During the Golden Week holiday season that started from April 29, we have been road tripping in Kyushu, Japan.
Last week, I shared the first 2 days of our trip where we flew into Oita prefecture to enjoy onsen in Japan’s onsen town, Beppu, and drove to Kumamoto in the mountain side (if you missed it, please read Kyushu part 1 blog for more information).

Day 3 – Dip in and out in Kurokawa onsen (May 1)

We were planning a hike in 牧ノ戸峠(Makinoto touge) 4km away from our accommodation. However, we woke up to intense wind, rain, mist (then sunshine a few minutes later). Country Mother Nature is fickle and feisty! 

Although, we had a plan to hike, we aren’t avid nor serious hikers. I don’t even own a pair of waterproof hiking shoes.

Not feeling hopeful, we enjoyed a morning soak in the onsen and headed to the starting point of the hike to Makinoto Rest House.

There were fully equipped hikers preparing themselves to battle the weather to reach the peak at 1,330m. We stayed at the car park for a few minutes (inside our car) as we drank our drinking yoghurt from Yamanaka Farm we purchased the prior afternoon. When the 500ml bottle was empty, we shifted our plan to 黒川温泉 (Kurokawa onsen) instead.

About Kurokawa onsen

Kurokawa onsen was until recently a hidden onsen village in Kumamoto prefecture’s mountain village. So hidden that until the year 2000, the village wasn’t listed on the local newspaper’s Kumamoto prefecture map.

“黒川温泉一旅館” is how this village of 30 ryokan (Japanese accommodation) operate, where the entire Kurokawa onsen (village) are considered as one big ryokan/ accommodation. The roads are corridors, the trees and shrubs around the village are the garden and all the shops and onsen in the village are one.

Their message is really carried through with their 湯めぐり(Yumeguri) pass. A big wooden medal like necklace costs 1,300yen from the tourist center allowing access to any 3 onsen out of the 28 onsen in the region for 6 months from the day of purchase. Many of the onsen in Kurokawa onsen are “rotenburo” or outdoor bath and Kurokawa onsen offers 8 different onsen qualities.

How can you possibly choose which 3 onsen to visit? Onsen sommelier has got you covered.
The pamphlet provided with the yumeguri necklace lists the participating onsen as well as 4 sets of 3 onsen quality types and the order to visit them according to one’s skin type.

There are options for:

• sensitive skin
• strong skin
• troubled skin
• for those wanting an overall health boost.

We decided on the strong skin option. We then selected the three onsen quality types based on the overall look and feel of the onsen venue and its size.

硫酸塩（Sulfate spring) | 新明堂 (Shinmeido) 

I was interested in this onsen as the ryokan owner took 10 years to dig a cave with his own hands to create a very unique cave onsen (using the baskets below to remove the rocks from the cave). 

This onsen felt like a maze with curves that connected and divided. Finding a nook in the shallow onsen was relaxing and I felt like I was in a different world. The view from the outside of the onsen looks quite normal so unless you researched it, you wouldn’t have noticed a cave behind there!

硫黄 (sulfur) | 旅館美里 (Ryokan Misato)

The photo in the pamphlet made it look like Misato onsen was milky with a view. When we visited at 1pm, it was clear looking onsen water with onsen particle (called 湯の花 Yu no hana) floating around. As you can see from the photos, I was luckily on my own.

単純弱酸性(mildly acidic) | 山みず木 (Yamamizuki) 

This ryokan was 20 minutes on foot from the main Kurokawa onsen village (you can drive and park your car or there are complimentary buses that will take you there). 

The walk was worth the trip because of the spectacular view of the river from the onsen under the trees and perhaps this onsen was closer to the source hence it was the hottest onsen we had on the day.

The entrance to the onsen shows how the onsen is surrounded by nature.

After a nice walk and good soak in 3 different types of onsen, we drove down to the Takachiho region in Miyazaki.

We stayed at an AirBnB / a lodge in Shonenji temple ground (run by a Buddhist priest’s wife who is also a priest and originally from the UK). Having access to a kitchen, we cooked Miyazaki beef and pork Hamburg and a big salad for dinner.

Day 4 (May 2)

Day 4 of our Kyushu road trip was exploring Miyazaki, the 3rd prefecture we visited during this trip. Firstly, here’s a bit about Miyazaki.

About Miyazaki

• It was the honeymoon destination with beautiful beaches (perhaps Hawaii has knocked it off its perch 🤔)
• 高千穂 (Takachiho Gorge) is a stunning narrow gorge that was formed by the eruption of Mount Aso. Travellers can rent a boat to enjoy the gorge’s height from the bottom or walk along the gorge edge.
• The area also has a strong root in Shinto (Japanese religion) as it is said to have been a place where Amaterasu, Shinto goddess once hid away.
• Miyazaki’s regional cuisine
  • 宮崎牛(Miyazaki beef)
  • チキン南蛮 (Chicken nanban)

高千穂 (Takachiho Gorge)

At 7:45am, the reservation for the boat rides were all sold out (numbers were reduced due to COVID-19). Initially I was disappointed but it soon vanished when I found out 30 minutes boat ride was 5,000yen!

Besides, the walk along the gorge was stunning. I especially loved the bold rock patterns like they were thick curtains.

