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.

Seeing a big Kukai statue in Imayama Daishi temple, Nobeoka

We went to Miyazaki and Kumamoto for 2 days on October 17 and 18. 

First, we had decided to take a drive to Imayama Daishi (今山大師), a Shingon Buddhist temple in the heart of Nobeoka city, Miyazaki. 

The history goes back to 1839, when a disease was rampant in Nobeoka. The followers of Kukai who served as Naito Masayoshi, the seventh Daimyo of Nobeoka Domain. They bought a seated statue of Kobo Daishi from Kongobu-ji Temple in Kii Province and built Daishi-an to prevent an epidemic.

When we went up the stairs, we'll see the main temple. 

The bronze statue of Kukai. It is said to be the largest in Japan🗾, with a height of 17 meters and a weight of 11 tons, and was opened on April 18, 1957. 

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

After that we went to Imayama Hachimangu Shrine built in 750.