Beppu

I had no idea why I decided to go to Beppu in summer. Beppu is well known for its onsen, which probably as the least favorite destination during hot summer.












I arrived in Beppu in the afternoon, after making a slight stop in Hakata with only one goal in my mind, to try their infamous tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen. Among so many ramen shops, Ichiran ramen is the most famous one.

Thanks to a nice lady in JR Hakata tourist information desk, I found the nearest Ichiran stall, just across JR Hakata station (10:00 – 22:00). I was planning to go all the way by bus or subway to Canal City.

This Ichiran ramen is the best decision I made during the trip!














Anyway, back to Beppu. I know Beppu is called Japan’s onsen capital, but I didn’t expect to see hot air steaming up practically from any possible crack from the street!














I stayed at Khaosan Beppu, a well located backpacker hostel. In this onsen capital, even a backpacker hostel is equipped with natural onsen!

The folks in Beppu like their onsen hot, and they really mean HOT. If you are up to the challenge, you can try takegawara onsen, famous for its hot water.

There are several onsen area around Beppu. Among them, the famous ones are Myouban onsen and Kannawa onsen. It takes about 30 minutes by bus to get there from JR Beppu station, and it cost around 320 yen.














If you don’t want to go to Beppu Jigoku, you might want to consider the time & bus cost. If you are just looking for a dip in onsen, Suginoi Hotel has an onsen with magnificent view over Beppu town.

I have uploaded Beppu city area map I got from the hostel. You can download it here.
For Kannawa onsen and Mouban onsen area map, click here.

Hiroshima

It took about 3 hours shinkansen (Hikari) ride from Kyoto to Hiroshima.














Maybe I didn’t search enough info, but I had no idea that the Atomic Bomb site is located about 20 to 25 minute by tram from JR Hiroshima station.














Take the south exit of JR Hiroshima station and take tram No.2 to get to A-bomb site (Genbaku Domu in Japanese). It cost 150 yen one way. There’s a coin exchange machine at the tram station.














Map from tourist centre in Hiroshima Station is really useful as it shows complete tram route. I have scanned and upload the map. Download the PDF map here.

These two websites have a good information about Hiroshima, including a sound guide which you can download to your ipod.

• Hiroshima Navigator
• Get Hiroshima
  

Taito Ryokan (Tokyo) Review

No matter what you want to do in Tokyo, I advise you to avoid Tiato Ryokan at all cost and by any means necessary!!

I first know this dreadful lodging place from Lonely Planet guide book (surprisingly). I had no idea what was in the mind of the writer when he or she recommend this place as a traditional lodging. Traditional? Ancient or run down is more fitting word for this place.














I’ll be fair about the location. It’s right in the middle of Asakusa area, and not far from Tawaramachi station. Even though Taito Ryokan website failed to mention that this station (exit 3) has no elevator. Kaminarimon & Sensoji temple is within 5 minutes walk. Oh and there’s a big & flashy love hotel, Boston Club, right in front of Taito Ryokan. So for those who already booked Taito Ryokan, but change your mind right after seeing the ryokan with your own eyes, can right away change and stay in this love hotel instead.


















The front door of Taito Ryokan is never locked even though the “front office” is only open between 10:00 – 20:00. After that, no one is watching over the main door and everybody (including thief) is welcomed.














The room door is not a “door”. It’s made of some kind of thick paper or board, and my there’s no proper lock for the room! Instead they are using tiny pad lock to lock the door.














The room smelled funny, some sort of mixture between old smell and fish. There’s only one bathroom / shower room and the toilets are so smelly. The water heater temperature can only be set at 22 degree at the lowest, which is so out of question for a bloody hot summer!

For 3,000 yen per night, K’s House Tokyo is 100 times better then this!

Tokyo

My impression of Tokyo? It’s a biggg city that has everything for anyone. It’ has one of the most complex train and subway networks in the world.

First thing you would need before going to Tokyo is to download & print it’s train network map. Marking the nearest station to the point of interest you would want to visit, may be a good idea. I didn’t do this and ended up gawking at the map after I arrived in Tokyo instead.

For Tokyo train & subway network map, click here.
For JR lines in Tokyo, click here (PDF)
For greater Tokyo train map, click here (PDF)

I found JR Yamanote line is the easiest way for me as a tourist to travel around Tokyo. It’s a JR line, so JR Pass is valid to travel on this line, and this line goes around Tokyo’s famous spot such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, & Akihabara.

A one day itinerary in Tokyo suggestion:
1. Tsukiji Market in the morning
2. Starbucks in Shibuya
3. Meiji Shrine
4. Tokyo Tower
5. Akihabara
6. Sensoji Temple & Kaminarimon in Asakusa
7. Jakotsuyu Onsen

Tsukiji Market
Download my printable map on how to get to Tsukiji market here.














I strongly recommend to take the earliest train (around 5am in the morning) to go here. Spend about 1 to 2 hours to walk around the alley and try one of the sushi stalls between building no.5 & 6. The famous ones are Sushi Dai & Daiwa Sushi (around 3,500 for a set menu).


















