Caves & Castle in Kokura

We went to 平尾代　（Hiraodai).

The landscape is so strange!! All these rocks jutting out...But beautiful..

千仏鐘乳洞 (Senbutsu Shounyuu Dou) means Thousand Buddha Cave.

You can tour the cave but when it rains it gets really wet, so better wear pants that are easy to roll up! And to wear a water proof jacket.

I enjoyed it! The water was really really cold though!! 

We also went to Ojika

For more info on the caves, click here.

Near Ojika it's really pretty:

We met a very cute cat who is obviously very used to people adoring him and taking pictures of him haha

We got really hungry after exerting ourselves at the caves (actually I'm just really unfit hahaha) so it was time for lunch!! Which was ramen~~

 I have no idea how to read this and was too lazy to consult my dictionary so too bad :p hahaha

 The inside's really interesting, they have all sorts of old stuff inside. Very retro and they sell old toys and all. It looks so run down right? Haha...

I was a pig so I ordered mentaiko rice plus ramen (below). The mentaiko rice was sooooo good!! I'm drooling now just looking at this damn picture. The seaweed was very crispy too. And with the mayonnaise....One word..... PERFECT.

The ramen's really tasty! I think not everyone would like it. I seriously do not know how they get the egg yolks till they're slightly gooey but the whites fully cooked..but..who cares. LOVE.

After getting energy from (over) eating...We went to Kokura Castle!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      There's a palanquin in the castle that you can get into, press a button and it will move back and forth. Quite funny really.

There's also a machine where you can try and see if you can run as fast as the messengers of the olden days!

They say that normal samurai swords are around 70cm but the famous samurai Musashi's sword was said to be around 90cm long!

At the mall nearby we saw this guy with a pram full of fluffy cats!

There's a river near the wet market and apparently it's a popular picture taking spot:

We went to Chibu's home to a really awesome meal:

 Thank you Chibu's mom so much for letting us stay in your house! And thank you so much for everything else, the food, your company, and so so so many other things!! Oh ya I guess I'll have to thank Chibu too ;p hahahaha

Hopfeully one day I can return the favour and show Chibu's mom around Malaysia!

Last post on Nagasaki

The US was supposed to bomb Kokura but because it was very cloudy above Kokura, they decided instead to bomb Nagasaki.

I was quite undecided on whether or not to visit the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki because let's face it, it's not a very fun or happy place to visit on holiday but...

This is the Peace Park (平和公園） :

 The plaque says (bear with my Japanese,not so sure I'm doing this accurately): I was too thirsty to bear it anymore. There was a film of oil-like substance on the surface of the water. But I really wanted the water so badly that I drank the water, oil floating on it and all.

The right hand points to the atomic bomb, the left hand to peace. His words area really beautiful in Japanese.

The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum was quite nearby. 

 The place was really sombre. Kinda depressing but also hopeful for a better future. A future without nuclear wars or atomic bombs. Prayers for peace.

 This was a clock they found after the bombing. stuck at the moment the bomb hit. Really haunting.

 It was really sad. I honestly hope no president seriously ever considers it necessary to wreak such terrible devastation on another country again. I think it should be compulsory for EVERY country's leader to visit this museum. I think every child should visit this museum.

On a lighter note, we went to the restaurant claiming to have created Chawan Mushi! It's called 吉宗。

 I love the old traditional look.

It must have been the largest chawan mushi I'd ever eaten. Huge! hahahaha...It had tons of stuff in it. I won't say it's the best I've ever eaten, but it was pretty smooth and really satisfying. It was also fun to eat, finding out what's inside.

Oh dear. Chibu stop playing with your food!

more of Nagasaki

There's a bridge called Spectacles Bridge (眼鏡橋、Meganebashi) in Nagasaki - supposed to be the oldest stone arch bridge in Japan.

I guess when the water level is higher, the reflection makes it look like spectacles.

This statue's near the bridge.

We'd ice cream near the bridge! It was made to look like a rose~

Lunch was kaisen (seafood) don~

And we went to Dejima! (出島), an artificial island where foreign traders were confined to. Only certain Japanese were allowed inside last time, including some geishas. Some even had children with these foreigners. I wonder what kind of life the children would have had? I doubt their parents could have gotten married...

 An old house of the foreigners. I find it an interesting blend of European and Japanese items. Tatami mats, European furniture, Japanese style wallpapers...

 We also saw warehouses where they kept the goods that were shipped in. It was really interesting to see what was in demand at the time and how things have changed.

 I really love the wallpapers. If I'm not wrong, the patterns were stamped on the paper, section by section. Must have taken a lot of time to do! And a lot of heart must have been put into the making of the stamps and all..

They didn't skimp on Christmas dinners that's for sure! I saw a portrait of a foreign gentleman dancing what I think probably was a waltz with a geisha in her geisha clothes. I found it very interesting! Two completely different worlds colliding and finding each other to be good company and learning from each other. I'm assuming that was how it was anyway but maybe the geisha saw it just as her job. I don't know.

Small model of how Dejima looks!

We'd dinner in Chinatown 1 night although I forget the restaurant's name. It was very popular and the food was great!

 Chilli shrimps! エビ辛！The shrimps were very fresh and plump and juicy... And the chilli sauce a perfect blend of spicy and sweet.

 麻婆豆腐！Mapodoufu! So yum~~ I love mapodoufu.

 Sara udon (皿うどん）which reminded me of Champon. But this is dry noodles with gravy type. If you prefer eating crunchy fried noodles to noodle soup, you'll like this better than Champon.

And steamed bun with pork belly!! Ohhhhh the pork had soooo much fat! The meat was so tender. And it's soooo yum! Of course, it's not very good for your heart I don't think hahahah...



Mount Inasa (稲佐山 - Inasayama) is supposed to have a billion dollar view, but unfortunately it was kinda misty that night. It was still beautiful though! There was a line at the cable car but it didn't take too long.

Of course, this picture was taken with a digital camera so it's not that nice. It was really really cold up there too! Probably better to go in summer methinks.