Day 11
-Yakushima

Took a ferry to Yakushima to visit the Yakusugi Forest...which inspired Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke....a pity we didn't make it to the setting in the film due to bad weather conditions and we weren't adequately dressed in hiking gear...would like to make a trip back again someday...nice place...and if it's of interest to you...there are thousand year old cedar trees found in these forests!



Day 12
-Kagoshima-> Kumamoto

Paid a visit to e Kumamoto castle (top 3 must visit castles in Japan)...look at the structures of this castle! E pic below was taken from the sixth storey of e main building...

And lunch...tonkatsu ramen....many more similar bowls for meals...hah...

trams are frequent sights in this prefecture as well as the Kyushu region...

Day 13

-Kumamoto-> Sago

Stopped over at a few prefectures along our way...Sago is too...did nothing much...walked around...visited a museum and e Saga castle...

autumn came early!...hah....just passed by these few trees which oozes e image of autumn...

E Saga Castle History Musuem is e first main palace(where feudal lords resided) to be restored & is e largest wooden structure of its kind in Japan...

Sago-> Nagasaki