Kumamoto Kurogawa Hot Spring~ 熊本黒川温泉 Part 1 (28th May 2015)

After the exciting Greenland Park, the next day we headed towards the famous Hot Spring village in Kumamoto called Kurogawa - meaning Black River

​​

Black  River Hot Spring village as you can tell, it is an area where hot spring hotels gather and formed a hot spring village. You can book one of the hotels there then walk around the village with the Japanese Yukata!  

​​

We headed there by JR and got off at Aso station. Then we went there by taxi. I know taxi is very expensive in Japan but even if you catch the bus it would be similar price for 4 of us and we would be wasting a lot of time waiting for that one bus. Please check up the the bus timetable if you want to go on that bus because if you missed it, you will have to wait 2 hours for the next bus.

Without wasting our time, we got on the taxi and arrived within 45 mins.

​​

 The hotel we booked is called Kiyashiki and it is not located at the centre of the village so it would take you some time to walk to the centre of the town where they sell food.

But we booked this hotel because it's up in the hill and has 24h hot spring. They also prepared car for us to go to the centre of the village!

SMXLL​​

As soon as we arrived at the bus stop, they came to pick us up and drove us up to the hotel. 

Then we were given Japanese green tea to drink while waiting at the lobby!! 

Then we checked in and was guided to the room!

 

​​

​​

 

The setting there was very natural-looking and very traditional because most parts were made of wood and there were lots of trees and woods around!

​​

 You have to change your shoes to their slippers after you checked in so that you don't step inside with outside's shoes!

To continue please go to:

http://twinkieruby.wix.com/engulfingmyway?draft=true#!Kumamoto-Kurogawa-Hot-Spring-熊本黒川温泉-Part-2-28th-May-2015/c112t/568d37190cf202954c29ac7a

Kumamoto Greenland Theme Park (27th May 2015)

eing a very active person, going to a theme park is a 'must' during a holiday trip!

This time I went to Kumamoto's Greenland Theme Park. I have to say this park isn't one that got scary rides. Instead, it's a theme park that had rides with colour and attractive designs so that it's quite inevitable that you will visit it.

​​

Usually when I got to theme park, I do not want to waste even 1 min going into the restaurant to eat. Therefore, I went to Convenient store and bought this yakisoba hot dog!

It's a hot dog with yakisoba - pan-fried noodles! I know it's very carbohydrates but it's only 113yen!! Save time and money!

​​

Once you arrived, you will see this colourful huge wheel!

​​

 Walking closer to the ticket box and the main entrance!

Except for rides there are many attractions e.g. game stations, 4D cinemas with set films, sweet and souvenir shops etc. Therefore if you have kids, it's definitely a great place to visit!

The price list

SMXLL​​

 

For those who want to ride but only on a bit, you can buy attraction tickets.

110yen for one ticket and 3000yen for 30 tickets.

Though you have to check how many tickets each rides will cost. e.g. It might take 7 tickets!!

To continue please go to 

http://twinkieruby.wix.com/engulfingmyway#!Kumamoto-Greenland-Theme-Park-27th-May-2015/c112t/566fdc570cf2590d9123041f

Kumamoto - Aso Volcano & Temple 熊本阿蘇山と阿蘇神社(27th May 2015)

Aso Volcano is one of the most famous spots in Kumamto. It's a live volcano in Aso area and I have heard that you can ride on a cable car which go pass the top of the volcano so that you can take a look from the sky at the volcano!

Because it takes 1 hour and 45 mins to go from Kumamoto station to Aso station, we had a big breakfast before we set off!  

Ramen shops usually opens at about 11 oclock so most of them were​​ closed >< But because we are in Kyushu which is extremely famous for Ramen, we were determined to find one in the morning! 

 

​​

This ramen was good but I prefer the Kaogshima flavour better because the soup was thicker and has heavier taste than this one.

 This restaurant opens 24 hours~​​

​​

Then we set off! The train ticket was quite expensive, costing 1110 yen.

