at least during our trip to the volcano Aso. But lets start from the beginnin g. For our first own organized trip we were roughly stopped. To book the bus ticket seemed to be impossible.

Luckily we have our international office at the university helping us in every situation. So bus ticket was booked and we drove to Fukuoka on a 4 hour ride. After searching the way to our couch-surfing Family we arrived at a nice flat with a warm welcome. The room for the four of us was equipped with tatami mats, but way more comfortable than I thought.
On the first day we started to a walk around the Shikanoshima island. Sun was shining but the wind from the sea cooled us down – so the sunburn was built-in. Anyway it was worth it. Walked about 5 hours along the sea, passed beaches, nice places and nature. The little challenge was to find a restaurant. The only one we found was an italien one – they spoke no english, we hardly japanese, they were expensive, we were hungry, their portions were small  😉 For the ride back we took the ferry directly to Fukuoka harbor and enjoyed the sundowner.

[nggallery id=6]

Dazaifu, an interesting old city with temples and an interesting history and culture museum was the goal for the first half of the second day.

[nggallery id=7]

Back in Fukuoka we went to the Fukuoka tower after walking thru the Ohorikoen-parc. The Fukuoka tower is the highest building in the city, so we used it for a great view on the one side to the sea with all the small islands on the other the city surrounded by the mountains.

[nggallery id=8]

On the third day of our trip the adventure began. We rented a car and started to Mount Aso with our host-family. Because we are not allowed to drive for insurance issues of our visa, we were happy that our host drove us there. She also organized a place to stay directly on the mountain. So far so good, but the weather was not on our side. A really stormy and rainy night made it hard to sleep. And on the next day, the clouds made it impossible for us to enjoy the view from the top of the mountain. Luckily around the mountain are a lot of onsen (natural hot springs) and the visit there saved our day.

[nggallery id=9]