Kyushu Travelogue ✈️ ~Delicious food, churches & castles, and a little bit of driving too 🚙~

Just when I thought the Kanto region had entered the rainy season last week, it's been as hot as midsummer this week 🌞, so it really makes you wonder if it's actually the rainy season, doesn't it? 😂


I went to Kyushu for 4 days and 3 nights for some business right after the rainy season started last week 🧳

This time, I used Peach from Narita Airport to fly to Fukuoka Airport ✈️
I rented a car near the airport, and my Kyushu trip began 🎵

First, I'm heading off to have lunch 🚙
I visited 'Drive-in Tori' for the first time last year, and it was so delicious that I've been looking forward to it ever since.
It's a restaurant that has been featured on TV many times.
This time, I aimed for the Itoshima branch, which is easy to get to from Fukuoka Airport 🚙
Well, I've arrived at the restaurant's parking lot.

But when I look closely, there aren't many cars parked there‼️
'Could it be... 😱'

It was a regular holiday 😭

My mouth is already set for yakitori, chicken rice, and chicken soup, so what should I do? 😂

When I checked carefully, it seems the main store in Imari was also closed, so I had to give up with tears in my eyes 😭


I had no choice but to go to a different restaurant.
I passed it by quite a bit, but I went to Restaurant Nakafuku in Matsuura City, Nagasaki Prefecture.

I was recommended that their lemon steak is delicious, so I went to try it 🎵
Lemon steak originated in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and I've had it before when I traveled to Nagasaki, and it was so delicious ☺️
I'm starving, so I'm really looking forward to it 🎵

Soy sauce in Kyushu is on the sweet side.
The acidity of the lemon went well with the sweet soy sauce, making it refreshing and very delicious 🎵


By the way, Matsuura City in Nagasaki Prefecture is said to be the holy land of fried horse mackerel, and I've had it before, and it was truly delicious ✨
If you visit Matsuura City, please be sure to try the fried horse mackerel ☺️

My stomach is full, so my heart is finally at ease 😂
Shall we head to the inn now? 🚙

Since this was a last-minute trip, it ended up being during the rainy season, but miraculously, there was a break in the clouds, and I was able to see such a beautiful sunset ✨

At the inn, I enjoyed delicious seafood and sake 🎵
I ate too much and I'm stuffed 💦

2nd Day

It was just after the start of the rainy season, so it was to be expected, but it was a surprisingly heavy downpour 😂

I had errands to run all day, so sightseeing was put on hold 😂

3rd Day

The rain finally stopped, so I decided that today was the day to finally realize my secret wish for this trip: driving the car!
I woke up feeling nervous and excited 👀
I'm moving from the city center to the suburbs.

Compared to residential areas in the Kanto region, there are almost no people or bicycles, so the things you have to watch out for are completely different 👀
I'll write about the details in a later article 🤗
Stay tuned 🎵


For now, I did my best and drove by myself for a round trip of just under 30km to my destination 🚙


After my errands were done, we decided to extend our trip and go sightseeing in Hirado City 🍀

For lunch today, I had Hirado Champon at 'Ichiraku' 🎵

The Hirado Champon I had was very filling, with a light soup topped with an incredible amount of vegetables and meat 🤗
The Soy Milk Sesame Champon my husband ordered was also creamy and very delicious ✨

From here on, I let my husband take over the driving and we enjoyed sightseeing in Hirado 🎵

Hirado is one of the places where Christianity was introduced, and it is a region that conveys the history of the Hidden Christians.
Therefore, churches are a must-see for sightseeing in Hirado.

First, we visited Tabira Church ⛪️
Tabira Church is a Catholic church and sanctuary in the Nagasaki Archdiocese located in Kotetamen, Tabira-cho, Hirado City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and is designated as a National Important Cultural Property.
A very beautiful brick church ✨
However, since the church is not a tourist spot, you cannot take pictures inside.
So, I bought a postcard as a donation.

Next, we went to the St. Francis Xavier Memorial Church

It is a church that can be called the star of the 'scenery where you can see temples and churches,' which is unique to Hirado, a land of Hidden Christians. It was built in 1913 and moved to its current location in 1931.

This was also a very beautiful church with an impressive emerald green exterior wall.

I was so absorbed in taking pictures that I didn't notice my finger had gotten in the shot 😂

After visiting the exotic churches, we wanted to experience Japanese culture, so we visited Hirado Castle 🏯

Hirado Castle, also known as Kameoka Castle, is a hirayama-style castle (built on a hill on a plain) that juts out into the Hirado Strait, and because of its appearance, it is also called a castle floating on the sea.

