Fukuoka Marathon locked in. We flew into the southern isle of Japan. A wonderful run, Ken said. Mimi called and asked if Ken won. Er... yes, against himself... A very happy start to our road trip.
The Island
That morning he ran, I headed straight to the pier and took a ferry to Uminonakamichi.
Arrived at a quaint little ferry terminal…I was the lone passenger on the ferry. With some help, I meandered across the quiet island town filled with flowers in search of this Uminonakamichi Park.
Explosion of pink Cosmos dancing in the wind like they go on forever, wild and free… 花痴看到花就是开心！Yes, I am starting to pose like my mum!! I know.
Barely covered 1% of the park when storm came. Forwarded Ken a photo of me freezing cold, seated on a return ferry deck. The best part of any boat ride - to feel the wind and splashes of ocean on one’s face. To truly feel alive. “Wah deardear 出海啊!？“ 当然，猫不在，老鼠自然鬼混得远些。
The mountains were calling
Collected our rented car on Day 3 and left Fukouka.
They say, once you roam the mountains, you belong to them.
Driver on Apple Map. Vehicle Commander on Google Map. Ken’s talent is spotting great locations for coffee breaks and food. VCOM’s expertise is getting lost. Together - A Dream Team.
White car in front of us seemed headed in the same direction. 小白，我们就跟定你了。你去哪，我们也去哪。可是，不多久，我们就把小白弄丢了。
We checked into a ryokan. And 躺平。
Really nothing much to do everyday... I rearranged the pantry and made tea. Picked up a picture book and joined Ken at the patio, chuckling at how monkey was going to be eaten by shark while waiting to be collected for dinner. We spent one hour like we have three hours and time followed our pace naturally.
Walk walk walk walk... Luckily for my knees, everything in Japan comes in "just enough" packages. Not too big, not too steep, not too tiring...
I love the iron rooster. Train rides are the most romantic and nostalgic connection a traveler can have with the land. The delightful Amaterasu Pink railway train brought us across farmlands, villages, tunnels and mountains in slow rocking fashion. No hurry. View should be fantastic during winter too...
Train stopped right in the middle of the valley track, the untenshi stood up and out of nowhere started blowing bubbles!!! All our photos became like this…. Landscape overlaid with flying bubbles of carefree playfulness.
Every cell in my body burst out in simple naïve laughter. Only a pure heart could think of such a childish spontaneous thing to do! This was really amazing.
Another train, another location. Should we take this train to the last village and back?
Tiny eight-seater, fully occupied ramen shop ran by elderly couple…. We stood outside, waiting in the cold… until a bizarre sight of three students climbing out from the window, freeing up the counter seats.
The seating space so narrow, I too had to deploy the same window to chair technique… Climbed out of the window again after a delicious lunch then walked back through the main door to pay. Hahaha...
Food is always good in Japan. Ok, Miyazaki chicken? Nay, not fantastic...
If I was not so out of air and preoccupied with the next steps in front of me, I might see a Kodama peeking through the shadows.
Look to the stars
Took me a while to realise we would be staying overnight in an Observatory to “look at the stars”.
Resident astrophysicist was clearly very passionate. I strained to follow the half Japanese/ English explainations. Other guests were obviously geeks and nerds.
While everyone discussed visible light, color filters and more technical aspects of space photography, I was speed googling “what is a nebula” …. “What is the difference between shooting star and comet” ….
“How did you take this photo?”
“Interval burst every 7 minutes for 5 days… collapse all the photos into one monochrome image… add color based on gas composition, temperature, density etc….. “
“That was not my question. I meant - where did you place the camera? Even from ISS lens we just saw, we could only see a limited field of view of earth, but your photograph captured an entire galaxy… Where is your camera placed?”
Awkward silence… “On Earth?” Director Takashi Miyamoto replied….
