The final steps in Asia

Yaagayau miini friends and family

Nagasaki

Freedom has returned, packed with a bag, pack and our Japan Railway pass, we board the rocket train Shinkansen towards Nagasaki. We arrive in Nagasaki in the early afternoon. After a brief confusion, we realize that we have indeed gotten off at the right station. At the train station, we treat ourselves to a cafe since we can't check into our Airbnb until later. At 2 o'clock, we finally go to our place that is about 10 minutes away. A small room, a bed, a mirror, clothes hooks, and a small bathroom. Perfect!

On our first day, we explore the history of Nagasaki, which should be familiar to everyone when they hear the name of this city. The second atomic bomb in history hit Nagasaki in 1945. The Americans initially wanted to drop the bomb over another city, but due to thick clouds obstructing the pilot's view, they made a last-minute decision and chose Nagasaki as the new target.

We visit the Peace Park with the hypocenter of the explosion. It's intense to stand there and be transported back in time, realizing what happened.

Further up in the park, there is a huge statue that commemorates that day and honors the many victims. Some school classes gather at the site and sing songs. Although we don't understand the meaning of the songs, it is still very moving.

We continue to stroll through the city and discover the Nagasaki Baseball Stadium of the Nagasaki Hawks. The entrance is open, so we enter the stadium to watch the Hawks' training. It's funny to see how enthusiastically the otherwise shy Japanese people celebrate the training. They shout and cheer when the ball is hit high into the stadium. After the training, everyone bows dozens of times in all directions and leaves the field. In the evening, we slurp a bowl of ramen in our neighborhood, and since we're quite tired, we spend the rest of the evening chilling in our room.

On the second day, we still want to explore the rest of Nagasaki. We take the local lotter tram to the southern part of the city to visit Glover Garden. It is a settlement of European immigrants who settled in the port city around 1800. The settlement is beautifully situated on the hill and resembles more of a park. The few houses are very impressive. The European flair, mixed with Asian influence, convinces me. The beautiful view from the verandas of the different houses is magnificent.

After about two hours, we return to the city center, stroll through the small Chinatown, and eat a Chinese burger, a type of meat wrapped in fresh dough.

After a short rest at home, we go to the Ropeway of the city in the late afternoon. A cable car that takes us to the city mountain of Nagasaki after a short ride. It has been quite cloudy all day, but when we arrive at the top, the sun actually shines on us. Wonderful..! We spend a beautiful evening on the summit and enjoy the surroundings during the day, sunset, and at night.

So our journey in Nagasaki ends, and we continue to Kagoshima, the volcanic city of Japan.

Kagoshima

After a good night's sleep, we continue our journey the next morning and arrive at the hotel in the early afternoon after a longer walk. Unfortunately, at the reception, we are told that there is another hotel with the same name. Fortunately, it is only 200 meters away. We first explore the surroundings and realize that Kagoshima is not as small as we thought. Colorful life thrives in the streets, with shops, restaurants, and numerous bars stretching for miles. In the evening, we climb the city's main mountain, from where we have a great view of the skyline. In the background, we can see the sea and the mighty volcano. We have a cool drink and enjoy the sunset with this breathtaking view. After the descent, we find something suitable for our dinner and succeed. We decide on an Okinomiyaki in a cozy little restaurant. The specialty is prepared directly on the integrated cooking plate of the dining table. It's fun to watch it sizzle and even more fun to eat it!

The next day, we set off to explore the main attraction of Kagoshima, the Sakurajima volcano.

After having our coffee and stocking up on food, we head to the port.

We take a leisurely ferry cruise to the fiery mountain. When we arrived there, we were amazed. The streets, signs, and cars, everything is covered in ash. Even a glance at the summit amazes us, huge plumes of smoke puff out of the crater and form black clouds that move along the sky. We buy a day ticket for the island bus, which circulates in the western part of the peninsula every hour. The weather is not cooperating on this day, with a few drops falling now and then. Nevertheless, we take a walk along the coast lined with volcanic rock and then drive to the viewpoint near the crater, where we enjoy our picnic under cover. The only good thing about the bad weather is that there are fewer tourists planning a trip to nature. In the late afternoon, we return to the hotel and end the evening.

After a short night's sleep, we get up early in the morning to catch the sunrise at the port. Simply a beautiful panorama, the sea, the harbor, and this fat smoking rock giant!

