Visiting Catholic Miuracho Church, Sasebo

After visiting Ishidake observatory, we headed to the nearest spot, Catholic Miuracho Church⛪ 

In 1891, the Sasebo Naval Base was established and Sasebo developed as a military port. As the area developed, the number of Christians increased, and Sasebo Church was founded in 1899. With the further development of the military capital, the current church was built on October 1, 1930, in the relocated Miuracho through the efforts of the third-generation chief priest, Asagoro Wakita.  

It's a beautiful Gothic building, but both the designer and the builder are unknown😄 

During the World War Two, it was persecuted by the military as a pagan, and the building was even painted black with coal tar to make it a target for air raids😨

Entrance stairs. It is in front of Sasebo Station, but hilltop. You have to go up three stairs, like a really steep cliff💦😢

The image is downloading from mock5130's blog on Ameblo.

The statue of Virgin Mary. She loves you very much😀

    

Panoramic views of the 99 islands from Ishidake observatory

In the afternoon, we had decided to take a drive🚙 to Ishidake (石岳) viewpoint, Sasebo. Ishidake is a scenic mountain in Saikai National Park where you can see the various islands floating in Sasebo Bay🌊 

This place is also known as the filming location for the famous Hollywood movie "The Last Samurai" starring Tom Cruise🎥

We parked a car in front of Sasebo city zoo🐈and go up to the top of the mountain🌄

After that we went to the second view point on the opposite side. From here, you can see the awesome view of the many small islands in front of you😊

Panoramic views of Ureshino from Tateiwa Viewpoint

On Wednesday, we had decided to take a drive🚙 to see the 99 Islands in Sasebo. Before going to that, we went to Tateiwa Observatory, Ureshino, Saga. From here, you can see the awesome view of the hot springs town♨😁 

Driving on Prefectural Routes 1 and 6 from Ureshino Interchange on Nagasaki Expressway and passing some gentle curves, we came to the top of the hill🌄 But there is a narrow road, you should be careful when driving😀

The Ureshino city center seen from the observation deck on roof.

The North-East area. The new bullet train Station🚄 called Ureshino Onsen (嬉野温泉) is in the foreground🚉

Tea field🍵 near to the building. Ureshino is locally known as a tea garden and its hot spring resorts🏨

 

The restoration romon gate of Aso Shrine

In the afternoon, we went to Aso Jinja (阿蘇神社), a Shinto shrine in Aso, Kumamoto. You probably know that the shrine's romon (tower gate) and the haiden (worshipping hall) both completely collapsed in the Kumamoto earthquakes seven years ago. When we visited in November 2021, the hall had been restored, but the gate was still under rebuilt😢 

But there is a good news for us; Romon (楼門), which is the last remaining one, will be completed in December😀

How long does it take to reconstruct after the mainshock? According to website (in Japanese), the reconstruction work started in August 2019. The total work is done in March, and began at the end of the same month to dismantle the bare roof that covered the tower gate. The shrine held a tour for the public before demolition begins. 

Aso Jinja's haiden⛩ It is said that we'll be able to see the shrine through the gate next new year's day😇 I believe that only then will we be able to truly feel that we have recovered from the earthquake😌

Visiting Kumamoto Earthquake Museum

 Yesterday we had decided to take a drive to the Kumamoto Earthquake Museum (熊本地震震災ミュージアムKIOKU Kumamoto Jishin Shinsai Myujiamu Kioku) in Minamiaso, Kumamoto. The museum is built on the former Tokai University Aso campus which was damaged by the earthquakes seven years ago, and was open on July 15.    

The entrance of museum. I have to pay the 500 yen entrance fee💰 here. Then I got entry pass for visitors🎟

A car🚙 washed away by the mud during the mainshock on April 16, 2016😨

The collapsed (old) Aso Bridge signboard and the clock in the university campus gymnasium stopped at time of happening😭  

After that I went to the old university campus building damage by earthquake😧

 

When I looked inside, the stairs fall down and looks like they're going to collapse..😟 

The image is downloading from Taka0126-log's blog on Goo.

The statue of Nico Robin, the character of one piece anime. 

Faults that have appeared on the surface😑

The student hall was completely breakdown; there is no building now⁉

When I turn around, I can see the Aso mountains🌄 beyond the museum😁

  
 

Seeing cosmos festival at Cosmos Park Kitano, Kurume

Last Sunday we had decided to take a drive🚙 to see cosmos in bloom at Cosmos Park Kitano (コスモスパーク北野), Kurume, Fukuoka. The park's cosmos⚘ are starting to bloom in the beginning of October. The best time to see the flowers is around late of the month😃

This year, flowering period of cosmos is about 10 days later than usual. The garden is approaching full bloom, with over 90% of the flowers already open. 

After that I walked along the Cosmos Road🏃 

It's a long road with no turns: There are approximately 500,000 cosmos in full bloom along a 3.5 stretch of the Jinya River bank😁

A close up of some blossoms⁕  

See you next year😀

Visiting Mount Nakadake, Aso, Kumamoto

On the second day, we had decided to take a drive to see the Mount Aso crater otherwise known as Mount Nakadake⛰ When I went there four years ago, it was erupting and I couldn't go to the top of the mountain😢 

Before that, we took a break at Kusasenri observatory. 

Superb views of Mount Komezuka and the outer ring of Aso mountain rims🌄

Kusasenrigahama is a grassland located on the opposite side of the road.

Now, let's go see the Aso crater. 

How to get there

There is two ways to get here either by car🚙 or by bus🚌. I think most travelers taking by bus because it's convenient. Before there was a cable car/ ropeway🚠, but it is gone now😭 You can also take your car to the top. However, there is a toll on the Aso-san Road. You have to pay a 800 yen toll fee to pass through the gate.

The Aso Nakadake crater 1. Volcanic smoke rises from the crater. I can feel the dynamic breath of the earth😄 

Staying at Sozankyo ryokan in Aso, Kumamoto

After visiting Imayama Daishi temple, we headed to Sozankyo (蘇山郷), a Japanese-style inn in Uchinomaki Onsen♨ I've never stayed there so I was really looking forward to it.

This time we just stay for one night and booked on the ryokan site at a reasonable cost, ¥21,050 per person per night with two meals🍽 The staff are all very kind and I got Matcha Japanese green tea as a welcome drink at check-in😊

The room we stayed at Myojo (明星) on the third floor. It has both Japanese and Western, but it's quite simple😉 They only put a king-sized twin bed🛏 on tatami mat😅 

The Wagyu beef steak I had for dinner😋

I found a Kumamon (くまモン) cute bear🐻 doll in the hotel lobby😍

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

We had breakfast at 7:30 so we have to go to the same place as dinner last night. 

 

A variety of dishes.  

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

We stayed in the room with a view of the Aso mountains🌄

Good morning mountain views from my room.