I planned this trip to be the centerpiece of my busy, crazy summer. I was in Kyushu for one week, and there were good days and not so good days. In the end I arrived in Nagoya just over an hour late. Solo travel is exhausting, mentally and physically. The trip got off to an inauspicious start. The flight was quite choppy at times, and as we were about to touch down the pilot suddenly aborted the landing and we shot back up into the sky. Something about lack of visibility due to fog and low clouds.
This was the first of many times that weather would be a concern. We had to circle back around, and we ended up getting in around half an hour late. No big deal. I arrived in Kagoshima without too many set plans. All of them. Having said that, I did have a plan and a hotel reservation on Monday, the day after I arrived. I had originally planned to take the bus into Kagoshima City, and then leave the next morning for Kurishima National Park. I checked the map and realized it would make more sense just to find a cheap hotel near the airport, and to leave from there.
So I did, and as I boarded the bus it really started raining hard. I had planned to do a lot of hiking in the national park, known for its still active volcanoes and beautiful volcanic lakes. I arrived in the tiny town of Ebino Kogen, just over the prefectural border in Miyazaki, in a total downpour.
It was made worse by the fact that according to the weather forecast it was going to rain every day, apparently until the end of time. I knew it was stupid. The trail was underwater, legitimately flooded. I was just sort of crazy then, so I pressed on. For about five minutes. I went back to the lobby of the hotel and sat there playing games on my iPhone until they let me into my room.
I made a couple of trips to the hot spring at the hotel and sat in the hot water while the cold rain poured down on me. That was kind of cool. The next morning I had planned to head to another part of the park, but it was still raining and I was over it, so I caught the bus to the train that would take me to Kagoshima City. Even if it was raining there too, I reasoned, there would be bars and other diversions.
