Japan: Kyushu and Hokkaido. Part 2 of 2

Kyushu: Beppu, Nagasaki & Fukuoka

A few hours on a high speed train brought us from Tokyo to Beppu, located on the eastern coast of the southern most island of the main archipelago, Kyushu. After the heavily visited tourist centers of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto we were looking forward to escaping the crowds and heading to more remote destinations.

Again, the high-speed rail made the 700 mile trip from Tokyo to Beppu easy, and the train stations are almost a destination themselves! Each one selling ekiben, or train station bento boxes with different regional specialties.

Emerging from the train station in the early afternoon, we found we had left the familiar temperate rainforest of the main island of Honshu for a slightly more tropical climate. Not wanting to waste any time we stored our bags in a locker and rode a bus a little further south to a large monkey sanctuary. After buying our tickets we elected to walk up several hundred steps instead of riding the monkey themed monorail. After climbing to the edge of the forest another guest did her best to act out what was about to happen. After some guess work at this game of charades we learned we arrived just in time for a monkey feeding! Only moments later the staff began to roll out wheelbarrows of sweet potatoes and dozens of monkeys began streaming out of the forest. They ran all around us, one even grabbed Sammi's leg. We were both thoroughly entertained by the monkey's antics and equally confused by the whole situation. Are these wild monkeys? I knew they were native, but we were feeding them, what's the purpose of this sanctuary? But both man and monkey seemed satisfied with the outcome, and I suppose I don't understand the needs of the monkeys on Kyushu. After lots of laughs and smiles, the sun was getting low in the sky, and we had to say goodbye to our new primate friends and catch the bus back to town.

Beppu really is an interesting city, built directly on top of such a geothermally active area. As you walk through the town, steam vents out of grates and from between almost all the buildings, creating a strange steampunk world. Nearly every hotel and even some residences have piped natural hot spring water into small pools for soaking, called onsens. Our first night we booked a stay at Yamada Bessou, a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn. We also booked the private hot spring that night, for a relaxing and more solitary way to experience an onsen. (It was also our only option as tattoos are still banned in public onsens.) Upon checking in we both selected our yukatas, a more casual style of kimono. Donning our new clothes, we wandered the wood halls, with their pleasant, grassy scent of tatami straw mats and found the private outdoor onsen. A slight sulfur aroma accompanied the steam as I tentatively dipped a foot into the almost too hot water. Soaking under the night sky, listening to the rhythmic trickle of the water, our time in the onsen drifted away like the twinkling stars. Over too quickly, but before the heat of the water caused me to pass out, we stumbled back to the room to sleep soundly on our Japanese futon bed.

The next morning, as suggested by our hosts, we wore our yukatas to breakfast. We both had selected fish, and the meal consisted of several small dishes, miso soup and salted, charcoal grilled fish. I know many Westerners may struggle with this for breakfast, but the two of us loved it. Our night at Yamada Bessou was an experience not to be missed.

After a tranquil early morning, we took a short train ride to Kitsuki, to visit an ancient samurai village. Walking through several well-preserved homes belonging to samurai warriors was entertaining and educational. We learned about the careful balance they applied to their lives. When these skilled, professional warriors weren’t engaged in combat they practiced the arts, like calligraphy and floral arrangement. This same ying and yang balance is still seen in Japanese cultural today. I believe this may be why the world’s fastest trains are decorated with Pikachu and other overly cute, animated characters, sewer manholes are adorned with octopus, and construction barriers are shaped like foxes. The trip to Kitsuki was a fun morning diversion, especially for anyone interested in the mysterious lives of the samurai.

Returning to Beppu, we took the bus to the numerous hot springs, boiling mud puddles and prismatic pools of scalding, mineral laden water. But unlike Yellowstone in the U.S., here every spring had its own adorable plush mascot. We ate eggs boiled in a spring. At another location you could order vegetables and cook them over a steam vent. It was all silly and fun and a very different way to appreciate these natural phenomena. Our final night in Beppu was spent in a budget motel, also with its own onsen, but here it seemed as if the steam and moisture from the springs had permeated the very building itself, leaving it feeling musty and damp everywhere. To be frank though, I'd stay there again. This is how we budget our accommodations when traveling. One night at a charming ryokan and the next at a moist, budget hotel.

