afternoon stroll through the ruins of hitoyoshi castle

We stopped at Jigoku onsen (“hell hot springs”) in the morning and had the open-air baths to ourselves! Also, a nice chance encounter with another couple who were interested to strike up a conversation.

Still smelling of sulfur (no showers to rinse off), Miyuki was determined to find a place where we could make our own soba.

our handmade soba (cold version) - check out the thick noodles I cut... whoops

hot version

Was a lot of fun, but the lingering effects of the onsen had me half-awake during the instructions. Didn’t help that the little old lady was rushing us and yammering a way faster than I could comprehend.

Next, the long drive back, with a brief stop in Hitoyoshi to enjoy the nice weather.

sushi reward for a long drive home

Tired.

Tags: afternoon, aso, castle, food, handmade, hitoyoshi, jigoku onsen, Kumamoto, long distance, ruins, soba, sushi, travel, tree