Aso, 19.05.24

The question today was what could one do in a remote place such as this. The town was far away and another taxi was not on the cards. After some long talk with the receptionist, we managed to find an area where we could do a walk in the mountains. We even found a bus connection to a pass, Makimoto Pass, from which several walks were possible. Just what I needed. Christine would come for part of the walk and then wait at the pass rest house and souvenir shop. 

Walking Map, not the volcanic alert level!

 

It was a very cold day and rather windy too. The trail was easy to find and was well maintained and even seal up to a lookout point to which Christine came as well. From there it became a more narrow track with some steep steps and rocks to navigate. There were ladders and ropes to hold on to as well. But once I reached a high plateau it all evened out and it was good going. The goal was to reach the top of Mt. Kuju and one of the 100 most famous mountains in Japan. It is an old volcano and 1791m high. I realized that timewise I was not going to make it. Instead I opted for a smaller peak nearby and was just as happy. 

The wind picked up in the meantime as well and I had to put my jacket on. There were quite a lot of people, all Japanese, and probably all on a Sunday walk and adventure. After all the cities of Kumamoto, Beppu and Oita were not that far away. 

   
The View

There were some stunning flowers further up where the forest gave way to bush and shrubs and grasses. Interesting too was that all the Japanese walkers said hello to me. Konnichiwa! And probably wondered how a foreigner happens to be in these mountains. 

Konnichiwa!

I met Christine again at the lookout point where she returned to after a break at the rest house. The bus turned up on time and we were back at the lodge late afternoon where we found not far from it a cafe selling fabulous cakes. Well-earned for both of us. 

Cakies!

Just before dinner the hotel staff offered again one of those experiences giving the stay a bit of a personalized feeling. I was keen to do it, but Christine went to the room. There were about eight of us and we met in kind of board room where we were given a drink and then the hostess informed us about the Aso area and its natural history. The Aso Caldera is one of the largest in the world measuring 25 km to 18 km. A caldera is basically the inside of a volcano and around the rim the Aso Caldera there are still active volcanos. 

To demonstrate how a caldera comes into existence we were given a wooden box filled with very fine sand and a small balloon. Then we had to bury the balloon in the sand as much as we could and then prick it with a toothpick. The balloon exploded leaving behind a round indent in the sand: a caldera! 

Dinner was again in similar style and similarly challenging. In all these Kaiseki dinner the rice was usually a separate course served almost at the end of the meal just before dessert.