Shibuya
After breakfast at Tsukiji, sipping coffee while watching over the crossing in Shibuya during rush hour is quite amusing.


















Meiji Shrine
This shrine that projects majestic impression from the moment you see its first torii. It’s quite unbelievable that it’s located just a stone throw away from Harajuku, the centre of Japanese fashion victims.














Try to visit this shrine in the morning, when less tourist around and enjoy the grand & tranquil shrine. Sometime I feel that foreign tourist just does not fit into Japan shrines or temples.

Tokyo Tower
Download my printable map on how to get to Tokyo Tower here.
I went to see this Tokyo icon in the morning & night, and I find night view of this tower is slightly better then the morning. But I wonder how it looks like during the golden sunset.


















Akihabara
The nerd side of Tokyo. From maid cafes, anime, arcade games, electronics, costumes (including kinky stuff), or simply useless stuff can be found in this area.














Asakusa
Download my printable map of Asakusa area here.
This area is my favorite suburb in Tokyo. It’s very convenient, so many budget hotels & eating places. Kaminarimon & Sensoji temple offers another iconic sight of Japan.


















Jakotsuyu Onsen
After walking around Tokyo the whole day, a dip in onsen is very relaxing. Jakotsuyu is a natural onsen, and charge very basic fare (450 yen).














If the map link is broken, drop me an email and I’ll try to email you the PDF file.

Japan 2009 Summer Trip

Despite my plan to abuse my 7 days JR Pass, I ended up only with 6 days in Japan. My first day in Tokyo was pretty much simple.

• 15:00 Arrived at Narita Airport & cleared the immigration.
  
• 15:30 Exchange my JR Pass
• 16:00 Hopped on Narita Express to Tokyo
• 17:00 Arrived in Tokyo Station, change train
• 17:15 Arrived in K’s house Tokyo. Checked in
• 17:45 Refreshed after shower, back on the street
• 18:15 Lost in Tokyo!

In total, my train & Shinkansen for 6 days would had cost me 85,000 yen, but I only paid 28,300 for my JR Pass. Total abuse of JR Pass: 56,700 yen.

I learned the hard way to discover that most trains & subway in Tokyo are not JR lines!!! Meaning JR Pass is not valid on these lines, and the most of convenient way to travel to major destinations are through these so called “private” lines instead of JR lines.

In line with my plan to abuse my JR Pass (and stingy to spend extra yen), I ended up traveled mostly on JR Yamanote line around Tokyo. I found JR Yamanote line is the safest for a lost traveler like me, because this line goes around Tokyo in circle and they have English display on the train.

To sum up, my 6 days travel itinerary in Japan this time is as follow:

Day 1 – Tokyo
Went to see Tokyo Tower only despite my initial plan to venture out in Odaiba, left alone soaking in Oedo Onsen.


















Day 2 – Tokyo to Kyoto
Tsukiji Fish Market in the morning, with the first train of Oedo Subway Line at 05:05 AM from Kuramae Station. Kuramae is the nearest station to K’s House Tokyo where I spent the night.


















After the most expensive breakfast in my life at Daiwa Sushi (3,500 Yen for sushi set menu) and my love at first lick of fatty tuna, I started my first abuse of my JR Pass by taking Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. 3 hours Shinkansen ride later, I arrived at Kyoto Station around noon and went to Fushimi Inari before calling it a day.


















Day 3 – Kyoto to Beppu
Taking the first Shinkansen from Kyoto to Hiroshima, I arrived at Hiroshima station just before 10am. Spent a few hours in A-Bomb Dome site before taking another Shinkansen to the end of Sanyo Shinkansen line, Hakata.














I went all the way to Hakata because it’s the original place where my favorite ramen, the Tonkotsu ramen! Ichiran ramen is the most famous chain selling tonkotsu, and I was not disappointed!

From Hakata, I took another Shinkansen to Kokura before changing to local train, Sonic Express, to Beppu. Beppu is truly is an onsen town. A free foot onsen welcomes everyone right in front of the Beppu station. Steam comes out practically from any crack on the Beppu ground.














I soaked in 3 different onsen in just 9 hours of my stay in Beppu. Felt like a used tea bag after dipping here & there.

Day 4 – Beppu to Kyoto
Trip back to Kyoto on Sonic Express to Kokura, continued with Shinkansen to Kyoto.














Day 5 – Kyoto to Tokyo
Nothing much on my fifth day in Japan. Went to Shinjuku for dinner, and walked around in Kabukicho and got a card from Japanese lady boys. Managed to find an onsen in Asakusa area, and had a dip before calling it a day.


















Day 6 – Tokyo to Narita
On the last day, I finally went to Odaiba. I had enough of temples & shines by that time and in Odaiba I saw maybe one of the sight that can only be seen in Japan. A real life scale of Gundam RX-78. I am not a fan of Gundam, but this Gundam will only be erected there until the end of Aug’09, so it’s worth a visit.














In the next few post, I will write more detail of places I visited in Japan.