We visited Washington, DC in the morning today to see the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin. It was, unfortunately, well past peak bloom.
Continue reading “Past Peak Bloom at the Tidal Basin”Past Peak Bloom at the Tidal Basin
Western Influences on Nagasaki
After breakfast at the 長崎マリオット Nagasaki Marriott, we first visited 出島 Dejima, an artificial island that served as a Portuguese and then Dutch trading post and was the only port open in Japan for Westerners. We next visited グラバー園 Glover Garden, which contains former Western residences. Finally, we walked through the オランダ坂 Dutch Slope and 長崎水辺の森公園 Nagasaki Seaside Park before having Yakiniku for dinner at the edge of Chinatown.
Continue reading “Western Influences on Nagasaki”Nagasaki and Super Mario
After waking up at the ザ ブラッサム熊本 The Blossom Kumamoto, we checked out and headed over to 長崎 Nagasaki by a combination of Shinkansen and conventional rail. We left our bags at the 長崎マリオット Nagasaki Marriott and visited the 山王神社 Sanno-jinja and its one legged torii, having lost the other leg during the atomic bombing. After, we took the 長崎ロープウェイ Nagasaki Ropeway up to the top of 稲佐山 Inasa-yama for a fantastic view of the city. Next, we took a quick look at the 眼鏡橋 Spectacles Bridge before having a sushi dinner and checking in at the Marriott. Our room ended up being fantastic! In the evening, we took the Shinkansen over to 武雄温泉 Takeo Onsen to ride on the Super Mario train which was operating as the Midori.
Continue reading “Nagasaki and Super Mario”Kumamoto, Home of Kumamon
We checked out of the フェアフィールド･バイ･マリオット･熊本阿蘇 Fairfield by Marriott Kumamoto Aso this morning and took the train over to 熊本 Kumamoto and left our bags at ザブラッサム熊本 The Blossom Kumamoto, the hotel we’ll be staying at tonight. We had lunch at Ajisen‘s honten before checking out the Monkey D. Luffy statue and 水前寺成趣園 Suizenji Jojuen, both nearby. After, we visited 熊本城 Kumamoto Castle before having a sushi dinner in Kumamoto Station.
Continue reading “Kumamoto, Home of Kumamon”Mount Aso Volcano
After waking up at the フェアフィールド･バイ･マリオット･熊本阿蘇 Fairfield by Marriott Kumamoto Aso, we had a Lawson breakfast before visiting the first crater viewpoint for 阿蘇中岳 Aso Nakadake, one of five volcanic peaks within 阿蘇山 Aso Volcano. We were lucky to have seen the water-filled crater as the weather changed to rain and low clouds. After, we visited the 内牧 Uchinomaki district of 阿蘇 Aso where we had a late lunch before briefly visiting the Aso Milk Factory‘s nearby store.
Continue reading “Mount Aso Volcano”