On this day, I departed from the island in the early morning, riding our motorcycles on the ferry. The sunrise scenery was incredibly beautiful.
On a cool summer morning at dawn, the sunrise and the sea looked incredibly beautiful.
During the ferry ride, I was mostly asleep. After nearly four hours of sailing, we arrived in Hakata.
Departing from Hakata, I headed towards Oita to catch the next ferry, scheduled for the evening. With plenty of time on hand, I chose to take the scenic route, avoiding the expressway and enjoying a leisurely drive to Oita. However, along the way, I knew that the ferry was canceled due to the impact of a typhoon. Since the reservations for the next day were fully booked, I had to reschedule my ferry trip for the day after tomorrow. While I had prepared for the approaching typhoon a week in advance, the unexpected inability to reserve a ferry for the following day caught me by surprise. I decided to make the most of my time and enjoy Kyushu in the meantime.
On this day, I made a two-day hotel reservation in Oita City and spent the night. While visiting a bar in the evening, I also asked for recommendations on places to explore by motorcycle the following day.
The following day, as you can see, the weather was clear, and the scenery at the recommended spots was just as stunning.
This is Yufuin, one of the top hot spring resorts not only in Kyushu but also in Japan. I wandered around the tourist spots here. Since I had been riding my motorcycle in light rain, my body was quite chilled, so I also soaked in the hot springs. There were unmanned hot springs too. There was no reception or anything; it was just a system where you inserted 150 yen into something like a mailbox. It was very refreshing.
As I descended from the Yamanami Highway down into the village, the rain ceased. I was truly soothed by the incredibly beautiful and serene countryside scenery.
In the evening, I revisited the bar I had been to the day before. I told the bartender, “Unfortunately, the weather was bad on the day I went to the Yamanami Highway, and I couldn’t enjoy the scenery. I’ll try again tomorrow.” This place was a very calm and quiet bar, and I could truly relax and unwind.
The following day, I headed back to the Yamanami Highway and continued on to the outer rim of Mount Aso. It was a series of breathtaking views, and I was overwhelmed with emotion to the point of tears.
During the summer vacation, many tourists visited the outer rim of Aso.
It may seem like a simple landscape, but it was such a pleasant and rejuvenating space that my body could feel the joy. It was truly wonderful to realize that Japan has such vast and beautiful places like this.
After enjoying the breathtaking views, I descended the mountain and rode my motorcycle for about two hours. Descending the mountain, it was indeed scorching due to midsummer. I spotted a vending machine and decided to stop. The shop turned out to be a traditional Japanese general store. Such stores are disappearing rapidly these days. The shopkeeper, an older lady, glanced at the drink I picked up and said, “Sure, that’s 173 yen. It’s hot today, isn’t it?” She seemed to have the prices of most items in her head. I was oddly impressed by her professionalism.
I safely arrived at the ferry terminal. Near the terminal, there was a mailbox facing in the wrong direction, likely due to an accident. There was a notice posted saying it would be removed shortly. Rain or shine, the mailbox patiently endured everyone’s letters, and it seemed quite pitiable. Thank you for your hard work all this time.
The ferry accommodates many cars, people, trucks, and motorcycles, but this time, motorcycles got on first, and I was the first to enter the ferry’s cabin. Of course, it’s not a competition, but it felt good.
The ferry arrived in Kobe right on schedule at 6:20 am. I woke up at exactly 6:20 am. To ensure a timely departure, I needed to be ready at least 30 minutes before that, waiting near my motorcycle. Panicking, I rushed to find one of the crew members and asked, “I overslept! Will it be a problem if I don’t get my motorcycle out quickly?” She replied, “Your motorcycle is behind trucks and cars, so please wait in your room for about 30 more minutes.” I was relieved to have a leisurely wait before departing.
Upon arriving in Kobe, I headed home. I did laundry for the clothes I used during the trip, took a 2-hour nap, and then headed to Kyoto. The reason was that there was a hole in my motorcycle’s exhaust pipe. The bracket supporting the exhaust had come loose. This motorcycle has strong vibrations, so such issues often arise. Just like me, the motorcycle seemed tired after a few days of traveling. In any case, I’m grateful that both I and my motorcycle made it back safely.
During the trip, I had to secure the exhaust pipe with wire or similar materials once a day. If I didn’t, heat would escape through gaps in the exhaust, and since it was right under the seat, I was afraid of getting burned. This also became a memorable part of the journey.
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