P-Kyushu 2

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	Ebino Plateau & Kirishima


	Kirishima-Yaku National Park, vastly spreading over the most southern part of Kyushu, attracts visitors year-round by its spectacular scenery of volcanoes, crater lakes, virgin


	forests and waterfalls. We visited Ebino Plateau, the very north part of the park, where the Ebino Plateau Hiking Course allow hikers to enjoy nature through the well-designed mountain trails. We were looking forward to seeing the famous small lake called


	Fudo-ike from the top of a hill... Unfortunately, during our trekking, we noticed the sky


	getting darker and darker, and finally it started pouring like a tropical squall. We had to shorten our course. Everything was grey and the lake was covered with a deep fog anyway, so we had to miss the chance to apprecite the lake’s breath-taking cobalt blue colour...


	After being soaked in the rain, we had a short drive crossing the border from Miyazaki prefecture to Kagoshima prefecture and headed for our hotel in Kirishima-onsen village, where lovely hot spring was waiting for us. We thoroughly enjoyed having a long bath, and delicious traditional meals with various fresh ingredients from the area...


			Next morning, we passed by the Maruo Falls, a scenic little waterfall located just by the side of the road. It is obviously well-known and people just come and go one after another. By the falls there are a table



			and benches under a roof, which seem to make it a good spot to relax and have a picnic lunch...


	After another pleasant short stop at a compact but beautiful Kirishima-jingu Shrine, we


	continued our drive to south east, towards the oddly neglected historical town of Obi, one of the highlights of our Kyushu trip this time...


	Obi





			Due to its rather isolated inland location, away from the famous coast line of Nichinan in Miyazaki, Obi seems to


	deter crowds efficiently. In addition, this old samurai town hardly goes out of its way to advertise itself. Only a few learned Japanese, in fact, even know of its existence, which is good news for travellers searching for authentic bit of “old Japan”... Obi was better known in the 16th century, when it was under the rule of Ito clan of Kagoshima. The town's defenses, its restored walls, imposing entrance gate and plaster-covered lookout towers, the visible remains of its once formidable castle, hint at a long- vanished importance and prestige. Fifteen minutes on foot from Obi Station, Otemon-dori, a straight avenue lined with old houses, plaster storerooms, and stone and clay walls, leads to the superbly restored Otemon, or main gate, the entrance to the castle grounds and a small history museum. Within the same precincts stands a faithful replica of the Edo period Matsu-no-Maru, the residence of Lord Ito's most senior wife.


	In Otemon-Dori, shortly before the Otemon gate, there is Obi's most elegant samurai residence, Yosho-kan, which was the former residence of the Ito clan. In accordance with good geomancy, all the rooms here face south. This is definitely a well-chosen angle in any case, as Yosho-kan’s beautiful stone garden can be enjoyed from the open rooms with a view of

	Mount Atago in the background.




					Besides visiting the prescribed sights marked on the map that comes with the collective ticket to the main spots, you will experience the real pleasure of Obi


	when you wander its back lanes lined with old samurai residences and Meiji period timber buildings. You would enjoy peering over the stone walls or clipped hedges of private residents into flawlessly kept sub-tropical gardens covered with various trees such as cycads and palms. Many of these lanes are bordered by shallow gutters where colourful koi (carps) swim in clear, streaming waters...


	In this calm and refined cultural climate, even the bicycles, which visitors can hire from the station, seem oddly out of place as if they just hailed from a busier more stressful world. A good escape from the everyday life...


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