Going down sunny Kyushu (the most southern island)
Ship model in the trainstation (Nagasaki is pretty proud of their historical role as an international port, half the attractions in the city are chinese and the other half are Dutch/european.)
Dejima, the artificial island where the dutch were allowed int he 17th century as the only foreigners in Japan. Bit stupid it is no longer an island...
It has special meaning to me because I did a paper about it in school. I was the Dejima expert.
The title is 'Dutchman' (!)
Great number of curches here! They even have a cathedral (biggest one in Asia I think) and an interesting history of martyrs.
The hills are full of relaxed residential areas and parks with great views, bit of Mediterranean feeling again.
Then it was time for one of my most anticipated Japanese experiences: dutch theme park HUIS TEN BOSCH !!!
It's only one hour from Nagasaki by train. To ride through the rice fields and japanese villages and suddenly see the Dom tower appear in the window is just bizar.
The following part of this fotoblog might not be as exciting to non-dutch as it was to me, but trust me: it was one of the most AMAZING, FUNNY, BIZAR things I've seen so far. I could literally not stop grinning for a good hour.
I gravely underestimated this place. Not only did they make an exact replica of the Queens palace and Amsterdam station, but there were important buildings of almost all big historical cities in the Netherlands! Sometimes entire streets! It was HUGE!
Between the entrance and the park there's a collection of cottages called "WASSENAAR" !!! I am not kidding!! You can rent them!
It was beautiful! You could rent bikes and the traxis and buses were old timers! Of course all the buildings were very off inside, featuring restaurants and things like 'Escher, the Ride'. But the exteriors were often indistinguishable from the real thing.
I expected a sort of Las vegas fake, but this was amazing. Usually they go wrong with things like lampposts or pavement stones, but this place was IDENTICAL. I think they just imported the stones and bricks.
The VVV sign ! Loekie the lion! Even the map is in a matching holder!
Yes, that is hotel Europe in Amsterdam.
Yes, that's Amsterdam Central Station.
Yes that is Utrecht. (tower was a bit too clean, but otherwise they NAILED it)
Yes this is still Japan.
You could dress up as an 18th century noble woman, and then they would put wooden shoes on your feet! Under a dress!!
The palace.
The tulips were in perfect shape, I appreciated them here much more than at home.
In the 'BOERENKAAS' house you can buy cheese and watch a video about the process. I watched it 3 times just for the pure joy of hearing Petra and Eileen explain it to me in Japanese with the biggest Dutch accent ever.
" Ohishii dezu!! "
The Amsterdam concert building! Inside is a horse racing track!!!
!!! From my hometown Leiden !!!!
*&^%%!!!!!!!!!! (Only people from Leiden will understand my reaction, but trust me when I say my mouth fell open. The town isnt even that big or famous!)
For entertainment they had an Italian Flag group, a bit out of theme but very popular with the public.
They were good!
They were pretty surprised to find somebody here who could understand a little Italian. Afterwards I had a nice chat with Luca (in english). How weird to walk along Dutch canals in Japan, talking about Italian education system and Berlusconi!
I am serious, if you are travelling in Kyushu and want to get a pretty good idea of Holland without the weed or homocidal taxidrivers, go visit Huis ten Bosch. You can see the best of the entire country in less than 2 hours.
And of course the gift shop!
They call it Cheese Pie but it is actually called "Boterkoek" ( buttercake). Aunty Annie is the best.
They make cuter tulip mascottes than we do! We could learn a thing or two from them, seriously.
Back in Nagasaki: Apparently they appreciate the Dutch contribution to their history so much that they include the logo of the Dutch East Indian Trading company in their restaurant lanterns. What a shame it's upside down.
Free Ume drinks in the Hostel.
Japan, Korea, Japan, Japan, Japan, Australia, Oranda.
Going back north to the island of Shikoku.
Here I stayed with Motoko and Yasunori Hirai, I met her on the train in Nikko and she invited me to visit her in Matsuyama, Shikoku. They cooked a feast for me and even though their English was limited we had a very nice time. (Yasunori is a Captain btw! He ferries between Hiroshima and Matsuyama!)
The little fish are covered in sweet soya sauce and you eat them whole. They are soft and a little crunchy but very tasty! I'm proud of myself for trying.
Nato, a much beloved goo of beans and fermented I-dont-know, you eat it with mustard and soy sauce. They kept telling me to "Shake it, Shake it!" (= stir it) to make the goo froth. Mweh.
And then they took me to my main reason to visit Matsuyama: The oldest and most famous onsen in Japan, Dogo Onsen.
It has multiple baths and floors, and even a small tower! it was like a fairy tale, a real version of the bathhouse in Spirited away.
Many hotels around it, and people taking a stroll in yukata.
Traditional snack after the bath: grilled mashed fish on a stick.
It looks like this. It tastes better than it looks.
Motoko and her daughter Reiko the next morning. They were all so sweet, continuously offering food, snacks and gifts. (more than I could accept)
When I woke at eight, this was waiting for me. She calls it Breakfast.
The house and cute square cars full of gadgets.
Shikoku is famous for the 88 temples pilgrimage, so you see people like this a lot.
The inland sea.
Going more south I arrived in the mountainous Iya valley.
My next destination was pretty high up and hard to reach, took me a local train, hellish bus ride and another car ride trough tiny narrow roads to get there...
.. but it was definitely worth it. This is Chiiori ('House of the Flute') an 18th century farm house that is restored by a foundation. Their goals is to maintain traditional country lifestyle and get something of ecotourism going in the valley.
Its all non-profit, they work on the fields and invite visitors and guests to help.
I'm soooo stupid I forgot to take good pictures in daylight.. anyway, its all one big space and you can see the thatch roof from the inside. There are two open fireplaces in the middle, and all the materials are just beautiful.
When I arrived another family with 3 boys was already there. To keep the thatch roof dry and in good condition it is necessary to make a fire inside regulary, the smoke goes through the roof and clears it of bugs etc.
Paul, on the left, is the current caretaker and a brilliant cook.
All the kitchen furniture are brilliant antiques and very practical too.
Okinomiyaki and fried rice around the fire.
The only downside about this type of house: very poor isolation. The walls are just glass and paper, so you need a double set of futons and blankets to stay warm. A bit of a camping - indoors experience. (it got pretty cold up there at night)
But the sunrise was spectacular. That's Paul sleeping btw.
Best breakfast ever?
Traditional farming equipment still in use.
I helped him all day with a carrot field, it was hard but fun. Very relaxed, just the two of us chatting about all kinds of things and clearing the field of weeds and rocks.
And afterwards: my DREAM onsen.
This type is called 'Rotemburo', a onsen with a mountain view.
Another special footbath outside. I love these ladies!!!
To reach the onsen you had to take a special cable car.
They are so short!
And cute!
The famous and ridiciously overpriced Vine Bridge. (you cant tell from the picture, but there are 2 large concrete bridges and a parking complex nextdoor to facilitate the tons of visitor who want to pay 500 yen to cross this bridge.)
Fish on a Stick part 2.
This type is called Ayu.
Delicious!
Another famous onsen here is the Iya Onsen. This time you have to take a cable car down to the river. The water is naturally hot and has a whitish colour because of all the healthy minerals etc.
And the view....
The cable car seen from above.
Me with Toru, the other caretaker/manager. (Yes, that's me wearing all the clothes I own)
Tofu bacon salad, mushroom pasta, weird potato jelly with soy sauce.
I had a really relaxed time here and feel pretty bad I didn't take better/more pictures! It was a very special experience, who knows, maybe I come back one day.
Going back to the coastal cities.
Made a short stop at Kotohira, famous for the Kompira temple with the long climb to the top.
One of the outer shrines.
An interesting feature of the temple was the fact that it was dedicated to the protector God of Marines. There was a building filled with .. STUFF from ships of all kinds, and even a solar sailboat that made a round the world trip and was now donated to the shrine. The junk was just fascinating to see.
So random, even picturs of an engine (?) and an idol ..
The view from the top, you could even see the sea on the left and the mountains on the right.
The town is also known for woodwork, check that grumpy Daruma!
Confucius??
I love the maskes, so lively!
Last stop before the Railpass ends: Takamatsu and the famous Ritsurin garden.
The tea pavillion.
You could buy a green tea set to get a glimps inside.
!! They left no marks though, so guess it's ok.
(legs slowly dying...)
Back to the big cities! A last sunset from the Shinkansen window, it's been a busy train trip but I'm happy to settle in one place again for a week. Next blog will be from Kyoto. Seeya!
