Kyushu Nature Tour

May 23-27, 2011 🇯🇵Kyushu

📍Day 4: Kyushu Natural Zoo 👉🏻Anshin-in Wine Workshop 👉🏻Beppu Blood Hell 👉🏻Tornado Hell 👉🏻 (Stay) Nishitetsu Resort Hotel

I remember the only zoo you could drive into was Leofoo Village. Their natural zoo is much better than Leofoo Village! You can drive slowly and stop for over an hour. If you arrive early and queue up, you can even get on the Jungle Bus (the kind you can feed onboard) and see lions, tigers, bears, and other animals up close. The kids and us adults were thrilled! 🥰

My dad has been drinking wine lately, so we arranged a visit to a Kyushu winery. Since he couldn't taste any of the wines because he had to drive, we bought a small bottle and drank it back at the hotel.

We only had time to visit two recommended hells! Each hell is small, just with a different color 😂

📍Day 5: Shiraike Hell👉🏻Beppu Onsen Museum👉🏻Crocodile Oniyama Hell👉🏻Stove Hell👉🏻Onishibo Hell👉🏻Sea Hell👉🏻 (Stay) Kamenoi Resort Hotel, Aso

We were originally supposed to go boating in Takachiho Gorge that day, but the forecast was 100% rain, so we changed our plans! This is the second time I wanted to go to Takachiho but didn't make it 😭 (the last time was during the Kumamoto earthquake, and the roads were blocked).

Our new plan is to stay in Beppu and complete the Hell Walk. Thanks to the heavy rain, we saw how charming Beppu is on a rainy day, with smoke everywhere - so dreamy!

We didn't originally plan to go inside the Beppu Onsen Museum, but because of the heavy rain, we were lucky enough to go inside, and it was absolutely amazing! The moment I turned on the screen after watching the film was so touching 🥹

📍Day 6: Aso Milk Factory (Free Rose Garden) 👉🏻Daikanbo Observation Deck 👉🏻Aso Shrine 👉🏻Monzenmachi Shopping Street 👉🏻Yonezuka 👉🏻Kusasenri 👉🏻(Stay) Mitsui Garden Hotel Kumamoto

Aso Milk Factory aka Rose Garden 😂 Dad thought there were cows, but it turned out to be roses! Haha
The weather was cool, almost freezing. We'd fooled the forecast. It was supposed to be 25-30 degrees Celsius every day before we left, but we were practically freezing on the mountain that day. In 10-degree weather, we all wore short-sleeved shirts and shorts. Dad went up to the observatory to take photos, while Xiaoman and I stayed in the car. 🤣

📍Day 7: Yanagawa Boat Ride 👉🏻 Itoshima Ocean House 👉🏻 Fukuoka Shopping 👉🏻 (Stay) at Nishitetsu Hotel Croom

We left late this morning and there was some traffic, so we arrived in Yanagawa at almost 11 AM. The boat ride alone took over an hour, and we had restaurant reservations in Itoshima that afternoon, so we didn't have any extra time to explore Yanagawa. What a shame! Everyone should be familiar with this place. The videos online show the boatman jumping onto bridges when they encounter them, but regulations have since been lifted, so we can't see them anymore. 🥹

Ocean House, a popular restaurant in Itoshima, faces the ocean. I thought it was just for photo ops, but I was surprised by the quality of the food. I ordered a birthday cake for my dad, and it arrived with a sparkler sticking out of it—a nice surprise (even though his birthday isn't until the middle of next month! 🤣)

📍Day 8: Anpanman Museum👉🏻Canal City Hakata

The Anpanman Museum has two floors. Xiaoman was delighted to see the sand pit. 🥳 And it's so fun to shop here—all the goods are so cute!

#Beppu #KyushuZoo #AnshininWineRoom #AnpanmanMuseum #Itoshima #OceanHouse