Train, sea and sand
Ibusuki, once a popular destination with plenty of resorts. Now just a handful of resorts remain. It is a forgotten town, however, it still has its charm. The scenic route of the sea on a specialty train by JR West, the view towards Kaimondake, the most southern station of JR and most importantly the hot sand bath. Its all about escaping the stressful momentum of the city and just slow everything down and relax ourselves.
Here is my two day trip to Ibusuki:
Boarding the train at Kagoshima-Chuo Station.
Ibutama (or Ibusuki no Tamatebako). The Specialty train by JR West. Note we board on the black side, and we'll get off on the white side. The train is a refurbished diesel train.
Interior of Ibutama. Bar table seats on the right for sea view
Ibusuki Onsen Cider
After a brief stop at Kiiri station, we soon approach Ibusuki station
We board on the black side, get off on the white side
Syusuien, a Ryokan for the night
The entrance
A garden within the premises
The hotel room can sleep up to 8 people
We headed towards the beach for a hot sand bath at the Saraku
Taking a break at the lobby facing towards the sea, enjoying cold milk after sand bath
After a relaxing hot sand bath, we had soft cream just across the sand bath
A delicate dinner prepared by the hotel. The restaurant within the hotel is well known for its quality.
Futon already prepared for us as we return from dinner
Breakfast time
We took the normal train back to Kagoshima-Chuo station. We didn't have time, or else we would take the train to the most southern JR station in Japan which is just a few stations away.
Sea view as we return to the city.
In my previous post, I said Kagoshima is a hidden treasure. That was an understatement. There's so much more when I get to spend time exploring, walking around the town. It felt really welcoming, from a group of farmers waving towards the train as it enters the town (which is organised by Ibusuki's tourism board), to basically everyone in town and those old couple who stayed at the same hotel as we did. There's nothing I can complain about my trip to Ibusuki and I will definitely go again. This time, I will visit the nearby island and perhaps reach the Kaimondake.
Sensibility and Spirituality
Inside Okunoin
Okunoin Cemetery
Okunoin, Koya-san. A place where Kobo Daishi founded Japanese Buddhism 1200 years ago. I visited the place just months after its 1200th year anniversary. It is believed that Kobo Daishi is still alive, having an eternal meditation inside Okunoin (lit. temple of the end). Okunoin is considered one of the most sacred place in Japan and is also the most spiritual place I've been in my entire life.
Tall 300-600 year old cedar trees, surrounded by (Gounn) 5 symbol stone sculptural graves covered with algae and creeping plants, there is one stone paved path guided by stone lanterns through 3 stone bridges before one arrives the final temple where Kobo Daishi resides.
I find the place extremely calm and peaceful, a good walk reflecting upon yourself and your life along the way. I find the walk itself a way of cleansing myself, leaving Okunoin with a lightened shoulder.
Hidden Treasure
Outlook at Sakurajima
Kagoshima, is a city where the Meiji Restoration began. A place I would say where the modern Japan began. Unlike Kyoto which is an ancient city, Kagoshima kept the essence of "East meet West." However, I haven't heard of Kagoshima apart from the famous Sakurajima, the active volcano, a used-to-be-detached Island across Kagoshima city. But as I stayed there longer, I found many things under the radar.
Some cities have something they boast as No. 1 in Japan. But Kagoshima does not have No. 1 in anything, but they have plenty of No. 2s. In other words, you can experience many No. 2s in one city, which was a very fulfilling trip.
Sakurajima viewed from the city of Kagoshima
First, Sakurajima, an active volcano situated across the city. Not the biggest, not the largest, but still a fascinating one as you see it wherever you travel within the city; whether I travel up the mountain, or heading towards Kirishima by train, or sitting in my client's office, I can still see it. Unfortunately, this active volcano which erupts over a hundred times a year, did not erupt during my stay, forcing me to return to Sakurajima again in near future.
Kagoshima local cuisine. Left top: Tiny fishes from Akune. Middle top: Scorched raw chicken. Right bottom: Fish Cake (Satsuma-age)
Second, delicious food. Here they call it the 鄉土料理 which means Local cuisine. Its a Teishoku (定食) with Shabushabu. The set was served with local fresh tiny fishes exclusive in Kagoshima prefecture fished from Akune (阿久根), some slightly scorched raw chicken, local specialised Fish Cake called Satsuma-age (薩摩揚げ) and Kagoshima Berkshire pork belly cooked in Shabu-shabu where it is served with some Yuzu Wasabi. So many new things I haven't eaten before, my first meal there tasted like food from heaven. It is a must eat dish in Kagoshima. Again, their Berkshire pork belly or A5 Wagyu I didn't mention, isn't the best in Japan, but they are just as good and their price is reasonable.
