Playing tourist

So today, since I had no plans written in my phone, I decided to play tourist for a while. I went on a drive to Yufuin, and then onwards to Kokonoe. I had been through Yufuin before, on my way to Kumamoto, but I hadn't ever taken the turn to Kokonoe.

Way back when, Kyushu was formed by a volcano. Specifically, this volcano is Aso-san, and it sits kind of in the middle of the island. Most of Aso, though, sits in Kumamoto-ken. So because of the volcano, a mountain chain also runs through the island. Around my former home, Aki, you can see hills, but not mountains. The plateaus are further inland.

So when you leave Beppu and are driving to Yufuin, the first thing you come upon is Kijima kogen. 'Kogen' is 'plateau' in Japanese. It's really quite a change from the darker greens near the ocean.

Then you get into Yufuin.


Yufuin is a bit of a tourist trap. Shop after shop sell the same things, and the big draw is all the onsen, or hot springs.

It's interesting that I had forgotten what guide books written in Japanese look like. In English, they list attractions mainly, with hotel/restaurant/bar guides. However, it seems that Japanese people are more concerned about what they are going to get to eat when they travel. Japanese travel guides are best described as gastronomic pornography, with page after page of color photos showing what restaurants have on offer.

In addition to gastronomic pornography, guidebook writers also believe in retail therapy, where the food shots are followed by page after page of shop reviews, along with their products.

So take someplace like Himeji-jo. Himeji-jo is the famous 'white crane' castle that is just outside the Kansai. A lot of tourist brochures for Japan are sure to have a photo of the castle. It is a cool castle, by the way. Anyway, a Japanese guidebook for Himeji may have a small mention about the castle itself-- which is a World Heritage site as well as a national treasure, and plays a significant role in Japanese history--, but then be followed by a two-page spread on the small tea house at the bottom of the footpath.

So, with all this in mind, what did I choose for my 'local product' lunch while in Yufuin? A 100 yen corndog from the convenience store.

A lot of the other JETs I remember traveled the same way-- the food from the convenience store is usually going to be okay, with no unpleasant surprises, and you can get the same stuff as in a restaurant but for cheaper, and it's easier too. Another trick I used (and still do), as do others, is going to a supermarket or department store for bento.

Anyway, following my local product lunch (the corndog was fine, by the way) and my failure to engage in retail therapy due to not finding anything I wanted, I got back in the car and proceeded toward Kokonoe. There is a second plateau, Handa kogen. This, too, is strikingly beautiful: