Staying at Okamotoya Ryokan in Myoban Onsen, Beppu, part 2

The next morning I woke up at 6 am. My mom got up before 7 o'clock. She went to a hot spring again because she loves onsen very much.

Beppu city at dawn.

We had breakfast at 8 so we have to go the same place as dinner last night. When we came here, they already ready for our breakfast. 

A variety of dishes.

They have a breakfast menu too.

Dango (だんご) soup is a local specialty in Oita. You probably know Dango (団子) is a round shape like a ring, but here it is known as wide noodles such as kishimen in Nagoya.
And Ryukyu (りゅうきゅう) is also one of the local dishes in the prefecture. It's like a pickled fish served with soy sauce.

Steamed pork with fresh veggies. They use juicy and tender pork chops for breakfast.

Mint jelly for dessert. The jelly is made of Kabosu, a locally produced fruit.

Staying at Okamotoya Ryokan in Myoban Onsen, Beppu, part 1

After walking around the spa town of Kannawa, we headed to Okamotoya Ryokan (岡本屋旅館), a Japanese-style inn in Myoban Onsen. I once stayed about 30 years ago when I was an elementary school student. I went there on a family trip, I enjoyed their food very much.
This time we just stay for one night and booked on the ryokan site at a reasonable cost, 19,800 yen per person per night with two meals. We couldn't pay by card but the staff are friendly.

The room we stayed at Botan (牡丹). Botan means peony in Japanese. It has six tatami mats with a balcony.

A nice view of the Beppu city in the evening from a room.

Menu list for dinner.

Appetizer. We had five different types of food; Tofu, Castella (=a Portuguese word for sponge cake),  Roasted duck, Simmered shimeji mushroom with chrysanthemum leaves and Sliced lotus root. We got a Kabosu wine for aperitif. By the way, Kabosu is local specialties in Oita Prefecture.

A bowl of rice served with miso soup. Oh there's delicious Sashimi food too.

Fish hot pot with some veggies.

Steamed chicken and vegetables before main dish. Don't forget to eat with miso sauce!

When it's done, they bring up the main menu.

Deep fried shrimp with sweet potato soup.

The original steamed pudding for dessert.

The night view of Beppu from my bed room is beautiful.

To be continued..

Walking around the spa town of Kannawa, Beppu

In the evening, we strolled around the Ideyu-zaka (いで湯坂) street in the Kannawa (鉄輪) area of Beppu. Beppu is a city located in central Oita Prefecture. The city is famous for its onsen (=hot springs). It has eight geothermal hot springs, sometimes referred to as the "eight hells of Beppu". Six of them are located in the district and two in the more remote Shibaseki district. Beppu is also divided into eight major hot spring areas known as Beppu Hatto (別府八湯).

We parked a car in front of Mountain Hell and start walking.

I went walking down to the Miyuki-zaka (みゆき坂) street. 

Crossing the Oita Prefectural Road 218, you'll see the gateway to Ideyu-zaka street.

The street name changes to Ideyu-zaka in front of Kamenoi Bus Terminal.

Kannawa Mushi-yu (鉄輪むし湯) is an onsen spa sauna near the Young Center play house. In Beppu, there are many Mushi-yu called steam hot springs using high temperatures, but it's the only one that uses a real sarcophagus.

Hot air and smoke rises from everywhere in the street. I think it's just amazing.

Hayasuihime-jinja, Oita

In the afternoon, we had decided to go to Hayasuihime-jinja Shinto shrine. In Japanese kanji notation, it is written as 早吸日女神社. It also sometimes described as 速吸日女神社.

The shrine is located in the former Saganoseki town, now merged with the city of Oita.

Ichi-no-torii at the entrance of the shrine.

The Somon.

Before going to the main temple, I washed my hands at Chozuya.

The second torii on sando (=road approaching a Shinto shrine) that leads to the main shrine.

The Izanagi-sha. As its name suggests, it is enshrined Izanagi, a deity born of the seven divine generations in Japanese mythlogy and Shinto.

Honden or the main shrine.

The main hall. The history goes back to 667 BC, when Emperor Jimmu launched a military expedition from Hyuga to Yamato, the ancient capital of Japan. The two gods of sea, Isago (黒砂) and Masago (真砂) who are sisters of Ama, took up the sword kept by the big octopus from the bottom of the sea and gave it to the emperor. He kept his sword as a sacred, and built a miniature shrine in the Furumiya district to pray for the god of Hayasui. 

Before going to Beppu, we took a short break at the Port of Saganoseki near the shrine. Saganoseki is a great place for fishing such as house mackerel. The town also boasts the copper plant operated by Nippon Mining and Metals company ltd, now known as JXTG Holdings.

A refinery plant of Nippon Mining and Metals Corp. commonly called as the Pan Pacific Copper factory. 

Strolling around the Usuki Castle ruins

After walking around the Castle town of Usuki, we went to a nearby spot, Usuki Castle ruins. The castle was built by Otomo Sorin in 1562 on the Island Nyu-jima, in Usuki Bay as his head castle.

Crossing the stone arch bridge and go up the stairs to the castle.

When we went up the stairs, we met the wooden turret gate.

Usuki Gokoku Jinja (臼杵護国神社) is a Shinto shrine in the castle. It is the family shrine of Inaba clan dedicated by Inaba Yoshimichi, also known as Inaba Ittetsu.

In 1600, Sadamichi, who was raised in rank by Oda Nobunaga in 1564, was installed at Usuki Domain and his descendants remained in the same place until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. 

The site of Honmaru keep tower. There were some old ruins and stone walls in the castle, but most of all are gone.

The Ukoko-mon turret looks like its original form, but actually it's recently built.

A view of Usuki city from the Honmaru. Now it is reclaimed and a little far away to the sea, but at that time there was a port because of their close proximity.

The Ushitora Inari Shrine built by Sorin is right next to the above-mentioned Ukoko-mon turret.

A replica of Otomo Sorin on the Ni-no-maru site. When Shimazu Yoshihiro of the Shimazu clan came into fight in 1586, he fought against the Shimazu clan. He used a large cannon called Furanki-hou (佛狼機砲) or simply said Kuni-kuzushi (国崩し) in the picture below to defect from the Shimazu army. 

Walking the castle town of Usuki, Oita

We went to Oita and Kumamoto for 2 days on October 14 and 15. 

First, we walked around the castle town of Usuki. Usuki is a historic town where Otomo Sorin, a Japanese feudal lord who was believed in Christianity, built the Usuki Castle in 1562 on the Island Nyu-jima, in Usuki Bay as his head castle. He has also exchanged with foreign countries, such as Portugal. 

Kagi-ya (鑰屋), a well-established soy sauce shop in Haccho Oji/Honmachi Shopping Street. Founded in Keicho 5 (1600), it is deeply rooted in local.

Sala de Usuki is a multi purpose facility located in the heart of Usuki's historic district. There are some fancy shops like cafes, a civic gallery, a workshop and so on.

 

Kuge no Okura is just the other side of Haccho Oji Main Street. It was built in the late Edo period and used for a sake storage until now.

This is a great wall painting by Rogerio Ribeiro, a famous Portuguese azulejos (=tile) artist. He's making use of blue in paintings. 

Going back to Haccho Oji Street, then we headed for the Nioza Historical Road.

Nioza Historical Road with Zensho-ji Temple in the background.

This area is like a big maze, of roads, of temples and of samurai houses etc. lined up in a row.