Open air onsen in Ibusuki
Third, Ibusuki. A city south of Kagoshima, used to be an extremely popular resort local for the locals before the bubble burst. There is now a sand bath with an open air onsen (露天風呂) just for 550yen! The view itself is breath taking, another I would say hidden treasure in Kagoshima.
Samurai village in Chiran
Fourth, Chiran. Famous for its green tea. Again, not the best in Japan, but they are just as good. In Chiran is also a Samurai village to visit.
Daikon and Fish!
Last but not least, a night visit at the the Restaurant Village (かごっまふるさと屋台村 さつま十八番) in the city near the Central Station (鹿児島中央) after a long day trip, enjoy the warm friendly atmosphere, with delicious snacks and foods while talking to new friends you'll meet coming from all over the country and the world.
The Restaurant Village have 3 policies.
- Serve with the best local products (such as local meat/vegetable and local sochu)
- Serve with the best smiles
- Serve with the most reasonable price
Restaurant Village
Meeting new friends
I didn't have time to visit the UNESCO heritage lised Yakushima, which is an Island south of Kagoshima prefecture. It is known for its ancient forests. I will definitely return and next time, I'll travel to both Yakushima and Taneshima and discover more treasures hidden in Kagoshima.
Atelier Butterfly
Beginning of 2015, I was working on a logo for a 100% natural and handmade soap product. The company's motto, simply put, is to make our daily lives easier and they began the expedition in Soap making, aiming to provide natural, handmade for a reasonable price.
The final design
The product range is called Atelier Butterfly. The name actually came after the logo I have proposed. When I was thinking about nature and beauty, the first thing came in mind is butterfly. So I took the company's logo (Delta Pyramax Co., Ltd.) and its colour, rearranged it and transformed it into a butterfly. It was tilted for a bit of movement and make it feel a bit more dynamic.
A place where dreams come true
Kuchiiri Dolls (口入人形)
Kuchiiri Doll is a set of three ceramic dolls resembling fox in human form, they are painted by hands so their facial expressions will slightly differ from each other, which makes each of them unlike and it seems they have personalities. The shrine is traditionally known for improving relationships and career. The set of dolls are a family, and the arrangement is placing the female on the left, male on the right with the messenger in the middle. The ritual is to bring these three dolls to Kuchiiri-Inari shrine, make your wish, bring it home and arrange those dolls in your room facing towards you. Once your dream have come true, bring them back to the shrine and place it there, arranged in the same way with the other sets placed by other people. So basically, each set placed at shrine means a dream have came true for someone. I'm not a believer, but seeing so many sets of dolls placed at the shrine means many dreams have come true, and it was a good feeling to know that. So eventually, I bought one set and made a wish for fun. It reminds me of my dream every morning I wake up looking at this set of dolls. Its becoming something meaningful in my life.
Location:
Kuchiiri-Inari (口入稲荷) shrine is situated in Fushimi-Inari-Taisha (伏見稲荷大社), one of the most visited tourist spot known for its "thousand torii" (there's more than a thousand). Its a small shrine located in one of the many branched roads in the mountain. That day I travelled to Mt. Inari, it was sunny, cloudless and really hot, and I was travelling with my parents so we decided to give up walking towards the top of the mountain (but I will try again). We made the turn at the T-junction known as Mittsu-tsuji (三つ辻). We walked down the narrow road, found numerous shrines, houses and of course vending machines along the way, found a few adorable cats and we finally reached the Kuchiiri-Inari. After that, we kept walking down the mountain, we did not worry about getting lost because there were many interesting shrines, history, houses and the beautiful sky and greenery accompanied by the sound of Cicada. At the end, the road turns out to be a route back the main entrance of Fushimi-Inari-Taisha.
Delta Asset Tracking System (DATS)
At the beginning of 2013, I was working on a Logo design and Graphic User Interface design for DATS. DATS is a system with UHF-RFID technology, an inventory management solution which tracks and records all asset activities, reducing the loss of fabrics. The product made its debut at Texcare Asias 2013.
Finished design
The company wishes the logo of the product to give the costumer a sense of professionalism, reliability, assurance. That's why strong, bold fonts with reasonable thickness was chosen. The "A" was enlarged to highlight "A for Assets", the product's value to the customers. The two waves represents RFID (Infra-red) facing opposite directions representing how the system works (tracking assets going in and out).
Colour variation. This variation follows the company's colour, however since the colours are not strong enough, this black and red variation was preferred.
Other variations, attempts to give DATS a easy to remember slogan.
Part of the project was the Graphic User Interface for the system in which employer and employee accesses daily. The large buttons were chosen for touch-screen friendly.
Finished User Interface
Sharing some of my travelling and working experiences.