"How to start using Mobiri Days: quick
reference" is yet another illustration that either Japanese are good at
reading spreadsheets or the graphics/information designers in Japan suck
😂
Starbucks.
A tourist lady is in front of me.
"Excuse me, can I have a flat white coffee?"
Staff: 🤷♀️, points at the printed menu
The lady: reads the menu, can't find the coffee she wants, tries to negotiate
The second register opens; it's my turn
Me: "konnichi...ua! Hot(to) oat(su) milk(u) latte, tall(u) size(u) onegaishimasu"
Staff: 👏👏👏 Nihongo jouzuuu! ("You're so good at Japanese")
I get my coffee before the tourist lady; she stares daggers at me.
A tourist lady is in front of me.
"Excuse me, can I have a flat white coffee?"
Staff: 🤷♀️, points at the printed menu
The lady: reads the menu, can't find the coffee she wants, tries to negotiate
The second register opens; it's my turn
Me: "konnichi...ua! Hot(to) oat(su) milk(u) latte, tall(u) size(u) onegaishimasu"
Staff: 👏👏👏 Nihongo jouzuuu! ("You're so good at Japanese")
I get my coffee before the tourist lady; she stares daggers at me.
We've left the biggest island of Japan
(Honshuu) through a tunnel and emerged in Kyuushuu! That means we've
travelled over 2200 kilometres so far (in Japan, by trains)
In theory, Kyuushuu should be fairly different
in climate and nature to everything we've seen so far. But to my
untrained eye, it looks like other parts of Japan
Captain Obvious was here.
Welcome to Kumamoto, the land of One Piece.
Kumamoto ("the origin of bears") is a large city in Kyuushuu region ("Nine provinces"). The name is new; originally the town was called after Kuma river, "polished balls".
The climate is subtropical. The economy is generally thriving, with the biggest motorcycle factory in the world and a big semiconductor plant here. However, the population (~1.7 million people) trend is generally in decline.
Kumamoto ("the origin of bears") is a large city in Kyuushuu region ("Nine provinces"). The name is new; originally the town was called after Kuma river, "polished balls".
The climate is subtropical. The economy is generally thriving, with the biggest motorcycle factory in the world and a big semiconductor plant here. However, the population (~1.7 million people) trend is generally in decline.
The mascot of the area is a bit creepy bear known as Kumamon
(this guy)
The nature is thriving, and the views from
mountain roads are breathtaking. There are many mountain rivers, lakes
and even waterfalls around, too.
There are still signs of the 7.1 earthquake
from 2016 - cracks in the ground or abandoned mountain roads. But it's
mostly back to normal for quite a few years.
One of the main attractions nearby is the
largest activitie volcano in Japan and one of the largest in the world;
last erupted in 2021. There are lots of shelters around the volcano.
The crater is steaming, and the air smells like
sulfur. It's difficult to convey the size of the crater. However, the
current crater is actually tiny compared to the size of the original
crater; moreover, the whole Aso Mountain/volcano area is located inside a
caldera, depressed relatively to what it once was. The volcano had four
immense eruptions between 300,000 and 90,000 years ago, which shaped
most ecosystems around here.
The area around the volcano is hostile to life.
Iron rusts very fast here. There are no trees around. There's a park
around the crater and it feels a bit like Mars or Moon
How to end the day after a long hike? Most
vegetarian places are closed in the evening... However, a popular
national chain of curry shops CoCo offers multiple vegetarian* curry and
salad options! Mild Japanese curry 😍
* make sure to ask for vegetarian sauce, or you might discover meat on your plate.
* make sure to ask for vegetarian sauce, or you might discover meat on your plate.
