kushimaaaaaa

word.

i’ve clearly been a little remiss this week but hey-ho… the nature of life for me now is to simply go with the flow. if i have the time, i’ll do it, if not… there’s always some other time.

lots to talk about, an entire week of stuff to be exact. but for now this post is about last saturday where i headed down south to hang out with some friends down there.

i hummed and i hawed about what to do – i’d been invited to drive down south from ebino to a place called kushima by some friends to spend the weekend camping and barbequing on the beach. my nature for some time has been to politely decline, to shy away. couldn’t tell you why i’ve been that way, it’s just always been my way. i’d promised myself (and various others) that this would change once i moved to japan. it had to, i couldn’t possibly live anything resembling a happy life if i did otherwise.

i’m slowly getting there with saying “yes!”

going to kushima with my new friends was the biggest step (maybe after going off the map a few weeks ago down in kirishima/kagoshima, that was pretty intense for me…) and i’m ever so glad i did.

the drive is about 4hrs (if you take the long road which i did…) but it’s a beautiful drive down so there was no complaining from me! after getting lost in shibushi (the city next to kushima) trying to find ben and rosa, i eventually met up with them about 35mins after i was meant to (yes friends, i’m learning the art of lateness and the fact that it’s ok).

we stocked up on supplied and headed off to the beach, a secluded stretch of golden sand. through fields and forests we went, my first time “off road” driving which was pretty epic. i did good, other than reversing into a bush slightly then driving into another one in my attempt to park up next to the beach… =D

we set the tents up – ben and rosa have a palace of a tent, it was epic. =)

we then got a call of from ben and another of the southern kyushu ALTs: their car had ended up straddling the road with both sets of wheels lodged in ditches. so, we hiked up our skirts (metaphorically, we were all wearing shorts) and headed out into the dark rice paddies to the rescue. between 7 of us, we lifted the car and set it back on the road. that’s how we roll down here. =)

the fire pit was lit, each of us sacrificing any scrap paper or car trash we had (glad to know i’m not the only one who has a trash car) to get the fire going. after we got it going, we chucked an animal load of meat on the grill and the feasting began.

full of meat, cookies and chicken wings (kindly prepared by another of the ALTs – oishi (delicious) to the max!) and booze, we had a flaming bamboo spear chucking contest. i was bolivia (the theme being south american countries) and i kicked ass – those years of frustrated javelin hurling during gym class at high school clearly paid off. < fat kid rage for the win >

the next day, we cleared up and hit a sushi joint: my first time at a conveyor belt sushi place. i passed out and slipped into a food coma it was so good. i asked for the bill in japanese (with coaching from the lovely ben and rosa) and all was good. the food was divine: aubergine in miso, shrimp and mayonnaise, shitake tempura, green tea on tap… i was in my element, stacking up various coloured plates and just being chilled. after eating here, my default position is to nap but instead, we talked about period costume dramas on the bbc and how we all had a shared affection for the gillian anderson led verision of dickens’ “bleak house”. like-minded company indeed – with complimentary senses of humour for good measure.

we then headed into shibushi and went exploring the international woods there. lovely place, really beautiful and with cracking views of the ocean. =) only downside was discovering that i was sharing the toilet with a massive brown huntsman spider (this thing was the size of a tea saucer, i kid you not…) but i coped marvellously and all was well. zooming about the forest roads was pretty fun, especially as none of us had much of an idea which way was the right way to go: but in an adventure, there’s no such thing as “the right way” so all was well.

ben and rosa put me on a different road home, via miyakonojo and the miyazaki expressway which * should have * cut about two hours of the drive home… unfortunately, i’m a new-ish driver who has never deviated from the tracks that my car was on back home. i got sensationally, beautifully lost. i drove in circles in downtown miyakonojo (it’s the second largest city in my prefecture) for a bit then found the expressway which i took in the wrong direction… i’ve been slowly getting my sense of direction back (back home, i’m practically a human compass) and i knew that i was heading in the wrong direction… i turned off the expressway at the first exit i came to and drove around the unfamiliar countryside, hoping for the best as my phone had died and i had no map…

i drove through a place called tano and figured out that i was heading north. i followed the road and eventually started to recognise stuff. needless to say, instead of cutting two hours off a four hour drive it took me over five hours to get home and i loved every beautifully confused minute. =D

i got home, had a wash and crashed out. just in time for school on monday… beautiful.

peace out. 

Also, a link to a video of kushima beach (mostly for my Dad cause he'll love it, but you're all free to watch... Dad, you click on the blue writing and the computer will do the rest ^_^)

some pictures of the weekend.

my favourite picture of the weekend. 

view from the beach out to the island.

and again.

golden sands... my bed for the night 

view of (another) island. potentially our next adventure.

the port at shibushi, taken from the heights of the international wood.

ferris wheel in shibushi.

adventure island again.

view.

so beautiful.

globe from the international wood.