Trip to Kyūshū, Day 3 - Aso was acting like an ass...you get thepicture 九州の旅５月２４日

The plan was ambitious, but feasible. I was going to catch the 9:05am bus from Aso Station 阿蘇駅, get off at Kusasenri-ga-hama 草千里ヶ浜, hike to the top of Kijima-dake 杵島岳, walk from there to the Aso-san Ropeway 阿蘇山ロープウェイ and ride it to the top, walk up to Naka-dake 中岳 and look at the active volcanic crater, hike from there a couple of hours to the Sensui-kyō Ropeway 仙酔峡ロープウェイ and take that to the bottom, walk all the way down to Miyaji Station 宮地駅, and then take a train back to Aso in time to have dinner, and possibly, a bath at the Yume-no-yu 夢の湯 onsen. This was a hike that promised both an up-close encounter with an active volcano, and stunning views across the world's largest caldera.

Mother Nature, however, had other plans. It rained, and the wind blew hard, all night. While things had cleared up somewhat when I woke up around 7, the mountains could not be seen. I caught the first bus to Aso-san 阿蘇山, but it wasn't long before our vehicle was swallowed up by the fog and low-lying clouds. According to my guidebook, I was to get off at Kusasenri and look for the start of the hiking trail at the far end of the parking lot. However, I couldn't even see where that was after stepping off the bus. The trail eventually emerged out of the mist, only to be roped off and closed to walkers!

I didn't come this far to be denied, however, so I simply hopped over the fence, and commenced the hike. I soon found out why the trail was closed, for it was not only foggy, but extremely windy! I struggled up the path leading to the top of Kijima-dake, but had to give up as I could barely move forward in the face of the gusts. I then attempted to take the upper route to the ropeway, but encountered the same difficulties, with the howling wind making progress extremely slow and difficult. Turning back, I found a lower path to the ropeway, and this one turned out to be easier, relatively speaking. I had to climb over a couple more roped-off gates along the way, but in the end I did make it to the ropeway station. Despite the harshness of the weather conditions, the walk was beautiful in its own stark way:

Proof that I was at least on Aso-san, even if I couldn't see much of it. The photo on the right was taken in front of the ropeway building - notice how I'm having to hold on to my Los Angeles Angels cap to keep it from blowing away:

To no surprise at all, the ropeway to Naka-dake was closed, and was the road. I considered continuing on up via the walking trail, but two things prevented me from doing so: one was the long rope tied across, with the large "No Entrance" sign hanging from it; and the other was the fact that the path could be clearly seen from the ropeway building, and my red jacket would have offered no camouflage whatsoever. Besides, the idea of getting blown over the edge and into the crater was very unappealing, and so I caught the bus for the short ride back down to Kusasanri. For lunch, I had a bowl of beef soba 牛肉そば, though in retrospect I wish I'd had to courage to order the horsemeat soba 馬肉そば that was also on the menu! Instead of seeing a volcano, I had to content myself with going into the Aso Volcano Museum 阿蘇火山博物館. Here, at least, I could look into the fog-covered crater via a real-time video camera feed (I was even able to direct the camera!). After about five hours on the still fog-shrouded mountain, I caught a bus back down to the town of Aso, and wondered what to do with the rest of the afternoon.

What I ended up doing was to take a nice walk in the occasional sunshine (no break in the cloud cover on the mountain, however). After taking a look at Saigenden-ji Temple, which dates from 726 (see photo below), I came across a sign indicating a route called the "Denen Yutatto Sampo-michi" 田園ゆたっと散歩道. With nothing better to do, I followed the arrows, and was rewarded with a pleasant stroll through old neighborhoods with traditional houses, past old Shintō 神道 shrines and cultivated fields (not to mention several cows, a common sight in central Kyūshū but a rare one in most other parts of Japan) before ending up on the main road, Highway 57. Awaiting me there was a kaitenzushi 回転寿司 called Sushi Ichiba 寿司市場, where I rewarded myself for making the best of a disappointing day:

A final note about my accommodation, Minshuku Aso-no-Fumoto 民宿阿蘇のふもと. Things were pretty basic, no bath or meals, just a room and a shower, for ¥4200 ($46/NT1471) a night. The owner was nice, however, and in addition to providing pick-up to and from the train station (though it was only a ten-minute walk away), she provided me with a bus schedule, and drew a detailed map of all the dining options in the area. She was used to dealing with foreigners, which came as no surprise because Aso was crawling with 外人 during the two days I was there. Japan's domestic tourism industry is facing a slowdown as social conditions change, but foreigners seem to be taking up the slack. The local tourism authorities have responded by making things accessible to non-Japanese speaking visitors, with plenty of English-language information available. Though I didn't really need it myself, I appreciated the efforts, especially when tourism officials here in Taiwan seem content to become dependent on visitors from China.

Trip to Kyūshū, Days 1 and 2 - Rain, rain go away 九州の旅５月２２日と２３日

It was almost 9pm on a Saturday night when my flight landed at Fukuoka International Airport 福岡空港 in a steady rain. The fact that there were few non-Japanese on the plane, and my having only a carry-on bag, meant I was able to move quickly through Immigration and Customs, and so was able to catch the 9:32 highway bus to Kumamoto 熊本 with plenty of time to spare. Two hours later, I checked into the Tōyoko Inn Kumamoto Suidō-chō Denteimae 東横イン熊本水道町電停前 hotel, showered and went to bed. Thus ended my first night back in Japan.

It was still raining when I awoke early the next morning, and it would continue to do so all throughout the day. In fact, it poured much of the time, stretching the waterproof limits of my backpack to their breaking point and beyond, with my passport getting soaked in the process. Despite the weather, I enjoyed the time I spent in Kumamoto, a city of 730,000 people and the capital (naturally) of Kumamoto Prefecture 熊本県. Using the city's tram system to get around, my first stop on the local sightseeing trail was Suizenji-jōjuen 水前寺城趣園, one of Japan's finest stroll gardens. It was finished in the early 1700's after about eighty years of work under three successive lords of the Hosokawa clan 細川氏, rulers of the Kumamoto Domain 熊本藩 for much of the pre-Meiji Restoration 明治維新 era. The layout recreates scenes on the Tōkaidō 東海道, the Edo period 江戸時代 road that ran between Edo 江戸 (now Tōkyō 東京) and Kyōto 京都. Mt. Fuji 富士山 and Lake Biwa 琵琶湖 were pretty obvious:

The one disappointment I had with Suizenji-kōen (other than the rain, of course) was that the 400 year-old Kokindenju-no-ma Teahouse 古今伝授の間 was closed for renovation. However, next up was Kumamoto-jō 熊本城, Japan's third-largest castle after the ones in Ōsaka 大阪 and Nagoya 名古屋. Like those two, this one is also a modern-day replica,dating from 1960, as the original burned down during the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion 西南戦争. The restoration work was done superbly, and even in the heavy rain, the main keep was a magnificent sight:

Like virtually all castles in Japan, both originals and reconstructions, the views from the top floors are fantastic. Here's what was like from high up inside Kumamoto-jō:

Back at ground-level, I walked over to the Go-ten Ōhiroma, the main reception hall of the castle that was only completed about four years ago (at great cost and effort). Another excellent reconstruction, you wander from room to room marveling at how the architecture and interior decoration could be so simultaneously grand and minimal. Here are a couple of examples of the artwork painted on sliding doors:

Admission to the keep and the reception hall was included on the same ticket, as was entry into the Uto Yagura 宇土櫓, the only turret to survive the battle which destroyed most of the rest of the castle:

The tourist authorities in Kumamoto certainly know how to provide value for your sightseeing yen, as the ¥640 ($7/NT225) combination ticket also included the Kyū-Hosokawa Gyōbutei 旧細川刑部邸, a large samurai residence originally constructed starting in 1688 for one of the branch families of the Hosokawa clan. It's yet another well-done restoration, a skill at which the city of Kumamoto seems especially adept at:

The Hosokawa-Gyōbu clan certainly lived well:

All this historical appreciation was working up an appetite for me, but restaurants were lacking in the area around the castle and the former residence. The nearby Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art 熊本県立美術館 had a cafeteria, but the deep puddles on the path in front were too wide to leap across, so it was a long walk before I finally found an accessible cafe in what turned out to be the museum's Chibajo Annexe 熊本県立美術館分館 on the opposite side of the castle park. This was the view from the fourth-floor window while I ate my curry rice カレーライス:

Just when I thought I had seen every kind of vending machine imaginable in Japan, I came across this one on the grounds of a colorful shrine, with amulets on offer. Hello Kitty ハローキティ amulets, to be precise, one of which became Amber's first present of my visit:

With my time in Kumamoto running short, I decided I'd had enough history, and checked out the modern side of the city, strolling through both the Shimo-tōri (pictured below) and Kami-dōri shopping arcades:

Around 3:30 in the afternoon, I picked up my bag from the hotel, took the tram to Suizenji-Ekidōri Station 水前寺駅通駅, walked from there to the JR Shin-Suizenji Station 新水前寺駅, and got on the slow train on the Hōhi Main Line 豊肥本線 to Aso 阿蘇, my next destination, arriving around 5:40pm. After a tonkatsu 豚カツ dinner at the Coffee Plaza East restaurant/photo studio (which explained the roadster parked inside), I checked into the Minshuku Aso-no-Fumoto 民宿阿蘇のふもと, my home for the next two nights. The rain had eased up somewhat by this point, which bode well for my hiking plans for the following day.

That evening, the rain came down in buckets, and the local TV channels were flashing onscreen warnings of heavy rain in the area. At the same time, there was talk of the precipitation peaking that night and then moving on. In any case, it was out of my hands.

Making tracks

Today I took another train ride out to San'i 三義 for another walking excursion. My goal was to reach the old Shenghsing 勝興 train station on foot, a six-kilometer (3.7 miles) stroll one-way that didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would as I set out from Sanyi Station 三義車站 at around 1pm.

After about a kilometer (0.6 miles) along the ugly main drag of Sanyi, a sign pointed the way off to the left, where I soon found the unused (or so I thought) tracks of the decommissioned part of the Western (Old Mountain) Line 舊山線. It was a pleasant walk along the old railroad tracks, with the added bonus of getting a better view of the surrounding scenery than could be had from the road:

Soon after passing through a 726-meter (2382 feet) long tunnel ("Tunnel No. 2" - more on that later), I arrived at Shenghsing Station after about 70 minutes of walking:

When it was in operation, Shenghsing had the distinction of being the highest train station in Taiwan, at 403 meters (1322 feet). Now, it's a tourist magnet. Even on a hot Tuesday afternoon, the area was busy with visitors, including a group of earnest Western Mandarin learners (they always are). The atmosphere today, however, was much more preferable than what you find on weekends and holidays, when the narrow road is clogged with traffic and people, and the souvenir sellers and restaurateurs are in full tout mode. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Taiwan is the undiscovered tourist gem of East Asia, but if you come, be sure to visit the popular spots on weekdays (unless of you're a big fan of 人山人海):

I spent about an hour wandering around the station and the street, and even venturing into the hills overlooking the area, all the while resisting the temptation to buy an ice cream. I've managed to lose 4.1 kilograms (9 pounds) over the past five weeks, mainly by cutting down on my consumption of beer, milk tea and late night snacks, and I wasn't about to stop now, especially as there was a bottle of Gauloise Amber with my name on it waiting for me back home. All bets are off next week, however, when I'm in Japan. I'm hoping that what I consume in calories there will be burned off by all the walking and hiking I intend on doing. We'll see...

