs and we also had some rain. Visibility was really below acceptable levels and no one wanted to get wet for nothing. Plan was aborted!

The picture above shows Kirishima Onsen's fumaroles aka hells. They are loud and hot, have a strong smell of sulphur and impart a hell-like aura to the place at night. A japanese couple stopped for pictures at the same time as us and pointed out to us a waterfall hidden in the middle of the vegatation. Perfect timing to use my new camera teippd for the first time! 

Taki Maruo is a hot water waterfall of 23m height and 16m width and good shoes are needed to reach it's waters as the rocks are slippery. 

There was a pit stop at Kirishima shrine, a 19th century version of the 6th century original surrounded by vegetation. It is very well kept and very popular.

The east coast was then our Plan B.

We drove to Miyazaki region where we went through cherry trees lined roads and valleys and fields of rice. 

We stoped at Udo Shrine where we went up and down the old stone road leading to the shrine, which seats in a cave in the cliffs by the sea.

We tried to get some extra luck by throwing small pottery balls called undama into a circle of rope marked in a rock in the seafront. Me and Manuel were luckier than Jorge. 

We proceeded to find a beach as Jorge wanted to soak his feet on the Pacific Ocean and ended up at Aoshima beach.

Late return to the hotel and we still had to do our first laundry! We found a coin laundry near the hotel and proceeded in doing the washing and drying. It took us an hour.

The boys were hungry. I was not (too many onigiri during the day!). So they went to the hotel's noodle bar where they picked blindly from the japanese menu and were offered a glass of pure shochu each by a very talkative japanese men. Wisely, the waitress offered them water to dilute the shochu. They returned to the room a bit tipsy and very merry!

It was almost 10.30pm when I had a shower which meant that it was too late to go to the rooftop bath with view (closes at 11pm). It probably wasn't the best day either due to the clouds. Tomorrow morning we can do that before check out. Baths open at an incredible 5.30am!!