Camping in the Forest…Kuninomatsubara Camping Ground
Travelling down the east coast of Kyushu has been an incredible experience.. Every day we have been blown away by the endless beauty of this coastline. We are grateful that we changed our route from riding the coast of Shikoku (we were worried that the hills would be too much for ME's knees) to riding this coast, an area that is new to us. Once we finish our ride today, we will have circumnavigated the complete island of Kyushu. We will return here one day as Kyushu is a place we love.
Fishers are set up on these rock outcroppings near our hotel. They have either been dropped off by a boat or they made their way out at low tide. it looks like a great place to fish as they are doing well.
The fellow has to be very fast and accurate when he uses the metal pole to secure the lobster and get it in the pail. Sometimes it takes more than one try.
The hotel is fairly old, but has been a beloved place to come for fine dining and an overnight stay. The lobby and the common areas are a treasure trove of Japanese art and pieces of history like this samurai.
The front of the hotel has a lot of charm with stone figures like these set up the width of the hotel, They separate the hotel from the road and provide a welcome to guests.
Fresh seafood and fine dining is a feature of this hotel. There are 3 large areas with western seating and primarily Japanese seating in tatami mat rooms.
It was a chance meeting to spend time with this fellow by the beach. He is on a short tour on his motorcycle as he has some days off work. We really enjoyed chatting with him and comparing notes on places we have visited. As we departed and said we hoped to see him again, he replied that he would see us on the Land of Instagram. Liked that.
Holidays are celebrated with great enthusiasm in Japan with colourful decorations and lots of food. Konbinis publish catalogues every year with special food and cakes that can be ordered. KFC really does well at Christmas as families order well in advance for their Christmas dinner
After leaving the Konbini, a woman pulled over and rushed over to chat with us. She had noticed us riding earlier and had gotten gifts for us as a welcome and to thank us for visiting her country. Wow.
We will be taking the ferry back to Osaka in a few weeks. Yikes, where does the time go? We are going to visit the port to secure a space for the trip as it is an overnight journey.
We were happy to see that the ship we will be taking is in port. Lucky us…it looks like it is a new ship. We do like the Sunflower line of ferries. Their ships are nicely appointed and have great food in the dining room.
We have reached our campground. The owners also run a cat rescue. These cats are well fed, spayed and neutered, healthy and a bit wary, but not afraid of us. We managed to get a few cuddles in.
At camp, we were able to look at the calendar which we received earlier. We are overwhelmed by the generosity and welcome we receive in Japan. We can only offer conversation annd our business card which is well received.
Our campsite. Each site is very spacious with a picnic table, platform for the tent (less damp in this area by the sea) and electrical outlets on the platform. The electrical outlets came in really handy for charging our devices. But best of all, we plugged in our heating pad and used it in our sleeping bags….what a cold night it was!