Eventually, it was time to return to Sanyi in order to catch the 4:25 train back to Fengyuan 豐原. I stuck to the road for the return leg, and soon after leaving Shenghsing, I started hearing the sound of a horn blaring somewhere behind me, but getting closer. I assumed it was a tour bus making its way along the narrow, winding road. However, as I was walking past the aforementioned Tunnel No. 2, a maintenance train of same kind emerged. Apparently, the Old Mountain Line does see some action after all:

I made it back to the station with about 15 minutes to spare. All in all, it was a pretty good outing today, one that I would recommend to anyone who doesn't mind hoofing it to get from place-to-place. Just don't do it on weekends!

The beauty and charm that is small-town Taiwan

Milking it for all it's worth

My daughter poses with a friend at the local Carrefour this afternoon. What the I ♥ Milk bovine didn't know was that Amber was sipping a free sample of milk from a rival maker while it was posing with her. Meanwhile, in our shopping basket was a jug of 牛乳 from yet another dairy products firm. It's a cow-eat-cow world in the milk industry.

Welcome to J Town!

Next door to the swimming school where my daughter has lessons every Saturday afternoon, is a kindergarten that promotes itself as being "Japanese-style". It isn't clear what that means exactly, and the school looks no different from any other local kindergarten (though a little bigger than most, perhaps), but the banner on the gate informs us that we are welcome to visit anytime to inquire. Despite the awkward Japanese on the sign, Amber decided she would like to register there because "it has a soccer field":

An admitted Japanophile I may be, but an admirer of the Japanese education system I am not, so I doubt that my daughter will be enrolling in such a school anytime soon. I do wonder, though, why this kindergarten would model itself in such a fashion. Could it be that there are a lot of Japanese residing in this part of T'aichung 台中? After all, Amber's swimming school calls itself "Jen Jen Itōman", in an odd mixture of Chinese 人人 and Japanese 伊藤萬 (though in Japan the last character would more likely be written as 万). On one wall is a list of all the names of the students, broken down by classes and levels, which revealed that there is one Masako Iwamoto 岩元雅子 enrolled.

A short walk from the Ren Ren Itoman Swimming School is the Japanese-style supermarket Capita'n. There is also an onigiri おにぎり stand with a trilingual menu (Chinese/English/Japanese) that is full of mistakes in two of the languages (guess which ones?), plus several Japanese restaurants in the vicinity. The latter include a branch of Sushi Express, a tonkatsu 豚カツ chain that recently opened an outlet in Fengyuan 豐原, and a so-called kaiseki 懐石 restaurant, Momo-chan.

Maybe Compass Magazine, the expat zine that likes to give areas of the city such comforting-sounding names like the "Canal District" or "Little Europe", should start calling the area around the intersection of Wenhsin and Ch'ungte Roads "Japantown" or "Little Tōkyō".

セーラーアンバー

My daughter wanted me to take a picture of her in her new clothes, and to put the photo on my blog. Accommodating Dad was more than happy to oblige.

In the news

Frank Ching, a journalist based in Hong Kong, frequently writes on Taiwanese affairs, and the Japan Times ジャパンタイムズ is carrying his most recent column on the subject in today's issue. Here are a few excerpts from "Ma jockeys for domestic and Chinese favor":

"Taiwan's leader Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九 did something unusual late last month. With the next presidential election almost two years away, he held a televised debate with the leader of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party 民主進步黨, Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文, thereby giving her the status and media exposure she badly wanted. It was a daring and high-risk move, but he did it because his support ratings were so low that he was having difficulty convincing the electorate that a key economic agreement with China that he has been pushing was in Taiwan's interests."

The agreement in question, ECFA 海峽兩岸經濟合作架構協議, has been one of the factors dragging down Ma's poll numbers, so it was no wonder he finally gave in and agreed to debate his DPP counterpart. Ching notes that Ma emerged from the debate with his approval rating up, but also points out that Tsai still has much higher support rates from the electorate.

