Sakura season

Most of my free time recently has been spent doing 花見 (cherry blossom viewing), whether it be at local parks, small clearings or near Kumamoto Castle. This year was special, as roads usually closed due to earthquake damage were specially opened for the season. 

The Japanese really do believe that they signify new beginnings, and to see the development in the castle restoration around this time of year surely brought some sense of hope to the locals with their fighting spirit. 

That’s one thing I love about everyone here; their utter embodiment of the phrase 頑張ろう熊本.

A complete juxtaposition to the delicate beauty of the sakura, was the Aso Fire Festival. This festival consists of various events over two months, but at the end of March we attended the fire swinging ceremony.
This Shinto rituals’ roots are based upon the twelve Gods who live in Aso Shrine. One of them, Kumitatsunokami, is the guardian of agriculture, and people hold a bale of hay (tied by rope) and swing it around their heads for a productive harvest. 

Suffice to say that health and safety would have a field day, with bales of hay flying into the groups of photographers cowering in the line of fire. I have to admit though, I released my inner cowgirl that night and thoroughly enjoyed the sense of danger and chaotic atmosphere of the whole occasion.

 

Sometimes the hype over the sakura can seem a bit much, and I usually don’t go to out of my way to see it. I find that it’s the places you stumble across accidentally are the ones that are the most beautiful; something I found on a visit to Tamana this past weekend. 

After brunch in a rustic café, we took a stroll along the riverside. Later we headed to Jagatani Park, where we headed to the top of the mountain to reach the observation area, walking through tons of beautiful cherries on the way up, and zooming past them on a giant slide on the way back down. 

In the late afternoon the four of us played some weird combination of crazy golf and croquet, and as the wind picked up the petals starting blowing all around us. We finished the trip with a dip in the local onsen, watching the sunset overlooking the Tamana countryside and the Ariake Sea.

With some rainy weather in store over the next few days, it’s safe to say that soon the delicate sakura petals will be scattered across the ground. It’ll mean the end to this year’s cherry blossom season, but what a season it’s been.

Hakone: my new favourite onsen town

Hakone is an onsen town in Kanagawa prefecture that I’ve wanted to visit ever since I discovered my love for onsens. Historically, it was used as a checkpoint for travellers along the road which linked Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto. 

It was known for being one of the strictest checkpoints used by the Tokugawa government at the time, employing “hitomi-onna” who specialised in spotting feminine features, to prevent wives and children (disguised as men) from escaping their lives as hostages to feudal lords.

Some parts of this old route still exist, and while you can walk it, our trip was focused on being a relaxing retreat in the middle of the school semester. There is a recommended route for travellers visiting Hakone for a short time – aiming to do a loop around the most famous spots - but Haruka and I decided that we’d much rather do things at our own pace.

 

We’d chosen a long weekend in February, meaning it was risky, but we trusted in Japanese people to be working on Saturday and headed up nice and early to miss the wave. We rode the Odakyu Romance car from near Haruka’s family home, and began our first day by heading to Owakudani.

We began our journey on the Tozan railway, the only mountain railway in Japan. As it’s such a steep incline, there are switchbacks starting halfway up the mountain allowing the train to change direction, which is a unique experience in itself. However, during that journey, the light flurry of snow turned into thick fog by the time we’d reached Gora and were about to ride the cable car up to the caldera.

 

Quote: “Owakudani has good views of Mt. Fuji on clear days”. The audio commentary whilst riding the ropeway was amusing to say the least; hearing about the beautiful views of Fuji in the distance, despite only seeing crisp white outside the windows. Thankfully, just as we reached the crater, the fog cleared slightly so we were able to see a glimpse of the sulphur fields we’d came for. 

The famous “kuro-tamago”, or black egg boiled in the nearby hot spring, is said to increase your life by seven years after eating one. However, we decided to try egg flavoured soft cream, despite the fact the wind at this point was blowing the snow sideways. That was a nice surprise, and I don’t know why we both thought it would be savoury, but it tasted exactly like Ambrosia custard in soft cream form.

We could have carried on for the second part of the ropeway towards Lake Ashi, but we decided to head there the next day, in the hopes the weather would get better and I’d bag some Mt Fuji snaps. Instead, we headed to a nearby onsen and done what we’d gone to Hakone to do. 

After the onsen, despite attempting to force our way into a fully reserved yakitori restaurant, we settled on something from the only convenience store in a 10 mile radius. Slight exaggeration, but it felt like it at the time, but all was well when we headed back to the hostel, befriended some Chiba boys during our expensive cup ramen dinner, and spent the evening drinking cheap sake together.

The next morning started with breakfast at the most adorable café near the station, and a horrifically nauseous journey to Hakone Shrine. Before you say it, it wasn’t hangover induced, I get very badly car sick. Granted the sake stomach didn’t help, so fair warning to anyone in the same boat as me… be prepared for the worst bus journey of your life and the prospect of having to almost vomit into Lake Ashi upon arrival. 

Hakone Shrine is famous for having its tori gate sat in the water of Lake Ashi. It’s similar to the more famous Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima, however in Hakone you are able to walk out easily to the gate from land. 

Hundreds of people were lining up to take photos under the gate, and it seemed like a well-rehearsed affair, with the assumption that the person behind would be your photographer. All was going well until it was almost our turn, when some idiots in paddle boats decided to get right the background of the photo op. 

Thank god they moved, because I was most definitely not in the mood to be dealing with a swan boat in my patiently-awaited shrine picture.

Once we ate lunch and experienced round two of the deathly bus journey in a peachier mood, we headed back to get some last minute souvenirs and Hakone pudding. The streets near to the train station are lined with numerous craft stores, selling the local wooden craft of yosegi zaiku and stalls selling my favourite winter snack, onsen manju. 

I’d love to go back again, especially when the Tozan train route is surrounded by blooming hydrangeas. Next time, I’m hoping to visit a different hot spring, visit craft houses, and venture into some traditional tea houses hidden along the old road. The less we talk about Mt. Fuji the better. At this rate I’m never going to see the bloody thing properly until I climb it.

Sasebo getaway

My first trip of the new year was to Sasebo, a city in Nagasaki known for having a large US Navy base. What was originally just me accompanying Sheridan on a day trip to get a new tattoo, turned into an impromptu weekend getaway, with Olivia and Simona joining in on the action. It wasn’t the most eventful and jam packed of trips, but it was the change of scenery we needed.

That weekend Sasebo was almost dead, to my surprise, but that was because all but one of the Navy ships were out at sea. 

I’m sure that once all the Americans are back in town, the atmosphere changes completely and that’s something I’m wanting to see.

 It was still pretty damn cold, so after a day of mooching we had a decidedly chill night in, complete with face masks, Netflix and eating about 3 days’ worth of sodium in one sitting due to a badly judged beef jerky binge. Living in Japan makes you crave the oddest foods, especially when you have access to all the goodies from the US base. 

We had our first taste of the famous Sasebo burger, which honestly was nothing to write home about, but the cowboy hats at the restaurant definitely make it feel like I was in 'merica.

The next day we became complete tourists and visited Kyujuukushima, or the group of 99 (but officially 208) islands. The cruise on a pirate-esque ship took about an hour, weaving its way through the shallow channels. 

Some of the islands had an array of ladders into the water, which I can imagine would be great to canoe out to, and spend the day swimming in the clear water slightly away from the busier areas. 

 

Being January, obviously we didn’t do anything quite as exotic, but we did have lots of laughs. It goes to show that sometimes you don’t need to have a crazy schedule somewhere, and the right company can make for the best retreat.