I had some time left on Himeshima before I had to take the ferry back in the afternoon, so in the morning I went for a walk to Mt. Yahazudake, which I learned about at the geopark museum the day before. Google maps or any of the maps in the information flyers I'd gotten didn't show any paths on the mountain, but a map displayed in the museum did, ( Read more... )

Last Sunday I left Beppu and headed for Himeshima, still in Oita prefecture. I decided to go there because it seems to be the main inspiration for the setting of the visual novel GINKA by Frontwing which I absolutely loved, both as a translator and as a fan ^o^ It hasn't been officially stated that it takes place on Himeshima in Oita prefecture ( ( Read more... )

Last Saturday afternoon I checked out the main tourist attraction of Beppu, the "Hells of Beppu" area! It was originally called that because hot water and steam was gushing from the ground everywhere, so that it was impossible to enter the area or develop it... But they did a pretty good job at developing it into a tourist attraction now! Sometimes ( Read more... )

What do I do when I visit a new place? Open Yamareco and see if there are any mountains there to climb =D That's how I found out about Tsurumidake, a 1300m (ish?) mountain overlooking the city of Beppu. There's a cable car too, but there's also a walking trail that leads straight from the beach all the way to the summit of the mountain, and it only ( Read more... )

On Friday I got up pretty early to go for a train ride~ I'm not a noritetsu otaku, but I've always wanted to try riding the Hohi line from beginning to end because it's supposedly really scenic, taking you through the interior of Kyushu including the caldera of Mt. Aso.


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