One of the things that I like about summer in Japan is the “Hanabi Taikai” or Fireworks Festivals. There are fireworks festivals in the villages, towns, and cities all over the country every summer. In southern Japan, the Chikugo Gawa Fireworks Festival is considered the biggest in Kyushu region.
I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t posted any article here on my travel blog. But since summer is here, I can now have my much-awaited summer vacation.
Let’s go to the beach!
Let’s go to Imari beach in Saga Prefecture. This beach is now open for swimming. Let’s beat the heat!
Mifuneyama Rakuen is a 150,000 square-meter wide garden. Different kinds of flowers bloom in this garden in spring, while evergreen and maple dyed crimson make a stunning landscape and rocks of Mifuneyama garden in autumn.
A deadly earthquake struck the Southern part of Japan on Thursday evening. Hundreds of aftershocks have taken place in the past few days. One of which happened yesterday at around 1:30 in the morning. The said aftershock destroyed many houses and killed many people in Kumamoto prefecture. Let’s pray for them and the on-going rescue operations in the area.
Every spring, about 300 koinobori , or carp streamers hang across the Kase River in Yamato, Saga. These carp streamers swim in the air from mid-April to early May in celebration of the Children’s Day on May 5th.
Two days ago, I brought you in front of the Kumamoto Castle in Kumamoto City, Japan. Thanks for liking it. If I get another chance, I will take you to that place again this spring.
But before the cherry blossoms bloom, let me walk you around the beautiful Onsen town of Yufuin in Oita Prefecture.
To give you a little background, Yufuin a small town located in central part of Oita. This town is famous for natural hot spring spas (温泉 Onsen). Long-established inns, unique art museums, small galleries, sophisticated restaurants and coffee shops mingle together in this beautiful town. Are you ready to explore?
Click the photos below. Let’s go!
In Japan, many couples have their weddings in October, November, March and May. And since June is in the rainy season, you cannot often see wedding ceremonies in this particular month.
I had the opportunity to see a Japanese couple in their Japanese traditional clothes in front of Kumamoto Castle. The couple were having their prenup photo shoot with the castle and cherry blossoms in the background. They looked gorgeous.
In Southern Japan, Kumamoto Castle is a popular tourist spot, especially during spring because tourists get a chance to explore the old castle and enjoy the cherry blossoms at the same time.
One of my favorite hymns. I recorded this song a few years ago. Please enjoy the song.
The Nishiseto Expressway or Shimanami Kaidō is an expressway in Japan that connects Onomichi, Hiroshima and Imabari, Ehime. The expressway goes through nine different Islands, including Ōshima, Umashima and Innoshima.
My family visited Ehime prefecture a few weeks ago. We had two options to get to our destination, to travel by ship from Oita or to take a 7-8 hour drive through the expressway. We eventually chose the latter, and we enjoyed that trip so much. Crossing 9 different bridges were among the best experiences we’ve had on that trip.Below are the photos of the bridges that connect the Islands.
I am a fruit lover. I don’t care if I can’t eat meat all my life as long as there are fruits on my table. I grew up in the Philippines, a country known not only for its beautiful beaches but also for its delicious fruits.
My wife and I had an opportunity to visit Guimaras, producer of sweet mangoes in the Philippines. They have a mango festival every year.The most interesting part of the festival is the “Mango Eat-All-You-Can”. And since we love mangoes, we thought it was better to join and eat a lot of mangoes at the festival. We were very determined to eat mangoes as much as we could. And guess what? My wife managed to eat about 10 mangoes and I finished 20 sweet and delicious mangoes in one hour time.
We wanted to eat more. The mouth-watering mangoes kept on tempting us. But our stomachs signaled we had enough.
