Myself, Seb, and four members of my adult English club, aptly named "MEET" (Meet and Enjoy English Together.....classic), went on a brief excursion to nearby Oita-ken last month. Oita, along with neighboring Kumamoto, is home to Kuju-Aso National Park. It's not a national park in the western sense as it's hardly protected; there are towns, ranches, and farms within the "protected" area. Still, it's quite scenic and is has some of the best hot springs in Japan, which in turn would put it in the running for best hot springs world wide. We also indulged in a mid-day chicken bbq, some ground golf (I suck!), a visit to a natural spring, and an old-school soba shop that allowed us to make our own wasabi.
They say (and I've yet to learn who "they" are) that a picture is worth a thousand words. Why fight conventional wisdom by verbose narration? Without further adeu, here are some shots of our wonderful time.
Grass Sledding, hokey, but fun.
Hiking on the trail to Kuju-san, the tallest mountain in Kyushu Proper
Horse meat butcher shop: This is a local delicassie, and I've got to say, I think it's delicious. The horse meat, called "basashi" (a compound of "ba" for horse plus "sashimi", as in sushi served without rice) is served raw and eaten with ginger and soy sauce. I'd liken it to cold pastrami, though not as spicy.
Group Shot: Front bench - Hiromi and Seb
Rear bench - Harasaki-san, Mabro, Kawachan, and Me (not sure why I look so stern...)
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