On Alishan we used three heaters to stay warm One was electric, another burned kerosine and the third one a kerosine fan-heater. We prefered the last one, but with the way we were setup we only had electricity at night, from the streetlantarns. Some faulty switch at the kumiai that nobody seemed to be able to fix. We burned kerosine during the day and got a lot of condensation inside the lockers and cupboards. It wasn’t too uncomfortable, but still it motivated the search for work.
Mitsuse, nearly 1000m above sealevel, where somebody made a snow sculpture to commemorate this year of the rabbit.
On January 7th we
crossed the Mistuse pass to drive south to Kagoshima, where the temperatures
were higher, but even there we found patches of snow in the hills.
The first night we stopped at Akune and met up with friends that we’d met last summer. (See Q3 2010)
Kiyota sensei and his assistant Uenohara had added more color to this rumorous city, who’s mayor was known for his liberal ideas and appeared on national tv almost daily. Unfortunately he has had to step down after elections in February.
The following day we continued south as far as Ibusuki, a hotspring town known for its hot sand baths and the yearly Nanohana Marathon. We checked in at a waterfront hotel, together with Noriko Kanzaki and more friends from Fukukoka and on Jan 9th Jaap ran the full 42.195 km hilly course.
Nanohana is the name of the yellow flowers
Noriko and Jaap
The non-runners (including Marijke)
We met Mi-chan again,
who helps yachties that visit Kagoshima and who supplied us with a huge bag of
rice, that will last us a year at least!
Mi-chan was adopted by our group after a long day of
cheering, which is nearly as tiring as the run itself.
The following day we checked out very early and drove to this picturesc hotspring before heading back north. Noriko and Marijke’s hats are supplied at the spa and very usufull on sunny days! See how big the bath is? And the view.... magnificent! At 8:30 there was hardly anybody yet.
While Noriko and the others had to hurry back to work,
we took our time driving through the country side and frequently saw these tall
bamboo frames with rows of radishes driying in the sun.
Coastline just south of Akune.
We returned to Akune and Izumi, where we stayed in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) and saw the cranes wintering in the area. Because some birds had fallen ill with the birdflue the grounds where they congregate were closed to visitors. This didn’t keep us from watching them flying and feeding in nearby fields.
White-naped Cranes on the left, Hooded on the right.
In Sendai (Kagoshima)
we stopped to see a rare eagle, that winters here every year.
The warm waters of Sendai river created low foggy clouds over the mouth of the river that looked beautiful in the early morning light.
It looks just like any Black Kite so high up, but in
facts this bird is nearly twice as big, this Greater Spotted eagle
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