Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Kyushu 2023 - Kumamoto A-Train and Me


I like the A-Train so much, I took a lot of photos with it. Or perhaps I was in a good mood that day. Everything seems to turn out right with the photos. So here are some of them to share.  Looking out to the train track from the train. 


Sliding door looking into the passenger carriage. The door so classy also. Any maybe its the shinny wood look for the train that made the trip memorable ;)


A nicer shot of the snack carriage. Even the staff working there are so smartly dress. Almost like you walked into a jazzy restaurant in a big city. Love it.


Here's me at the back of the train. 


Me again looking in to the sitting area.


Me outside the train. 


The staff went around offering to help take souvenir shots for the passengers. So we took one too. It has the date on it, a nice touch.


The train went through some coaster track, and we saw people on the beach. This is a monochrome photo which I love. Wow. The ride hasn't even reached the destination and I've already done 3 post on the train itself! Lol. 

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Kyushu 2023 - Kumamoto Taking the A-Train to Mizumi

 

I really like the A-Train, cause everything about it looked so classy. Even the control room on the train looks beautiful. Must be the colour scheme. It made all the difference.

Here is a view of the control room as well as the track. The view was just lovely.

Making our way to the other carriages. There was a viewing carriage where you could just sit there and chill. Seriously, I wonder why won't most people just make their way here instead of sticking to their boring seats. 


Window seats looking out to the window. Great place to have a drink or snacks. 


Love the window stained glass design too. Simple, and yet classy.


Here's me, on my seat with my tickets.


And here is my Houjicha Coffee Latte accompaying me on this short trip. It was just a short one hour or two hour ride to Mizumi. Hence I didn't really get any snacks to go on the ride with me. I'm glad I got a bottle of classy coffee though :)


And here are my postcard. Got to get two so that I can have a front and back view when I do my scrapbook. And there was a hand drawn info piece of paper of the places and area we were headed to too. When something is hand drawn, it automatically makes it more intimate. And that is also something Japan does every well. Personalised experience :)

Monday, May 19, 2025

Kyushu 2023 - Kumamoto A-Train

 

Our next train ride was the classy jazzy A-Train. And here it comes! We are taking it to Mizumi Town for a day trip and back. What is there to do at Mizumi? Hahahahaha. That is not the point. The point is to take as many limited train as possible while our Kyushu JR pass is valid!


The black and gold train pulling in to the Kumamoto station. A jazz tune was actually played. You can really feel the classy atmosphere of this ride. Japan trains are simply in a world of their own.


Lovely wide windows to look out from.


It was a rather short train, maybe just 2 carriages! Purely for tourist local and foreign. 


Of course our seats were reserved way in advance, so we went to look for our seats. 


The train itself was a moving shop, selling all their merchandises.


Even the snack carriage was classy! Love it! One of my bucket list things to do is to take a luxury train ride one day, doesn't matter from where to where. It must have a room on the train, with meals provided, as well as excursion. Just like a cruise, but on a train, on land. And I think the only way I can afford to tick this off my list is to do a luxury train ride in South East Asia.  Maybe Vietnam or something. Cause the Oriental Express from Singapore to Bangkok is like 3k for 3 nights on the train! Crazy!


Anyway, back to the A-Train, more interior decoration drolling. 


Amakusa is the area where all the resort islands are at Mizumi Station area. Most people take the train to Mizumi to catch the ferry there. 


A-Train postcards. Yes, I got them too! Collector's item!

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Kyushu 2023 - Kumamoto Station Morning Walk

Next morning, after a nice hotel breakfast, we took a slow walk to Kumamoto JR Station.

 

Here is my breakfast for the day. I try to eat a little bit of everything. Even though I could cook probably everything here, it is still a luxury whenever I can just open my mouth and eat without having to put in any effort except paying :P



Walking to the station, we passed by a few interesting buildings and area in the city. I love this type of travelling, where you just wander around neighbourhood and see what life was like for the locals. 


At the station, Kumamon Station Master was there to greet us. Dressed up so smartly too!