​​

Arriving at the Aso station, you will see the stop seeing the modern buildings you saw in Kumamoto city. 

​​XL

Instead you will see this very relaxing view with very fresh air! There isn't much in front of the station so people normally then heads to the Asosan - volcano! 

To continue please click here: 

http://twinkieruby.wix.com/engulfingmyway#!Kumamoto-Aso-Volcano-Temple-熊本阿蘇山と阿蘇神社27th-May-2015/c112t/566fe09f0cf2fb0fe5aed70b

Kumamoto Aso Akaushi roasted on hot plate~熊本阿蘇 あか牛篇 (27th May 2015)

 Meat is one of my favourites and beef is definitely on my top list.

Last time I have tried the Kagoshima beef, and now I just can't let the Akaushi which means red beef escape! 

Unfortunately, we were running out of time after travelling to the Aso Mountain. Therefore, not a lot of restaurant were still opened in Aso area. Therefore, we travelled back to Kumamoto station and tried to find bbq restaurants that will sell that!

The one we found close by was inside the Sakura no Kouji (next to the Kumamoto Castle)  - please see my last entry for that.

​​

This restaurant is called Asoyamami and it sells very traditional sets of Japanese meals.

The interior of the restaurant is very a traditional wooden one and there are set seats where you have to take off your shoes and kneel to sit.

​​

I ordered this Akaushi Don set - which is simply grilled beef on the top of Japanese rice + tofu soup

​​

This set costed 1600 yen. Yeah it's very expensive. But I think this is because this restaurant is located in the very main tourist area, that's why... If I went back to the shopping street, the price might be lower.

​​

But this beef was very soft and melted inside my mouth! It was medium rare and so you can really taste the juicy beef + a bit of blood. But it was very appetizing and I didn't feel it was enough. (As you see the bowl size isn't big)

As it was nearly the last night of being in Kumamoto, I wanted to eat horse meat one more time ^^ So I ordered this:

​​

You can order separate Akaushi meat! I think it was 1500 yen.

​​

Then you will grill it on a thick metal plate!! 

It was really soft and tender that it melts in your mouth! Oh and you don't need any sauce when you eat it!!! Cos it's so delicious as it is already!

​​

My friends also ordered horse meat! It costed 1000yen - a lot cheaper than the Akaushi beef!

​​

The thing I love about grilling it yourself is that you can choose how it is done! Rare to medium rare is my favourite btw!! 

The horse meat was cut into very thin layers so it's not tough and easy to chew!

​​

And at the end, they sold this Cremia ice-cream! costed 500yen. Like I said before, this was the best ice-cream I have ever tried in my life that I have eaten it over 4 times in a month! (Basically if I see one, I will buy one ^^)

​​

The cone is a bisuit crepe which is quite sweet but matches the super creamy and milky ice-cream!!! It's too rich to describe but you will feel like you are in heaven!! I swear it's better than Ben and Jerry and haagen-dazs or any other brand!

It's made of 25% Raw cream and it doesn't taste too sweet! 

If you are a cream and milk person, you really better should try one!! I hope this is coming to HK soon!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kumamoto sakuranokouji 熊本桜の小路(26th May)

As being a typical Japanese tourist place, right next to the Kumamoto Castle, there is this area like a food/souvenir street where you can find the local famous food and restaurant, and buy souvenirs that will remind you of the memories you had there.

Sakuranokouji means a small pathway~

SMXLL

 

As you go up the slopes, Sakuranokouji is on the left and if you continue to the right, it's the Kumamoto castle.

​​SMLXL

Near the entrance, you can see Japanese traditional buildings and decorations such as the pretty umbrellas~

​​SMLXL

To continue please go to this site!
http://twinkieruby.wix.com/engulfingmyway#!Kumamoto-sakuranokouji-熊本桜の小路26th-May/c112t/566cda660cf2beecdd8551aa

Kumamoto Castle 熊本城 (25th May 2015)

When you talk about Kumamoto, except for the Kumamon (the character that represents Kumamoto - can be found in my last Kumamoto entry), the Kumamotojyo - which means castle is definitely one that cannot be ignored!

