Our Japanese Engagement Photos

We had some Japanese Engagement photos takes, way back in April. It was actually, the day after our rainy Hikone trip with Sam. We stayed in Kyoto, and there was a massive thunder and wind storm, so we werent very hopeful that the cherry blossoms would have survived the night. To be honest, they really hadn't, but we still set out to have our photos taken. The place we were getting dressed was nice and easy to find, and Josh was ready in no time. I however, had some difficulty picking one out, but once I was dressed, had my hair done, we set out with our photographer! We visited lots of nice shrines and temples, which was great, and even thought it was really rainy, we found a few cherry blossoms for some great photos! I really love how much the photographer captured Josh and I, and how much we are in love!

An amazing Wisteria Garden

We stayed at a hotel in Kumamoto, and spent ages wandering around looking for a Yaki Niku restaurant, until, finally, quite late at night, we found one! It ended up being really delicious and we had a great dinner and then I got some ice cream at 31! The next morning, we had Starbucks, tried to go to a closed cat cafe, and then headed out to our last destination - the wisteria gardens! The Wisteria gardens are in full bloom now! We tried to visit the Kawaguchi gardens last year, but were told not to bother coming because they were all finished. I had seen some ALTs go a week before Calvin and I did, and they didnt see anything, so we ended up timing our visit to be just right! The gardens are located in Kitakyushu, not too far from where we live, but again, off the beaten path a little bit. There were so many beautiful tunnels of white and purple wisteria and it smelt simply amazing! The tunnels wind up this hill, and at the top of the hill, there were beautiful coverings made from a few trees, which covered all the ceiling with wisteria. It was there that I discovered the pinky purply wisteria I had never seen before too! It was nice to just wander the tunnels, and stick our heads through all the low hanging wisteria. It looked like it all belonged in a gardening magazine or something! It did, however, remind me of all of the wisteria which covers my home back in the UK! Eventually, we had to leave, and head back for the long drive to Hagi. We ended up making good time, which meant I even got a little rest after 2 weeks of international travel and road tripping all over Japan!

I love Kumamon

We were successful in finding the famous bridge, which is a kind of aqueduct with water spouting out of it. Sadly, the water wasn't on, but we did climb up it to walk across it and see it. There also happened to be a random statue of Kumamon made of twigs and branches! It was pretty cool, and just gigantic! Since I love the character so much, I knew I needed to have a picture with him! I'm not sure if we were actually in Kumamoto, or in Miyazaki, or quite where we were, but Kumamon is famous all over Japan!

Takachiho Gorge

This is one of those places that you see in a magazine, or a brochure, and just really want to go. I've been wanting to go to this specific gorge since I arrived in Japan, but have never had the chance until Calvin had a car. It's really a beautiful spot, in the middle of nowhere, in a place extremely unaccessiable unless you have a car. Which thankfully we did! When we finally found somewhere to park, we came to realise we were on the wrong side of the gorge, so we walked along the river, which was beautiful. Often, because of all the tourists they get, these places are really well organized, with cement steps, and no dirt paths. So, actually, it was very easy for us to walk along and find our way. We walked along, and took lots of pictures, right about the time when the sun was setting. The boats were already full, as it was golden week, and people had stood in line for 6 whole hours, so really, I was certainly glad we didn't arrive and try and wait in line. We went down to the waters edge, and took photos, before heading back to the car, and trying to find a bridge which Calvin saw advertized on our way there!

All around Aso

We wandered around the area of Aso, on foot, rather than by driving, as the traffic was really bad. There were pretty hills, so we climbed up a few, and could see the volcano from the top. It was pretty cool, even though we werent that close! I saw that you could take a helicopter over and up to the top to look into the volcano. Now, that - its pretty cool and had we had time, we might have done that because it wasn't very expensive! Eventually, we had to get back in the car and drive towards iur next destination. On our way out of Aso, we stopped several times so we could admire the great view from the mountains, as well as stop and see some cows (which was really exciting for me!) I think cows are super cute! We couldnt get up close, but that was fine by me, and we joined the long traffic jam which lead out of Aso (and away from all the dairy farms that people were visiting) and joined the motorway going south towards Miyazaki Prefecture for our next adventure!

O my! I got to ride a horse!

The first place we stopped was Aso in Kumamoto. It is a big volcanic plain, and although I had been there, I hadnt actually been up to the mountain area. It was really really busy and traffic was really bad because of everyone going to a local dairy farm attraction. But eventually we made it to the rest stop where we could also ride horses. A lot of young kids were doing it, but Calvin and I really wanted to ride horses, so thats what we did! We could see the mountains and volcano from the house and it was wonderful! We stopped and had an ice cream, before getting back in traffic and heading down towards Miyazaki Prefecture, our next stop!

Off on a road trip...

We flew back the next morning, via Kuala Lumpur, and after some bad weather over Singapore, made it to Osaka...at about 1.30am...and then I got up and took a 6am Shinkansen, remembering at the last minute that I was at Osaka Station and not Shin-Osaka Station. But all that matters is that I made it - and on 3 hours of sleep after a 10 hour international, jet lagged journey. Calvin met me at Hakata Station and even brought me a change of clothes, which was nice of him! We set off then on our road trip down through Kyushu!