Kyushu 2023 - Kunisaki Usa Shrine (Usa Jingu)

 

First stop of our local tour was to Usa Shrine. Oh, I forgot to mentioned, that our local tour was to Kunisaki, a slightly outskirt area of Oita area to the north. I initially wanted to go hike the Kunisaki Peninsular mountains, as they were filled with Buddhist statue all over. But without a car, it was gonna be difficult. So I  was over the hills when I found the local tour and register for it. When I register for it, they didn't even take my money! We were supposed to pay the tour guide on the day of the tour. Talk a bout trust! A small voice in me was doubtful if even the tour bus would appear on that day! That's the thing about travelling, there is just so much trust involved. And when things goes as planned, its like your faith in humanity is restored. And when it does, oh well, you learned a lesson and move on, but always have some backup plans!

So back to Usa Shrine. Our bus dropped us at the bus park, and we were told to explore it on our own and be back by a set timing. All the Japanese seems to know what to do and went off headed for the shrine. I guess we just follow them! We were goodness, how the old ladies speed off! I must say, old Japanese aunties and uncles are amazingly fit!

The torii gate welcoming us into the holy ground. 

We went in via the new bridge, and looking to our right we can see the old bridge. The guide has told us to follow this path so that we can get a view of both bridges to see the contrast. Also, our bus was parked near the old bridge, so we would be making a round circuit back to the bus when we're done with the shrine.

Entering the shrine area. It was just so huge.

Some information of the shrine are available.

I learned that this was also the place where they have horseback riding and arrow shooting during festival time here. So where we were walking was actually where the event would take place annually. In other words, it was quite a long walk inwards since this path was where the horses would run!

The outer shrine. Nothing much happening here. Nobody seems to be going in, so we gather that this was not the main shrine.

The path lead us further into a forest area. I was beginning to wonder if we would have enough time to see the shrine and get back to the bus in time. We have already walked quite a distance at this point. But all our fellow travellers were still ahead of us, so I think it should be ok. Also, I have no mental map of this place, and was kinda stressed if I would be able to find our way back to the bus.

But the part of the forest was probably my favourite, with the beautiful sun ray shining in among the leaves of the tress. It's just something magical about it. I realised I am so drawn to places like this. And it wasn't just in the east too, I was equally caught in awe at the magical landscape of the fairy land of Scotland's Isle of Skye! I just feel so happy at such places that it was almost undescribable! 

Stretching my language skills here, I think that sign says road leading back, lol. Love the moss here.

Some of the path was uphill, as all path leading to God -______-

More beautiful moss and ancient trees!

And finally we arrived at the main shrine! Here, we can see people praying and making offerings and getting their fortune told by those small paper scrolls...

Some official info on the shrine here, but in Japanese, before we head back to the bus.

Here is the view of the new bridge while we were standing on the old one. Parallel universe :)

Here's me happily wandering around the shrine ground.

And our tour guide was extra nice to us since she knew we were non-Japanese. She helped us took some photos together while we were there. And yes, we did made it back to the bus punctually, as did everyone else :)

Kyushu 2023 - Breakfast and Kunisaki Local 1-Day Tour

 

After having a full day visiting all the Hells' of Beppu, I have booked as a local day tour the next day. Since I didn't have to stress too much about it, we had a relaxing breakfast at our lodging area before walking to the Beppu Station to find the meeting point for the tour. So for breakfast, I had an onigiri, strawberries and milk, and some rice cracker snacked. I'm actually writing this blog in 2025, just returning from a trip to UK Scotland, and I realised I also ate strawberries and milk in Scotland. Must be my go to meal! But the main reason is because strawberries and milk are expensive in Singapore and Malaysia! 

At the Beppu Station walking around. It's the start of Spring time, so Kabosu is in season. Kabosu is a kind of lemon/lime. Kinda like a calamansi too. And since it's supposed to be refreshing for the weather as it closes in on summer, there are many advertisement of it here in Kyushu, from drinks to bath salt. I love the art of this advertisement. It's kinda retro, yet modern. 

We were to meet at the bus stop of Beppu Station, and there was already a designated waiting area with the sign, so it was a pretty stress free meeting. Once the bus arrived (on time as usual since this is Japan), we were able to just take attendance and off we went! And as expected, me and my husband were the only non-Japanese on the tour, lol. Well it did state it was a local tour conducted in Japanese....

Here's our colourful bus, even indicating all the places that we will be visiting! 

All of us got a badge to identify ourselves so that our tour guide knows that we belong to her group. I forgot her name, but she was so nice! She talked non-stop through out the bus ride, sharing stories and history of the place. I can't really understand all of it, but I just know she shared a lot, from agriculture to life stories of the people living at the places we visited, to myth and legend of the place. 