The next day we were back on a high-speed train to Nagasaki for our two night stay. As many of you may know, this was the location of the second atomic bomb dropped during WWII. Nagasaki’s hilly and rugged landscape preserved some of the structures from the blast, so many temples and historic buildings survived, unlike in Hiroshima. After arriving and checking into the Hotel Monterey, we took the local tram to explore the area, including a large Confucian shrine and the Dejima Warf, where we ate lunch. Nagasaki has a charming waterfront and an interesting European feel. An impression left behind by the generations of foreign traders that lived here, even while most of Japan remained closed to the outside world. That night we visited Nagasaki’s China Town and discovered mapo tofu. This dish consists of delicate silken tofu, seasoned with fermented chili bean paste, a little Szechuan peppercorn and ground pork. A little spicy, a little sweet and full of umami from fermented soybean, this dish checked all the boxes for me. I followed this with a traditional dessert of almond tofu. We enjoyed this meal so much we returned the following night, and I ordered the exact same thing, not something I do often! And for the curious, that picture above of the raw red meat, it's horse, raw horse, and yes, it's delicious.

The following morning we visited Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Museum. This was an emotionally weighted experience and perhaps not one for every traveler, but it felt inconsiderate to come casually enjoy this country without at least attempting to acknowledge these tragedies. Because I don’t have any direct or personal connection to this event and I don’t want to offend any readers, I won’t go into great detail about everything we saw here. All I will say is that the horrors of war are real. They are more than the distant news reports or documentaries we watch while sitting comfortably on our couches. The tens of thousands of lives extinguished here in the blink of an eye should never be forgotten and I hope the memory of it is enough to stop this from happening again, to anyone, anywhere and for any reason.

After our second round of mapo tofu, it was our final night in Nagasaki before we rode the train north to Fukuoka.

Another smooth train journey brought us to Fukuoka, but not before we discovered a new train station specialty. Small, fresh baked hoagies were cut in half lengthwise and covered with a creamy spread of fish eggs before toasting in an oven. These were so good, they had us scrambling all over the train stations, trying to find them a second time and nearly missing a train. We also found some great local green tea, grown in the mountains on Kyushu. These teas actually brought us a new appreciation for Japanese green tea as we enjoyed several varieties with distinct flavor profiles and mouthfeels. Did I mention this was all in the train stations?

Our time in Fukuoka was brief, this way more of waystation for us to catch our next flight to Hakodate. But it could be a destination itself, with some of the last remaining yatai food stalls left in the country. There are some impressive temples as well. We visited Tocho-ji Temple, with its giant wood Buddha and Pilgrimage of Heaven and Hell. Here we walked into a small passage that quickly engulfed us in absolute darkness. Blindly holding onto a rope running along the wall, we cautiously stumbled along, occasional images of demons and demi-gods appeared before emerging from the other end of the passage.

We took a quick side trip to see a giant laying buddha, unusual for Japan. Ate coffee jelly with softserve and enjoyed a light and water show in a giant mall along the busy waterfront. A busy conclusion to our short stay on Kyushu.

Hokkaido: Hakodate and Sapporo

Hokkaido is the northern most island in the Japanese archipelago. Hakodate is the largest city in southern Hokkaido with a population of about 240,000. The area was inhabited by the Ainu people until the 15th century when the Japanese began to expand northward. This meant much of the city is more modern, and like Nagasaki, it has a mix of traditional and European architectural styles.

One of its best known attractions is its Morning Market. Here we ate some of the freshest and best priced seafood of our trip. Our first morning we dinned on donburi, rice bowls topped with raw shrimp, scallops and uni, fresh sea urchin gonads. That morning we visited several interesting churches, drank tea in a Russian style teahouse, visited the old Public House, and ate a Chinese chicken burger from a restaurant with a terrifying clown mascot. All this was enjoyed while walking around the beautiful brick and stone streets of Hakodate.

That afternoon we visited Goryokaku, an interesting 19th century Edo era fort built in the shape of a five-pointed star. Later we ate Japanese style soup curry at Soup Curry Begirama and it was a ten out of ten! A rich, slightly sweet, squid ink curry was generously topped with fried squid, seaweed and flash fried vegetables. It was so good we repeated it the following day and even tried to bring a vacuum sealed package home only to have it seized by customs (can't bring meat products into the U.S.).

