April 7 - Backpacking in Kyushu

Today we set off further south towards Kagoshima. Our guide at the tea ceremony two days ago had recommended visiting Dazaifu so we added it to our itinerary and set off early with the expectation that we’d have to figure out various modes of public transport along the way. Wanting to travel light, we ditched our luggage at the hotel and set off like true backpackers. (We’ll be coming back through Fukuoka in a few days.)

Two bus rides later and we arrived in Dazaifu to have a wander around the extensive Dazaifu Tenmangū (Shinto) complex.

 Nearby was the tranquil Buddhist Komyozenji Temple, which was much plainer but offered a Zen garden where we could become one with the universe.

Next we continued south towards Kumamoto. After an early error in attempting to board a school bus, we hopped a train, then a 2 km walk, then another train, then a Shinkansen, then a tram to arrive at Kumamoto Castle.

(There actually was a decent crowd there, but when we went to take our photo a statistically rare “parting of the waters” occurred and it looks like it is deserted.)

Another tram, another Shinkansen, then another tram and we arrived at our hotel in Kagoshima in the early evening. (At $37/night I was worried about what it would be like but it turned out to be fine; plain but functional and clean.) We headed out to find some dinner but had no luck at all since we were so far away from the normal tourist spots: no English menus, few restaurants with pictures of the food, and half of them seemed to be strip bars. (We later learned that our mistake was leaving the hotel and turning left; the next night we turned right and come across several streets of good, authentic restaurants.) In frustration we attempted to get a burger at Mos Burgers but with no English-speakers available we were not able to communicate to them that Victoria wanted a plain burger, with no sauces, fried eggs, nor diced squid on top. In the end we were forced to do the unthinkable and get her a KFC simply because at least we knew how to order there. (Being a man of principle, I refused to eat there and got myself some pork sandwiches and sushi from the Family Mart around the corner.)

For those keeping score on the day, that was two buses, two trains, two Shinkansen, but the surprise winner was the city trams at three rides today.