"Ma has proven to be a somewhat less than inspirational leader except in the area of cross-strait relations, where he has performed brilliantly. His government over the past two years has concluded 12 agreements with China on such things as flights, food safety, tourism and mutual judicial assistance. Of course, those achievements were possible only because of China's cooperation. China appreciates Ma's rejection of the pro-independence policies of his predecessor, Chen Shui-bian陳水扁. But it has made clear that its ultimate goal remains political unification between the island and the mainland."

"Brilliance" in cross-strait relations depends on one's point of view. Independence supporters would no doubt describe Ma's pro-China policies as a threat to Taiwan's sovereignty, though most international observers seem pleased with the results so far. As Ching points out, however, none of Ma's "achievements" would have come about without China's approval. When the DPP was in power, agreements between China and Taiwan were also reached, but the negotiations that brought them about were conducted by two sides of roughly equal strength in bargaining positions. With Ma's eagerness to do business with Beijing, on the other hand, the Chinese side can (and does) negotiate from a stronger position, knowing that Ma's credibility as a leader rests on his ability to reach deals with the mainland.

"Ma has made no secret of his real reason for negotiating a trade agreement with China: his fear is that Taiwan, like North Korea, will be excluded from the network of trade accords that increasingly link other countries of the region. He hopes that, once an ECFA with China is completed, Taiwan will have China's blessing to sign free trade agreements with other countries.

It is far from clear that Beijing will go along with that, but the likelihood of Beijing continuing to make concessions to Taiwan is much greater if Ma's domestic political situation appears precarious. In fact, the weaker Ma appears, the more likely China is to shore him up since it does not want the pro-independence opposition party to regain power."

It's too bad Ching doesn't call out Ma on the latter's ridiculous comparisons with North Korea. The North Koreans are isolated by choice (the "juche" self-reliance philosophy), its nuclear activities and the fear of its leadership that a greater opening up to the outside world could eventually lead to the regime's downfall. None of these factors have anything in common with Taiwan, which actively trades with the rest of Asia (not to mention the world), and participates in regional groupings such as APEC.

Ching also accepts Ma's argument that Taiwan needs Beijing's "permission" in order to conclude Free Trade Agreements with other nations. However, the question is not whether China will "approve" of any FTA's Taiwan might conclude, but why Taiwan must have this approval in the first place. Not only is the rationale questionable (hasn't Taiwan reached agreements with a number of countries on various matters in the past despite the absence of diplomatic ties), but it denigrates the sovereignty of the Republic of China 中華民國. "Mr. Ma", of course, doesn't seem to mind.

As for Chinese concessions, the only way Beijing could act to shore up Ma's support, and help him to defeat Tsai in 2012, would be to withdraw the missiles it has pointed at Taiwan.

After a few remarks on the recent US-China spat over arms sales to Taiwan, Ching concludes by writing:

"A glimpse into China's position was provided the week before last at an East-West Center conference in Hong Kong. Professor Chu Shulong of Tsinghua University told the audience that Taiwan, in fact, has a right to purchase arms from abroad. It is just that no country has the right to sell arms to Taiwan. A more enlightened China would certainly recognize the absurdity of such a position."

A more "enlightened" China would stop trying to recreate, let alone hold onto, the territorial empire that was once that of the Manchus, but it's highly unlikely the leadership in Beijing will be spending time under Bodhi trees.

Mysterious goings on?

