On Saturday June 21, 2025 my sons, IV and II, hopped in the van with camping equipment and a general idea of direction and took off to see Japan. Our goal was to see all four main islands of Japan mainland, see Fuji-san close-up, and take II to see Tokyo since he hasn’t spent much time there. We headed west toward Kyushu first. Our first stop was Hanaguri Public Beach. The sky was overcast and the water was a beautiful blue but cold. The boys swam for a short time. We then went to Viking Yakiniku and Sushi Buffet and ate our fill of grilled meats. That night we slept in the van in the parking lot of the Suonada Ferry Station while it rained. Early the next morning while walking around on the docks and taking photos, I met an older man who was exercising. He told me that he is an origami artist and gave me a card. Then he said he would make me and the boys origami. He stopped by the van and met the boys before he walked from the dock area. I didn’t see him again before we left because a short while later we drove the car onto the Tokuyama-Taketazu Ferry and headed to Oita Prefecture.
When we got to Kyushu we decided that camping wasn’t the best idea since it had been raining the better part of a day and showed no signs of letting up. Our Takachiho Gorge boating was cancelled so we decided to stay in the area we were already in and wait for better weather to see the gorge. We drove to Yufu where we stayed in a renovated Japanese home by a river. The property was listed as a B&B which stood for Book and Bed. The office next-door and the property itself was filled with bookshelves of Art and History books. Sadly, I still don’t read Japanese. I liked looking at the pictures though. The owner offered us use of a barbecue and the neighbor had a farm stand where you could get tomatoes and cucumbers for 100 yen.
The morning of June 23 we decided to go into town at Yufuin. We found a donut shop where we could see the donuts being made. Then we went to check out the Comico Art Museum and 3-D optical illusion museum. It was a great way to spend a rainy day.
That afternoon we headed to Kagoshima City in the Kagoshima Prefecture. We stayed in a hotel overlooking the bay and Sakurajima. Sakurajima is an active volcano that erupts several time a year. It was an island until an eruption and lava flow in 1914 made it a peninsula. We took a ferry the following morning and spent the day exploring Sakurajima. While it did not erupt while we were there, it did smoke quite a bit.
With the weather clearing, we decided to go back north toward Takachiho Gorge. The waterfalls, lush greenery, and volcanic rock make for a beautiful hike. We also found an open-top train with disco tunnels and a very high bridge. We camped near the gorge and got to use our scouting skills for a few days.
