The big Kyushu adventure - part 2

 After a long drive we have arrived in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto!

We're staying the night here in the Hotel Choseikaku.

https://www.hotel-chouseikaku.com/ 

After checking into the Hotel I went for a walk around town with my camera while everyone else went here to the Banpeyu Hinagu Onsen Center. https://hinagu-spa.com/

The Onsen center looks very nice. There's a foot bath in front by the entrance.

I happened to walk by just as Hiroko was coming out. I can see Mayumi and Yuko in the background.

Time for a group picture in front of the Banpeyu Hinagu Onsen Center.

This is a scene from my walk around Yatsushiro City.

While I was walking around I saw this pottery shop so I decided to go in and take a look.

This is Takada ware Yatsushiro yaki pottery.

This is the shop's pottery master. He's showing me a chart of all the previous master's in his family history and where he is in the family tree. I bouht the cup that's on the counter.

From left to right is the process for making Yatsushiro yaki pottery. The white color designs are inlayed, not painted on.  

This is some beautiful stuff. Grey is the natural color of the pottery.

The shop's website is "here"

The next day we stopped at a roadside Michi-no-eki by the ocean while we were driving to  Kawauchi Takagi Onsen.

Kawauchi Takagi Onsen is one of Japan's top 100 hot springs!

Internet site with some good information is "here"

Before going to the public Onsen bath we decided to walk around and explore the village.

This is a bus stop. The bus only stops here a few times a day.

There's Hiroko!

This village is in the middle of nowhere and the tourist attractions are a bit limited here. 

Okay, this is the public bath house. It cost 200 yen per person. Let's go in! 

Ladies bath on the left, Men's bath is at the end of the corridor.

This is the men's bath. The water temperature is HOT!

There's Suzuki-san enjoying the bath.

After the bath it's time for a group picture.

And, one more with me in it.

There is so much to see and do in Kyushu. After Kawauchi Takagi Onsen we drove to Iriki Samurai District & Gardens.

First we went to a museum and then we went for a walk around the Samurai District. This place has a nice peaceful atmosphere.

A nice old Samurai residences. There's a some typhoon damage to the roof.

A nice open air place to live.

A nice old traditional toilet!

A freshly thatched entrance at this residence. 

There's Emi inside the garden.

This place is probably crowded on the weekends. Lucky for us we were the only people here today.

One last look at the Iriki Samurai District & Gardens before we're back on the road. 

Welcome to Tsurumaru Onsen!  We'll spend the night here.

Website is "here"

The Tsurumaru Ryokan bath is HOT! . 

On the other side of the bath under the window is a small door. On the other side of the door is an outdoor bath.

Check it out!

The rooms are very simple but the food at this inn is fantastic! 

This is our breakfast.

Group picture... breakfast in the dining room!

There is so much more to do on this big Kyushu adventure.

Part 3 is coming next!

All the best,

Mike

The big Kyushu adventure - part 1

I'm going to start our adventure with our visit to Okawachiyama village.

Per the internet: Hidden in the mountains between Saga's famous porcelain towns Imari and Arita, Okawachiyama Village was once known as the "Village of the Secret Kilns". During the Edo period (1603-1867), Okawachiyama Village was completely controlled by the Nabeshima family who ruled the area, building kilns and employing the best artisans to make porcelain exclusively for the nobility. Many of the potters were Korean, who brought a style that differed from the pottery in surrounding areas. To preserve this exclusive style known as Nabeshima ware, the village was kept isolated from outsiders. As you walk through the quiet cobblestone streets, you will see various porcelain details embedded in the walls, including a blue and white tiled bridge. Shops and workshops in town sell traditional Nabeshima ware pieces and you can visit some of the old kilns. 

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's start walking around the village.

The entrance to the village is this beautiful bridge.

  

At the free parking area there is a big ceramic map of the village.

We arrived at 09:00am and I was surprised that many of the shops were already open. The village is best suited for walking. 

It is very picturesque here. It's a pleasure to walk along the streets. 

Here comes Emi and Mayumi. Hiroko  is in the back.

The girls started exploring the shops. I decided to checkout some of the back streets.  

Everything is so nice here.

I've been to Okawachiyama village before and I I'm sure I'll come here again in the future. I never get tired of this place.

I'm just following the scenic promenade.  

The walkway is leading me back to the center of the village.

On the other side of the bridge there is a nice shop on the left side. I decided to go inside.

Wow! This stuff is beautiful and expensive.

Next I went inside a shop that had things in my price range.

I bought a nice tea cup here.

Back outside I did some more wandering around.

At the end of this alley I turned left and walked into a shop.

The shop was small but had some amazing pottery on display.

This is a link to the shop's Instagram site: Zeryugama 
I was so impressed I bought two cups here.

Back out on the street. If you come here later in the day or on the weekend it is very crowded. By the way, the people in Okawachiyama Village are very friendly. There is no pressure to buy anything.

I noticed that there are a lot of cats in the village.

One shop had a Koi pond by the entrance.

Back by the entrance to the village I took a closer look at the bridge. 

There's so much more to see here but we need to get back on the road. We have many more places to visit today.

Time for a group picture before we all get in the car.

Crossing over the bridge on our way out.

Zooming in on the bridge one can see that the top section (under the vase) is made of thousands of small pieces of broken pottery. 

A couple of bonus pictures of the Nagasaki Peace Park for Mayumi. We visited the park the day before but we didn't stay very long.

Part 2 of the big Kyushu adventure will be coming soon!

All the best,

Mike