Today it was time to pack up our stuff and leave the holiday home in Sasebo and go on a scenic drive with lots of stops to Unzen Onsen, where we would be spending the night in a hot spring hotel.
Yutoku Inari Shrine
First stop of the day was the large Yutoku Inari Shrine.
There was a tunnel of hundreds of glass wind chimes. These were incredibly loud when the wind was blowing!
There was a path up the hill behind the lower shrine buildings that were covered in torii gates – similar to the ones in Kyoto but far quieter! At the top was another shrine building and a view out to the sea.
Roadside station Kashima
We then made our way down the coast, first stopping at a michi-no-eki. The stop was on the sea-front where there were large mud flats. The longer you looked out over them the more you started to spot that they were covered in mud-skippers, hopping about and ‘walking’ between the pools.
Ouo Shrine
Carrying on down the coast, we stopped in Tara where we picked up some sandwiches for lunch and had a quick look at Ouo Shrine – it probably looks a bit better when the tide is in, so the water surrounds the line of torii gates!
Takezaki Castle Fort Observatory
Another stop was at a park and observation deck looking over the crab fishing town of Michigoshi in one direction, and towards our destination of Mount Unzen in the other
We’d been driving through Saga prefecture again to visit all the stops so far, and each of them had a related Zombieland manhole covers.
Fruit Bus Stops
We now left Saga and were back into Nagasaki prefecture. Along the coastal road we were on, a series of fruit shaped bus stops have been installed. They are very cute! We were able to park near a couple of them to take some photos. In addition to the cantaloupe and strawberry, there were also orange, tomato and watermelon ones that we drove past.
Unzen Ropeway
Carrying on with our drive, we headed into Unzen-Amakusa National Park. The road wound higher and higher up Mount Unzen, the volcano in the centre of the National Park, until it eventually reached the ropeway that we then took up to the top.
From the peak you could peak you could see the sea on both sides of the peninsular, as well as the lake and onsen town we would be spending the night.
We followed a short walking trail that led to a small shrine on the mountaintop, before taking in the view a little more and then catching the cable car back down.
Hoshino Resorts KAI Unzen
From the cable car, it was a short drive to the small resort town of Unzen Onsen. We were spending the night at a modern ryokan. We like to splurge one night each trip on a ryokan room with it’s own private outdoor bath. The one here was the best we’ve ever had, it was the perfect temperature, and huge – the whole width of the balcony!
After a long soak, it was time for the included dinner, a multi-course kaiseki style meal featuring lots of little fancy local dishes. They surprised me with a little birthday dessert at the end of the meal.
