05-12-09 We’re In Miyazaki
Posted in Trip North on 05/13/2009 07:34 am by ScottI felt a little guilty about taking a train today. But the blister on my left foot reminded me that we had always intended to occasionally take a bus or train. We are going to spend at least 2 days in Miyazaki, then we intend to start walking up the cost towards Beppu. So the walking will continue!
However, before we start the next walking segment, we need to rest up and enjoy this new area of Kyushu. Rest comes first, so we didn’t do too much today. We checked in to a hotel (another awesome bargain discovered by Risa!), then went to the grocery store across the street where we bought a ton of really awesome food at rock bottom prices.
It’s really hot here, so we sat in the hotel room for a few hours while we waited for the sun to go down a bit. Then we left the hotel and started to explore our new city.
The first things we noticed was all the great little restaurants around our hotel. Besides the amazing grocery store, there were tons of cheap little places with delicious looking local specialties like Chicken Namban, Mehikari, and Reijiru. Our first impression is that we love Miyazaki!
After being impressed by the food selection, we walked down to the river and followed the shore for a while. The river that bisects Miyazaki is huge, and has an amazing path along the shore that includes a mini river, and large open grassy areas. The river seems to be the main place to walk your dog, or go for a run. I can’t say that I blame them. The temperature was perfect, warm but with a cool breeze. We love Miyazaki!
Our dinner tonight was at one of the local places we past by earlier. We ordered the local specialties and were not disappointed. Everything was fantastic! Did I mention that we love Miyazaki?
Tomorrow we are going to rent a car. There are several major attractions south of the city that are considered a “must see” so we are going to see them all! Oh, and I know that there are a couple of you who hear, “rent a car in Japan” and you think of THIS. But in reality, we are getting one of THESE. Sorry to disappoint!