He also worked at the post office! Hard working bear! I wonder if you post a letter from Kumamoto, do you get a Kumamon stamp on it..... Guess I'll never know now! I sometimes wonder why I stopped sending postcards to myself. Have I outgrown the wonders of post? It's almost sad when you realise yourself growing old.....


Back on the train platform. Where shall we go today? 


Got myself a hot Houjicha Coffee Latte for my train ride. Destination reveal in the next post!

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Kyushu 2023 - Kumamoto City and Izakaya Dinner

Kumamoto is famous for their red beef meat, as well as horse meat. My husband was not having any of those horse meat idea, so I guess I have to settle for beef. I've already travelled all the way here, got to find the courage to part with my hard earn money to experience local Japanese beef. What better place to do so than here, a not so touristy place as compared to Tokyo or Osaka or Kyoto! And so, I found us a beef place to try. An Izakaya.  


I haven't been splurging much, so here goes! Izakaya is scary. When drunk, you tend to over order. And since it's more like bar and pub food, everything is salty, so you need more beer....


Lovely personalised paper lantern. It was at a side alley, so hopefully it won't be too expensive! Bit the bullet Cordy! Die with zero! YOLO!


And soon we were seated inside, for an early dinner :) Lovely ambiance. 
A side dish of tofu was served. 


Husband ordered a chinese looking pork dish. Probably stew pork, which wasn't bad.


The serving was surprisingly large.


I saw this mustard lotus root and immediately ordered it. It was on my to-try list of food from Kumamoto. 


Here is what it looked like when served. I totally LOVE this dish. Mainly cause I love mustard. So anything with mustard is a LOVE for me. But the lotus root is also crunchy, and fried like a tempura. It made a great snack. I would order it again whenever I see this. Lovely!


This was their special red beef. So we ordered that too.


Not sure if it was lost in translation, or it was because it was an izakaya, we got two orders of beef served to our table instead. Instant over budget! Oh well. It was already served, what can we do? Eat lor. I did enjoyed it, although it wasn't as amazing as I imagine it to be. Still, it was an experience that I had to have. A path in my life's journey that I have to cross. 


The izakaya area where we ate. It was at the corner of the main road. 


On our way back, we got some beer to drink in the room. Lol. Looks nice. Taste bitter!
Still, it was a great experience in our travel! No regret!

Friday, May 16, 2025

Kyushu 2023 - Kumamoto City and Lunch

 

Can't leave any tourist attractions in Kumamoto without seeing Kumamon! He is everywhere. Here's him standing randomly at the food area outside the grounds of Waku-Waku Museum. As the food around there was rather tourist price, we didn't really eat anything there.


We took a slow walk to town instead, enjoying the flowers that were blooming along the way.


There was a beautiful river running though town too, so we just follow the path and walk along it.


Finally cutting in to the city shopping area. The plan was to just wander around the area, and maybe find lunch and dinner before we head back to the hotel. I love these free and easy time planned into my travel. You never know what is going to happen!


Found some weird bookstore inside the shopping street. I mean, why is there a weird monkey man made of stone sitting inside like that? lol.

Saw the latest Murakami booked on sale here, and practically everywhere. Fun fact, it's 2025 now and I still haven't read this book, nor have I bought it. Why is that? Maybe it's time to dive into the world of surrealism again? Been reading so much books recently now that I can afford the time to. 


Lunch was decided by the husband, and he has to pick the cheesiest Japanese looking shop to eat in :P I mean, just by looking at the exterior, it just screams tourist trap! But he defended his choice because they serve fish there.

Inside the shop. Looks like a drinking place. Strangely not many people (cause it's a tourist trap!)


He ordered a sashimi set which looked like the photo here.


And I ordered the grilled fish cause it was cheaper! 


Super filling and satisfying meal. Tourist trap or not, the food in Japanese is always (almost 99% of the time) satisfying! I could eat Japanese food everyday! Although after a period I may start having craving for a burger and fries. Luckily there is also Japamese Hamburg Meal!