Beppu

We sleep for a few more hours and then go to the train station again to take our friend, the Shinkansen, towards Beppu.

After a huge dose of nature, it's time to relax. Beppu is a small, manageable town known for its many hot springs. We arrive at the train station in the early afternoon and walk to our accommodation. We take the local bus for about 20 minutes to a park. Everything is thought out down to the smallest detail. After an extremely hot foot bath, we explore the rest of the park and admire the smoke-spewing geysers. To conclude our time in Beppu, we choose a more expensive onsen (10 Swiss francs), which is located on a mountain and is ranked number 1 on Trip Advisor. The best idea to invest a little more! It was incredibly beautiful. It has a mixed outdoor area, mostly for families, and every hour there is a light-water show. We didn't expect much, but the show was better than the one at the Macau Casino! Laser beams were shot through two high-fountaining fountains with a projector, which were then reflected by the individual water droplets. Afterwards, water jets from all sides sprayed, dancing in the air to the music. The absolute highlight, however, was the separate wellness area on the upper floor. Several hot water pools, which offer a wide view of the city, invite you to linger. Dry sauna and whirlpool are a must. Since we were there late in the evening, we could even observe the stars. Balm for the soul! We returned at half past ten and fell tired but happy into bed.

Himeji

Today, the journey takes us to Himeji, where a bit of culture is a must. Himeji is home to Japan's most famous castle. First, we bring our luggage to our hostel, Kimono Inn, just a few hundred meters from the castle. Upon arrival, we are surprised how beautiful and cozy the hostel is. Small but nice, and the owner even gives us a free upgrade to a private room. Niiiice! We walk to the castle in hot weather and first visit the forecourt with the protective wall and then the six-story castle. The castle was very cleverly built, making it almost impossible for attackers to conquer. Moats and waterholes divide the attacking troops, steep walls fortify the core, hidden rooms provide surprise attacks, stone-throwing openings were built, and numerous shooting slits are ready for rifles and bows. Even the bombing in World War II did not destroy this building. The castle also impresses with its appearance, the detailed roofs and stone facades are a feast for the eyes. After that, we visit the adjacent castle garden and then return to our cozy home.

Nagoya

For the last time, we board the Shinkansen and enjoy our roughly 90-minute journey to Nagoya once again. The landscapes pass by quickly. Beautiful!

We have booked a nice hotel room with a real double bed and a rain shower at a bargain price. That's why the two days in this city are quickly told. We stroll around the city and do some shopping along the shopping streets. We spend most of the remaining time in the hotel room, planning our trip on the west coast of the United States. The rough plan until mid-November is in place, but there is still a lot to organize.

Osaka

Today, we are actually heading to the final destination of our Asia trip. The destination is Osaka, or as it is popularly known, "the eternal second". Economically behind Tokyo, culturally behind Kyoto. This time, we travel by the inconvenient highway bus since our railway pass has expired. Upon arrival at the hostel, we settle in first. A cozy bunk bed for two. But appearances can be deceiving, and the night was probably the most uncomfortable in Japan. The reason for that: bedbugs, little nasty bugs that burrow into the mattress. After killing about 9 bugs and getting only a few hours of sleep, we complain at the reception and change to another floor that has remained bug-free. The bug-infested floor is then closed off, as we obviously weren't the only ones to complain. After our horror night, we are eager to explore Osaka City, so we take the metro to the center of the metropolis. It's crazy how people look. The main thing is to be noticeable, you could say. Colorful hair, strange outfits adorned with chains and feathers. We have fun watching the city's happenings. Unfortunately, the weather doesn't cooperate, so we mostly stroll through the covered, crowded shopping streets and browse through the stores. On the second day, we visit Osaka Castle and its park. We leisurely sip a coffee on the high castle walls and enjoy the beautiful ambiance. Since we already inspected Himeji Castle, we skip a visit here. In the afternoon, we go to Osaka's main station, discover a green garden on the 16th floor, from where we have a fabulous view of Osaka's skyline and visit the Pokemon Center. Pikachu!

We spend a lot of time planning our trip to the United States. Travel routes, Airbnb, flights, workaway, car rental, immigration/flight regulations, and drone registration. Yes, traveling is not always just pleasure. 😁

After our last bowl of ramen, we are both excited about what's to come and looking forward to Hawaii. Hopefully, everything goes well...

Lars