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
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”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”A Slow Day in Oita
We enjoyed breakfast and our in-room onsen at the アマネリゾート ガハマ Amane Resort Gahama before visiting nearby Oita in the afternoon. We didn’t do much, mainly visited AMU Plaza and its rooftop garden as well as the pop-up Super Mario x JR Kyushu shop, before returning to Beppu for an early dinner. And more onsen time, of course!
Continue reading “A Slow Day in Oita”Beppu
We enjoyed the onsen and had breakfast before leaving the ゆのひら上柳屋 Yunohira Kamiyanagiya and taking the train over to 別府 Beppu. We visited this onsen city’s famous 地獄 jigoku and checked in to the アマネリゾート ガハマ Amane Resort Gahama. In the evening, we relaxed in our room and enjoyed the in-room private onsen.
Continue reading “Beppu”