Samantha started the next day at the market with a whole grilled flounder, leaving me a little jealous. A 15 minute bus ride brought to the Shinto Yakura Shrine. From here we walked to the Kosetsuen Garden that dates back to the 1800's. Reveling in the newly turning autumn foliage, it seemed the change from the southern island of Kyushu was only now noticed.

After crepes and snacks, a combination of buses and trams brought us to Cape Tachimachi where enjoyed an brilliant sunset.

For other curious and budget conscious travelers like us, we stayed in the Pension Puppy Tail Hotel in Hakodate. The hotel looks as if was decorated by an 80 year old Eastern European grandmother, but the beds are surprisingly comfortable and the host is very friendly. It also appeared to be the favorite for some early season ski resort staff who had just arrived in Hokkaido.

Continuing our trip, we took our last long train ride from Hakodate to Sapporo on the Hokuto Limited Express. Arriving about four scenic hours later, we made it to our final destination. Standing in Sapporo, you now find yourself almost equidistant from both Vladivostok, Russia and Tokyo, your increasingly northern latitude becoming more and more evident. This city is probably best know to Westerners for the eponymously named beer, or its proximity to world class, deep powder skiing. But it wasn't yet ski season and we don't drink, so we had to discover other ways to enjoy Hokkaido's largest city!

Our first objective was to find a shop selling local, Sapporo style, spicy miso ramen for lunch. We chose Ramen Shingen, and we were not alone. On this random, cloudy weekday, the early lunch crowd line wrapped around the building and down the sidewalk. When something is good in Japan, people are willing to wait, so we joined the cue as the only obvious foreigners. About thirty minutes later we were seated and ready to order, in restaurant lines you're often presented a menu as you near the end so your ready to place your order as soon as you're seated. That is if you haven't already ordered from a machine, either a new digital one, or a classic analog one, with buttons only in Japanese, anxiously waiting for it to spit out a ticket so you can give your mystery order to the chef!

Our miso ramen arrived quickly. Its salty, umami broth warming us both. Sated, and having exceeded the daily recommended sodium intake in one meal, we were ready to climb Mt. Moiwa. Here we enjoyed several miles of fall foliage. The golden glow of the ginkgoes intertwined with the amber and crimson hues of the Japanese maples, illuminating the path ahead. Arriving at the top, we sipped tea and coffee while appreciating panoramic views of the city. We then enjoyed a relaxing ride on the aerial tram back to base of Mt. Moiwa.

That evening we found ourselves wandering the many underground plazas and walkways you find under so many Japanese cities. These often connect directly to subway lines, and shopping malls, many of which have serval underground floors. Here in Sapporo, we stumbled upon an underground chrysanthemum competition. We looked through all the different flower classes. Some varieties draped over wire frames, other stood upright, as single perfect shoots, adorned with a solitary, gigantic bloom. Stunned by the beauty and variety of the flowers we took many photos and picked out our own favorites, to see if our opinions aligned with the competition's judges.

Waking up refreshed at the Lamp Light Books Hotel, we began our final full day in Japan. A local train brought us to Otaru, a nearby tourist favorite, with a red bricked waterfront and a history of local glass making. I had a lunch of broiled, fresh bay scallops on top of potatoes au gratin, and Samantha had a tasty pasta at LeTao, a Japanese Euro fusion restaurant. After purchasing some small souvenirs we rode back to Sapporo.

Our final night was spent walking the gingko lined boulevards and making our way to Daruma, a Japanese style Mongolian lamb barbeque restaurant. Located in the family friendly, Sapporo redlight district (at least from the street). We again cued up, there was a second location only a block away, so I jogged there to see if the wait was shorter. Samantha called and said her line was moving quickly, so I rejoined her just moments later, my attempt to save time only burning calories.

At Daruma, we ordered several cuts of lamb and were presented with a small cast iron grill filled with Japanese charcoal. After some friendly guidance from the staff, we began grilling our lamb and mushrooms. Leaving dinner, scented with the odor of grilled meat, we visited several shops on the way back to our hotel and made sure to revisit the impressive underground flower display.

The next day we had plenty of time to ruminate over our journey while flying from Sapporo to Tokyo to San Francisco to Seattle.

Another country, another cultural experience, shared with family and friends, we found Japan to be both familiar and relatively easy to navigate, but with a unique millennia old culture that's worth steeping in for a few weeks. A great destination for travelers of all kinds.

Thanks for reading! Join us for more adventures soon!