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Address: 1073-1 Iwato, Takachiho, Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki 882-1621, Japan

天岩戸神社西本宮 (Amanoiwato Shrine) 

A short drive from Takachiho gorge is Amanoiwato shrine. There was an event happening and we saw these men dressed up:

From here, there was a scenic walk to a cave where it is said that the sun goddess, Amaterasu hid away as her younger brother was causing havoc.

Amaterasu hiding away in the cave led to both heaven and earth falling into darkness so the other gods set up a meeting to discuss how to coax Amaterasu out of the cave. They created rituals and laughter to bring her out of the cave which, fortunately, also brought peace back to heaven and earth.

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Address: 1073-1 Iwato, Takachiho, Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki 882-1621, Japan
From Miyazaki, we drove back to Kumamoto to explore Mount Aso area.

草千里 (Kusasenri)

Heading back up north to Kumamoto, we drove to Kusasenri on the west side of Mount Aso.

It was much colder and windier up the mountain where we could take in calderra of the area. I like how there was no prescriptive path to follow at Kusasenri so people were scattered everywhere.

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From Kusasenri, we saw lots of white smoke from not too far and decided to check it out.

Address: Japan, 〒869-1404 Kumamoto, Aso District, Aso, Kusasenri
700 entry to Kusasenri carpark

中岳火口 (Nakatake Volcano)

Just 5 minutes drive or so away was the entrance to the Nakadake volcano crater.

It costs 800 yen per car to be close to the crater (you can hike up there) but as the lookout was extremely close to the volcano crater, you are very much exposed to the volcano’s toxic gas. I would recommend a quick in and out (especially those who have weak lungs or have difficulty breathing). 

I’m healthy, but I started to cough when I went closer to the crater (and the visit started at the safest air quality!) It was the safest volcano gas level when we visited which is represented by a blue flashing light as you can see below, but by the time we left, the level worsened to yellow or the second worst gas quality. The condition near the volcano can change at any minute and we certainly felt the power of nature by visiting the volcano in Mount Aso!

上色見熊野座神社 (Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine)

On the way back to our accommodation, we drove to Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu shrine (what a mouthful!). It is a very picturesque shrine where you climb over 250 stairs through a mountain with stone lantern statues.

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Dinner: chicken nanban

We definitely packed a lot in a single day and we were starved. Before we left Miyazaki, we wanted to try their local soul food, chicken nanban. Back in Takachiho, some restaurants only accepted people from Kyushu or others were full. Luckily, we found a retro Manga cafe, Karinka and ordered chicken nanban. Very filling, juicy chicken and satisfying. 

Day 5 (May 3)

On day 5, we left Miyazaki headed north towards Fukuoka. Along the way, we had a couple of stops.

大観峰 (Daikanbo Lookout)

To cap off our trip in Mount Aso and the Kuju National Park, we visited Daikanbo lookout which provides 360 degree mountain views, including Mount Aso (and the volcano puffs), Kuju National Park and everything in between. We visited on Saturday during Golden Week so there were quite a lot of people plus tons of motorcyclists. 

This place was the perfect way to reflect on our trip and it felt liberating to see the big blue sky and the paragliders having fun.

黒川温泉Kurokawa Onsen こうの湯 (Kou no Yu)

A slight detour led us back to Kurokawa onsen where we visited in Day 3 of our Kyushu road trip. This time, we didn’t buy the Yumeguri pass but entered 1 onsen called Kou no Yu. This was an outdoor onsen with weak alkaline quality, it was milky clear water that felt soft on the skin. Totally zenned out, we were ready to hit the city. There was a big of a traffic jam but we arrived in Fukuoka around 5pm.

About Fukuoka

• Fukuoka is the largest city in Kyushu and the entry to Kyushu via the bullet train.
• Fukuoka’s regional cuisine
  • 屋台(Yatai food stalls) 
  • 博多ラーメン(Hakata style / tonkotsu ramen) 
  • 明太子 (mentaiko, cod roe)

We wandered to the port side of Fukuoka and walked to Nakasu (canal area) for some yatai or street pop up restaurants.

Due to coronavirus, apparently only 1/3 of the usual vendors were operating as many found the 9pm forced close too early to make it worth opening up. Usually, the canal area is packed with vendors where diners will do vendor crawls, eating, drinking and chatting with the vendor owner/chef as well as with fellow patrons.

Unfortunately, we didn’t experience the charm of yatai in its full effect as talking to others should be avoided and vendors hastily packed up at 9pm. We managed to eat at 2 street vendors and tried the famous Hakata ramen.

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Day 6 (May 4)

We wandered around Fukuoka city before checking out of our hotel.

Different look from the night before, we saw the yatai had been packed up and parked at a carpark near Nakasu canal:

I am still unsure what this was about but we saw a local festival/ custom where (I think) people dressed up as gods were on horses in a parade.

Our Kyushu road trip continued west towards Saga prefecture. On the way from Fukuoka, we drove through 糸島(Itoshima) which was a scenic town with a chilled out beach vibe. We would have stayed longer but as the weather wasn’t sunny and warm, we continued our journey to Arita, Saga.

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The post is getting lengthy so I will pause for this post and will share the remainder of the tip next week.

What part of our trip would you be interested in visiting? Please share in the comment below.

Hope you have a beautiful weekend.