It's no secret that as China continues to grow in terms of its economic and political influence, so do its territorial claims. In particular, the Chinese have been challenging Japan's exclusive economic zone, or at least the extent of it. It's also no secret that the Ma Ying-jeou 馬英九 administration has been nudging Taiwan ever closer into Beijing's orbit. But is Ma now aligning Taiwan with China's expansionist aspirations? The following Kyōdō News 共同通信社 article appearing in Japan Today does make one wonder ("Taiwanese ship spotted sailing in Japan's EEZ without approval"):

"A Taiwanese survey ship was found sailing some 324 kilometers west-northwest of Amami-Ōshima Island 奄美大島, Kagoshima Prefecture 鹿児島県, in Japan’s exclusive economic zone shortly before 1 p.m. Friday, local Coast Guard 海上保安庁 officials said. An airplane dispatched by the regional Coast Guard headquarters in Kagoshima confirmed that the 66-meter ship was carrying what appeared to be a wire hung into the water from its stern, they said. The vessel was first found in the EEZ on Thursday, prompting the Coast Guard to issue a warning against its operations in the zone without Japan’s advance consent. While the ship was sailing toward the southwest, the Coast Guard halted monitoring it Thursday evening as the wire appeared to have been pulled out of the water. The ship returned to where it was initially found by Friday and then resumed sailing toward the southwest without responding to a radio warning from the aircraft, the officials said."

Of course, the Republic of China 中華民國 has its own territorial disputes with Japan. But it does seem a little odd how in recent weeks, Ma and his officials have been playing up the strength of ties with Japan, yet the administration appears to have sent a ship (ships?) on a mysterious (and provocative) voyage into an area of ocean claimed by the Japanese. And, most ominously of all, the Taiwanese vessel appeared to be operating in roughly the same area where last week a Chinese ship forced a Japanese ship to leave, triggering a strong protest from the Japanese government.

Hiking Heaven

Anyone who has driven on National Highway No. 1 中山高速公路 near the town of San'i 三義 in Miaoli County 苗栗縣 has seen these, the Sanyi Huoyanshan 三義火炎山:

Obviously, at some point in time, massive landslides removed big chunks of the mountainside. I've often wondered if there were any hiking trails in them thar hills, and today I found out there were. Located near the spot where Sanfeng Road 三豊路 meets the freeway is a small parking lot, and some concrete steps leading up into the trees. The steps soon stop, and a trail begins winding its way up the hill. Deceptively gentle at first, it soon becomes rocky, and though not a technical climbing challenge (as if this pansy-ass weekend hiker, who prefers to go out on weekdays, would know), it's a lot more difficult than the wooden staircases that bring walkers to the top in Tak'eng. In many places, there are ropes to help the hiker along, and hiking clubs have left numerous ribbons tied to trees to indicate the way (useful in several spots). At one point, it's necessary to walk along some logs that have been tied to the hillside with ropes:

The best part about the trail is that it takes you right up to the denuded hillsides. The trail skirts the ridgetop, and there are several viewpoints that provide stunning vistas of the badlands:

Another great feature of today's walk was the fantastic views of the plain down below. Even on a hazy afternoon like today, it was possible to see far in almost all directions. On a clear day, the views must be spectacular:

About 90 minutes into the hike, I came to a clearing, where previous hikers had built a cairn. A perfect spot for a self-portrait:

The trail continued on from here, past another cairn (where I added a stone in memory of my beloved Uncle John, who died in his sleep last week), and further on along the top of the ridge. Unfortunately, at roughly two hours into the hike, I reached my fail-safe point, that moment when I had to turn around and head back to my scooter, so that I would have enough time to get home, have a shower and eat dinner, before going out to meet my private students. This is a trail that begs to be explored on an all-day outing, to see how far and where it goes. If you want to give it a try, be sure to wear gloves and a good pair of shoes, and bring plenty of fluids - I burned through two bottles of Pocari Sweat ポカリスエット, and I'm still feeling thirsty!

Without a doubt, today's route was the best trail I've come across so far in the greater T'aichung 台中 area.

Banging the drum for Mom

Another year, another Mother's Day performance using taiko 和太鼓 put on by Amber's kindergarten class:

 

Afterward, I treated myself to a milk tea. I used to drink these on a daily basis, but now I limit myself to one at a week, on the weekends. It's probably no coincidence that I've dropped 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) over the last three weeks.