Ahhhh… clear as day the intellectual level difference amongst these twelve humans sitting in this equipment packed room…
Nebula - cloud of dust and gas. Where new stars were born or remnants of a dying star. Mother and child, separated by 7 light years…
Every 13-15 years, Saturn loses it rings….
The chapter on parallel lines and Newton’s fastest descent being a slight linear curve instead of a straight line found in "A Brief History of Mathematics" that I finished reading some weeks ago unexpectedly came in useful to grasping the concept of perspective and relativity when listening to how the structure of the star constellations change outside our galaxy.
Ok, I am obviously throwing out half baked knowledge here. But allow me to indulge as there were very few moments that night where I could make a connection and go "Ah..."
Mind blown. And so interesting. Determined to head down to the Archive Library after breakfast to do a bit of self improvement....
I am never a star gazing person. Maybe because I never realized how I am part of this bigger world. How, when humans were born, we took iron into our body - Iron that was eventually produced by Hydrogen tracing back to 13.8 billion years ago. This is why our blood taste like Iron.
We are the children of the stars and we carry the history of the universe in our body… We long for the stars probably because the universe is built in our DNA.
That night after Mt Aso, instead of looking down at my phone, I found myself looking up and wondering more.
A land of Canals
By any measure, Yanagawa is not a pretty town with nothing much to offer as a destination. But how I fell in love with Yanagawa.
Maybe because we did not have a plan, we just accepted the town as it is. Moving around without aim or purpose, every turn drawn by curiosity instead of maps and directions. Peeping into lives of locals, walking into school compounds, watching a fantastic tennis practice… We fit right in!!!
The ancient castle ruins might be the biggest attraction we found. TADA!!! THIS IS the castle ruins attraction site. A few stumps here and there on elevated ground with two benches…. This was exactly why I love this place - so unhurried and unbothered. A distinct light yet intoxicating scent from the trees filled the air. Just for this smoothing smell, I honestly will come back again. So comfortable... I lay on the bench watching fluffy clouds float against pastel skies…
Might have fell asleep too based on this irritating photo…
School field. I was ready to run round it now that I felt so light. Ken said no... NO!!!!??? To the one time I said I wanted to run. Tsk tsk.
We walked until the evening skies were painted pink (actually, dinner was calling).
Locals got their priorities right. We saw many meticulously tending to their bonsai and lawns, walking their cats. Who cares about broken pavements or bus stop chairs? Pride not from perfection but from attending to important things in life.
That sole fish! Best of the best. Need to tell Kelvin to replicate this. More sake, thank you.
Finally a boat ride. A one-hour canal boat ride across town cost 250 yen (with free shutter bus service back). Totally enjoyable...and hot.
If not for the boat trip ending at the other side of town, we would not have discovered another free attraction - a public local foot bath, with a great view. As we soaked our feet, we noticed all the locals brought along a towel to dry their feet after they were done... Oh Oh...
To the Sea. To the Sea.
Beach boys! Need an ice-cream pit stop too...
Now, this is what I call a sea. Not cluttered with ships and interrupted with land. Infinite beauty.
Then comes a photo bomb.
These photos almost did not happen. As we walked towards the tori gates, a seafood restaurant came to view. It was 4.45pm. The sun was setting. The restaurant was closing. A choice needed to be made. Fast.
Ken made a dash for the sashimi. “Sorry, no more, finished, finished”, I saw the staff making the “we are closed” hand gesture to Ken…
See? You never know what life throws at you. I could be happily posting yellowfin, hamachi, octopus, uni, maguro, hotate .... instead, we ended up with 50 sunset photos of Itoshima.
... And pizza, carbonara, red wine. Also good... Pitch black skies... full of stars...
This was not a long trip but it felt like two weeks of carefree exploration. Nothing to achieve but so much we gained. When we eat, we eat. When we sleep, we sleep… Every action is purposeful. We do not think ahead, we do not dwell in the past. We live and enjoy every moment. Nice.
We left Kyushu. But we will be back...