But then being one of the city girls, I am not quite so into the history of the castle so surely I wouldn't want to pay to get to see the inside of the castle! So this entry might disappoint you that it will give you no information whatsoever about the paid area of the Kumamoto Castle.

<----Walking towards the castle entrance.

Before you get to the main entrance of the castle, you will have to walk pass these ancient doors

But then if you are interest in entering inside. Here is the ticket info:

1 adult = 500 yen

child (primary and secondary school) = 200 yen 

This is the main entrance where you will be buying the ticket from. Once you enter that wooden door, you will have to pay!

But you know what? Inside must be stuffed with people so we stayed outside and get all views by ourselves and took our own special photo album!

Actually, walking around the outside wall of the castle is also a big walk. But seeming the weather is so nice and the grass are so green, it was an enjoyable walk!

Japanese people are always very nice and will ask us whether we want to take a photo together! <3 thx so muchXD

And this lake/ river that is also located outside the castle! Next time if I go there again, I will definitely do a picnic there!

Homepage of the castle: http://www.manyou-kumamoto.jp/castle/

Sorry for being such a short entry, next time I will be talking about the more exciting sakuranobaba street which is located just next door to the castle. It's like a shopping street with lots of food and things to see! 

Kumamoto 熊本 ~ Raw horse meat 馬刺し+BBQ horse! (25th May 2015)

Maybe horse meat is very common in the Europe side e.g. France. But in Asian countries, it's not so...

Although horse meat can be common for Westerners, raw ones that can be eaten just like that might not be so! This time we went to look for the famous horse meat in Kumamoto!

Like I said in my last blog, I was staying in a public bath/ sauna place so we are actually inside the shopping street!

photo guide provided by the website

There is one horse meat restaurant that is very catchy when you walked passed it, so we decided to go there after we met up with the 2 new joiners of this graduation trip! It's called Kumamoto Baniku Yokocho (meaning Horse meat in one of the side streets)

As we are eating quite late, we didn't order too much (but still bbq is quite heavy for night snacks)

Raw Horse meat that can be eaten just like that.

We weren't really sure whether we will like it, so we ordered the smallest size!

Basashi (Raw Horse meat) is quite expensive to eat: For 1 person = 1200 yen. 2 persons: 2400yen etc. (please visit the website menu here http://kumamotobaniku.com/menu.php)

I must say it's tougher than raw beef and taste quite raw in the sense that you know you are eating horse? It's not too hard to chew but you have to make an effort. It doesn't have a strong taste by itself so adding sauce is definitely a good choice.

But if you ask me to choose, I will definitely choose the bbq horse meat over this. Or I will choose raw fish instead.

Horse meat f or bbq  for 2persons

As we didn't know which part of the horse will taste the best, we ordered the "Total Horse Meat Combination" set. (though if you are expert on eating this, you can order parts separately)

This set combination price is: - 1 person: 1600 yen; 2 persons 3200 yen, 3 persons 4800 yen; 4 persons 6400 yen (all excluded tax). We ordered a 2 persons one.

We were sitting on the seats where you have to take off your socks and sit on the wooden floor. ^^

The horse meat tasted delicious! After it's bbqed, it tasted completely different from the raw ones. It's tender and easy to eat and it tastes kind of like beef!! 

The oil made it super meaty and I will definitely go and retry!

Horse meat croquette 550yen

Croquette is one of my favourite Japanese food and I was sooooo excited to see a croquette that is made  specially of horse meat!! 

Like all other croquette, it tasted delicious! But you can't really taste the horse meat though.(shame) But still, if you also like harsh brown or fried sweet potato/ potato, you will definitely like it!! 

Homepage of this restaurant:  http://kumamotobaniku.com/shop.php

map

Please message me if you have any questions!