A&K Travels: Japan 2019 - Kyushu (part 2)

Japan has 111 active volcanoes, 50 of which are constantly monitored. Mt. Aso Nakadake Crater is one of them and access to the rim is currently prohibited due to poisonous volcanic gases. The Aso township is located in a sprawling farming community within the fertile plains of a giant caldera. With amazing milk and yoghurt!

To get to Aso we climbed over 2,000m in elevation in two days, over the slopes of Mount Kuyu and over the Aso caldera rim. The weather was turning increasingly rainy and grey.

Since the forecast for the next two days was for heavy rain, we decided to leave the bikes in Aso and rent a car. It is amazing how easily you can get around in a car! And what a luxury when it’s raining! For the first time, however, we experienced traffic jams and parking problems.
Our first sightseeing stop was at the Aso Volcano Museum, which is as close to the mountain one can currently get.

You can fit six Japanese into these little cars!

Kumamoto has a beautiful 17th century castle that was seriously damaged during the 2016 earthquakes. Repair works are being undertaken but are estimated to take twenty years. Hard to imagine the planning, expertise, machinery, effort and financing this requires!

And of course another beautiful Japanese garden: Suizenji Koen in Kumamoto.

Takachiho gorge was formed by pyroclastic flows.

On the way back to Aso we visited the Takamori Yusui Tunnel Park. The National Railway planned to build a tunnel through the caldera. Two kilometres in, they hit an underground river and water came gushing out. They abandoned the project and converted the tunnel into a garden and art space.

Tree pruning taken to extremes......

...... and a well-looked-after private garden.

This is our favourite lunch from 7-Elevens or FamilyMarts: The rice triangles come with many different fillings and are wrapped in a salty, crunchy piece of seaweed. Yum!