Kyushu 2023 - Kumamoto to Kagoshima via Train

 

Last morning at the Super Lohas hotel here in Kumamoto. Gotta load up on the free breakfast as the next hotel doesn't comes with breakfast. Gotta alternate between good and average hotels for those longer duration travel. Although it does kinda brings you down when you down grade your lifestyle, even if for a short while..... anyway.

Making our way to the JR station, our train was not until later morning or noon time. So we got plenty of time to actually browse the mall. I headed for the bookstore. I love Japanese bookstores, as well as the variety of books I can find there. They have pretty unique books like day hikes from train station all over Japan, to slide of life books written by seniors, some as old as over 100! I especially like their lifestyle books and budgeting books. Even when I couldn't understand them, I bought them cause they were so calm to look at. Now that I can read a little bit, I made it a point to always buy some books back from Japan whenever I visit. 

There was again, Murakami books on sale here. Sorry, my level of Japanese is not up to novel standard yet. The best I could do is manga for kids :P

I was interested in this 3000yen budgeting book. But I couldn't see how much it cost, or perhaps I took a photo so that I can look for it closer to the last city we were visiting before leaving Japan. 

Books on Japanese culture also caught my attention. Basically, I am drawn to almost all the Non-Fiction books here. They are all so pretty! I wish I could read everything, or buy everything I want back. But I have so much unread Japanese book at home as it is already. Enough to last me a life time! Especially since they are non-fiction, you kinda have to use them. 

Lunch break before our train ride out of town. There was a big food court at the top floor of the mall. Someone had takoyaki. 

I wanted to have something very Japanese, so I was eyeing this crepes shop. Since I just had a free buffet breakfast from our hotel, I wasn't looking for a full set lunch. I just wanted something fun to eat, yet very Japanese. Yeah, I settle for crepes. You know why? Cause if you visit Tokyo, and went to Shibuya or Harujuku area, you'll see all these young ladies queueing up and eating crepes. And I've always wanted to try it, but I wasn't that financially willing then. Now as I grow older and wiser, it was time to live!

Ah, so pretty! And so many choices!

Me with my crepes! Happy. I might have gotten banana chocolate, which is my favourite combination of dessert toast, or maybe strawberries? I think it came with a coffee set too, why else would I paid extra for coffee, right? Lol. That's my guess anyway. It's been more than 2 years since I blog this! I can't imagine the day I would blog about my other long forgotten adventures in other countries! I have some maybe 10 years or older still waiting to get blog!

After our light lunch, we head to the train platform to wait for our train.

My faithful luggage. 2025, and I'm still travelling with it. I got this luggage when I joint a Japanese bank since I was expecting a lot of business trip. That was in 2015? So the bag is now 10 years old! I've changed the wheels, and even the handle before. There are dents on it (curtesy of Vietnam Airlines), and a crack few years back (probably from one of my solo trip), and recently I broke both the handles while I was about to start my Scotland trip! But I managed to survive the trip with a luggage belt, and that is how it will be until it is totally non-useable. Frankly, I can't bare the thought of parting with it. It's like my travelling partner now. 

Arrival of our train. Our first bullet train ride! Excited!

My ticket with the date time stamp of the ride for my souvenir shot.

And off we went on our next city!