The current castle was reconstructed in 1962 and, following large-scale renovation work, it reopened in April 2021.

Believe it or not, the Kaiju Yagura turret on the east side of the Ninomaru can be used as accommodation called 'Shirohaku' (Castle Stay), and it apparently costs 660,000 yen per night! 😱
An ordinary person like me could never afford to stay there, but if you could stay in a castle, you'd probably feel like a feudal lord, wouldn't you? ✨

I bought my admission ticket at the vending machine, and besides cash, I could also use credit cards, electronic money, and QR code payments. It's become so convenient!

You enter by holding the issued QR code over the entrance gate.
This is also very modern! 😂
I went up to the second floor by the stairs.

There were various exhibits, and they were cleverly designed to be enjoyable, such as ones using screens and puzzles where you fit stone wall pieces together. 🎵
In the photo above, you answer the quiz by slashing the stick-like object in front of you with the sword next to the screen, and it's actually quite fun and addictive when you try it! 😂

Finally, I went to the top floor, where you can get a panoramic view of the Hirado Strait and the town of Hirado. I thoroughly enjoyed the grand panorama.

On the top floor, there is a service where you can use your smartphone or tablet to take a commemorative photo with the castle keep in the background, and it takes a picture from the other side of the castle as a memento of your visit.
Since the photo data can be downloaded for free, I took one. 🤗
Unfortunately, it's a bit blurry due to the fog, but it's a good memory. 🎵


After leaving the castle keep, I heard there was a shrine inside the Hirado Castle grounds, so I decided to visit it while I was there. ⛩️

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo, but I did get a goshuin (shrine seal), so here is a photo of that. ✨

There were still many places I wanted to visit, but since I ran out of time, I decided to head to the inn where I would be staying tonight.

The final day

Fun times pass by in the blink of an eye, don't they? 😆
With a heavy heart, I packed my bags and checked out.

As expected, the rain in Nagasaki during the rainy season is intense! ☔
It was such a downpour that I couldn't see ahead, and I was worried about whether my flight home would even take off. 😱

Anyway, I headed to the airport and drove on the highway in the heavy rain. 🚙
But there was one place I absolutely had to go before that.

Some of you may have already noticed...

That's right! It's the "Drive-in Tori" we couldn't visit on the first day 😂 As expected, since it was Saturday, it was open 🤭

However, it is a popular restaurant after all.
Since it was past 1:00 PM, there were many customers waiting to get in, so we took a number and waited.
After waiting for about an hour, we were finally able to get a seat 😍

It was delicious as expected 🤗
You grill the chicken on a shichirin charcoal grill, just like yakiniku.
The chicken rice and chicken soup that came with it were also exquisite, and I felt completely satisfied ✨
With this, I have no regrets even if I leave Kyushu now 😂

With our stomachs and hearts full, we headed to the rental car shop near the airport 🚙

At my husband's request to do a little sightseeing in Hakata before boarding the plane, we returned the rental car well before our flight time, left our luggage in a coin locker at the airport, and took the subway 🚃


The atmosphere of the station is a bit different from stations in the Kanto region, which is fun 🎵

He actually wanted to eat Nagahama ramen, but since our lunch was late, neither of us had any room left in our stomachs, so we gave up 😂


We decided to head back to the airport after getting a little taste of the Hakata vibe.

At the airport, we browsed for souvenirs ✨
There are so many delicious things that it's hard to choose, isn't it 😂
For ourselves, we bought some cut mentaiko and some tube mentaiko.
You really can't miss out on mentaiko when you come to Fukuoka, right?

After buying this and that, we finished packing on a bench and checked our bags.

Since our flight is at 8:00 PM this time, we have to finish dinner before that or we'll miss out on eating.

So...

I really wanted to eat tonkotsu ramen, so I went ahead and had some🤭
And I even got an extra serving of noodles😂


Thanks to that, I was able to sleep soundly on the plane and arrived at Narita in no time✈️

When I arrived at Narita, it was raining here too☔
Thinking, 'I guess it's the rainy season here too,' I headed toward the parking lot where I had left my car.

My beloved car, which I hadn't seen in a while, was the final vehicle of this trip.
As we started driving through the rain, my husband said after a little while,

'This is my own car, but since I've been driving a rental for so long, it feels like an old car now that I'm back in it😂'

...

'I wonder if he's started wanting a new car🤭
But please don't replace it until I get a little more used to driving'


I thought to myself, and that was the end of this trip.

It really is fun to go to a place different from the town where you usually live🤗

Where can I go next?

This time, I shared the story of my trip to Kyushu right after the rainy season began🧳

Thank you for reading until the end😌