Lunch was not included in the day trip cost, but our guide would help us order it in advance at a local restaurant. Since we were visiting all Buddhist related places, it would be a vegetarian lunch being  prepared for us. There was only 2 set lunch provided as option, so we both pick one each so that we can experience both options.

The bus actually went about collecting more people for the trip, and one of the place it stopped at was a cruise center of Beppu.

The beautiful sea view as we drive along the coastal roads. 

The cruise center. You can actually take a local cruise here to Osaka. Maybe there are cruises going to the Princess Mononoke Island of Yakushima which was so difficult to get to!

I've watched from YouTube that the cruise between Beppu and Osaka was called Sunflower. And since it was a local cruise, I bet they do things very differently from the normal American Cruise. Hope I can experience it one day.

Kyushu 2023 - Beppu Tower and Dinner

 

The beautiful seaside town of Beppu at night, with it's pink tower! We went looking for dinner after our day in hell. But everything was just yakiniku, pubs and cafe. So we decided to go to the mall at the end of the road to have our dinner. There were more family restaurants there. 

We ended up in a sushi place, which is also a family restaurant that serves all kinds of Japanese food to please a family with kids. You order from the touch screen. 

My husband wanted to eat here cause they have toy trains that delivers your sushi to your table! I think this was the first time I eat at such a place. I can't remember does Genki Sushi also have this concept in Singapore. After the train delivers your food, you have to push the button to release it back to the station. It's fun and exciting!

We were pretty hungry, so we ordered a lot. 

Sushi is so fresh and affordable in Japan. Always eat them when you are here! Always! Oh, I ordered a kushikatsu set too, an Osaka specialty cause I kinda miss this food. I remember eating it in Osaka Shinseikai area, and it was such an enjoyable meal. This one didn't measure up to it at all.

The total amount of sushi we had among us. It's a custom to stack the plates like this (I think). I learned this from my Japanese foster family in Hiroshima when I was in Japan for an exchange program. 

After dinner, we took a long walk back to our accommodation. The streets were lighted up pretty nicely, but it wasn't crowded. It was such a nice place, but so quiet. Was it always like this? I felt kinda sad for Beppu actually. I wish they have more business here. I hope they survive!

That wraps up our day in hell. Above is just a typical scene from a street in Japan wit the iconic vending machine. Even just looking at the photo brings a kind of charm to me. It's quiet. It's clean. It's just magical. By far, my favourite country to visit. 

Kyushu 2023 - Beppu Seaside Town and Donki

 

After completing our visit to all the Hells in Beppu, we too the bus back to Beppu town. We didn't stopped at the train station. We stopped way before that, near the beach so that we can explore around, and also, there was a huge Donki nearby. Above is the Beppu Tower. I love the retro look of it. It reminds me of that Shinseikai Tower in Osaka.

Beach area we went for a walk at. Pretty cool.

The giant Donki building. It sold a lot of souvenirs and seems to be catered more to tourist. But there wasn't much tourist here. Not much food stuff, which was disappointing to me. We ended up not buying much here. 

It is Beppu themed too!

So we spend some time outside taking photos of the Donki PenPen (Penguin). 

Here's me inside an onsen with PenPen.

We did went to use the toilet inside the building. Here is a typical toilet control look like in Japan! Awesome! Cleanest toilet in the world for me. Even if you find yourself out in nowhere, if there is a toilet there, it's going to be clean! Although, they may not have soup at the sink sometimes....

The only souvenir I got from Donki. I love that it's Moomin themed! 

Kyushu 2023 - Beppu Tornado Hell (Tatsumaki Jigoku)

Finally! Our last hell! There was a lot of signs here, cause there wasn't anything to see. There was a small seating area all looking towards this small area. After reading the sign, it says that this was actually a geyser. So it only shoots up every half an hour or so once. While waiting you can sit down at the seats facing the geyser area. 

My ticket. If it's a geyser, I wonder why they call it Tornado Hell. I though geyser only goes up and down, and not around in spiral.....

Here's the sign I mentioned at the entrance. 35 to 40 minutes apart from each geyser. 

This is what it looked like when it start or end. From small to higher and higher it went!

At it's peak, everyone is busy taking videos and photo. I was surprised it lasted quite some time. I guess I was just expecting one big shot of water and that was it :P I think this was my first time seeing a geyser. I saw something similar in Noboribetsu before, but before the water. It was just stone and steam with a lot of scary sound nearby our hotel. Pretty cool 

Cute tour bus parked outside the park. It has little horns on them!

Yay! We completed our stamp collection! I'm so proud of ourselves!

Ice cream treat while we waited for the geyser. It's lemon yuzu, and it was super refreshing and delicious!