Echolocation 2: Tripception
A mini trip to Kyushu builds resilience through spontaneity
ASO KUMAMOTO AIRPORT. 11:00 AM.
Across the arrivals hall, small children, agendaless, browse the gashapon machines. Their white plastic boxes, stacked two high in uninterrupted succession, form a three walled panorama of quiet temptation. A fly alights on my knee, gentle and slow, with an uncharacteristic patience that compels me to lean in, alien eye to alien eye, to snap its portrait. We are kindred in this moment: wings folded, black-clad and hungry on this verdant, ashy keeper of apocalypse.
Just a one hour flight from our temporary base in Seoul, a trip to Kyushu—Japan’s third-largest island—can be planned and executed in a jiffy. We gave it a shot last weekend.
Speaking of jiffies, this spontaneous jaunt was a new style of travel for me in both planning and duration. Typically, with itinerary built far in advance, I embark on a somewhat prolonged period of anxious rumination about its inevitable demise. But for Kyushu, though my wife Muyi and I had spoken regularly since arriving in Korea in August about not wanting to waste an opportunity to return to Japan while being in such close proximity, we didn’t start building an itinerary until shortly before departure.
It was to be an uncharacteristically brief trip, too. I prefer to devote at least a week to my destination when possible, but clocking in at approximately 48 hours out and back, this escape was more sprint than jaunt. Hoping to maximize our time on the ground, an action-packed plan took shape. Resevations made, cars booked, maps marked, we figured it out in requisite haste and were on our way.
Deprived of my doomerism and thrust into an adventure far shorter in duration than my comfort zone appreciated, I experienced two things: 1) My vocabulary to describe the travel style I seem to be gravitating toward expanded, and 2) My stress mitigation model updated such that now I am more capable of adapting to a wider diversity of itinerary designs. What does this translate to? Quick trips have become more doable for me. I want to discuss in broad strokes how you might start to make them more doable, too.
First thing first, this travel style I seem to be gravitating toward is one of slow meandering that allows the space to take me where it chooses. Like those little kids browsing the gashapon: agendaless. Aside from the essentials, the best plan is no plan, and although I am curious to see how far this takes me, it feels like an appropriate antiviral right now for my rumination habit. And because our short preparation period gave me little time to catastrophize, I was finally free to separate my visceral excitement of travel from a mundane but sticky fear of failing to execute my plans.
This whiz-bang adventure format may be suboptimal for someone in the early stages of discovering their travel style, who travels alone or who bears primary responsibility for planning your group’s itinerary. At face value it feels suboptimal for me, too, particularly due to its trip-within-a-trip nature—we’re living in Seoul for a few months for Muyi’s work before returning to New York City, and I’ve only just settled into a manageable routine,1 barely started to grasp the local savior-faire,2 and still haven’t mastered the public transit.3 So injecting this fragile and tedious process with a highly stimulating, energy-sapping new experience seems counterproductive.
But it was productive, and I think what helped most was:
Muyi had a list of things she wanted to do, and I could go with her flow instead of stressing myself out with figuring out plans for us both
The physical distance from point A to point B (and B to C to D, etc.) was short
It was not my first time visiting this country
All housing was at a hotel chain that I am familiar with
The weather cooperated
On-the-ground transportation was planned ahead of time!!! This is critical for visiting Kyushu if you do not have an International Driving Permit
What I like about this list is that it’s sort of plug-and-play, meaning you can take any given item and make it a criteria for any given trip (e.g. maybe this is the first time you’re visiting a place, so finding a week of good weather is non-negotiable) to lower that stress threshold just enough to be manageable. You’ll end up collecting them like pokémon, and your pokédex will grow each time you venture out. These are just the ones that applied to this particular adventure.
Onward,
Miles
Retracing our steps
Kumamoto
☕ Coffee Kado
Tucked inside the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, it’s quiet, bathed in sunlight and a pleasant wooden monochrome. Go here to reset your senses.
☕ Omoken Park
An indoor-outdoor cafe just off the Kamitori Shopping Arcade. Has a neat antique looking water spigot that appeared functional, although I didn’t try pumping it. Get the affogato.
🍜 Akagumi Ramen
Small, lowkey stall serving Kumamoto’s special black pepper ramen. Expect an uber-rich broth that’ll make you pace yourself against your will. Friendly staff, neat decor; it’s a must-try. Cash only.
Aso
🏨 Fairfield by Marriott Kumamoto Aso
Part of Marriott’s Michi-no-Eki project that puts no-frills accommodations in out-of-the-way spots. We were pleasantly surprised with the vibe. It’s a decent option if you just want a place to crash. It’s a new construction, too, so everything is in good shape.
☕ Coffee Plaza East
Mom-and-pop diner serving some solid breakfast items. I got the sweet toast, not realizing I was about to be pumped full of sugar via a large platter of honey-soaked bread topped with vanilla ice cream… I don’t know what I was expecting, but for some reason it wasn’t that!
♨️ Yura Yura Hanare
Hot spring onsen with a variety of room options. The water is perfectly toasty and doesn’t smell strongly of sulphur. Splurge on the private room with an outdoor tub, and bring your own towels unless you’re okay renting.
🌋 Nakadake Crater
The flatulating, scoria-strewn centerpiece of Aso Caldera.4 It is easily accessible by car, and if you’re feeling athletic there are plenty of hikes in the area. You will be evacuated from the area immediately around the crater when the toxic gas levels get too high.
⛩️ Kamishikimi Kumanoimasu Shrine
A mossy Shinto shrine nestled among towering pines on the edge of the caldera rim. Ascend a steep staircase and stop to pray at Ugeto-iwa, a sacred stone behind the main hall. Borrow a walking stick at the base before trekking up.
Ukiha/Fukuoka
🏨 Fairfield by Marriott Fukuoka Ukiha
Basically a carbon copy of the Aso location, which was nice for me because I didn’t need to relearn the facilities or how the room worked. Don’t be fooled by its proximity to Fukuoka, the location still feels quite rural.
🥩 Wiz
A yakiniku joint in Hita that, incredibly, serves really good Sri Lanken curry. Get that, of course, but also get a yakiniku set if you’re okay with eating offal. The thin sliced cow tongue? *chefs kiss*
⛩️ Ukiha Inari Shrine
It’s a newish (< 100 years old) shrine, but the characteristic cinnabar torii ensure a nice photo op, and the hillside offers good views of Ukiha. Go in the morning for smaller crowds and good light.
🤫 Fukuoka Airport Telecube
My first telecube experience enlightened me to the homeostasis-restoring potential of office pods. I used this location (in the domestic terminal) for meetings, but boy are these an awesome little hack for finding some private, quiet space to decompress in a busy space—especially if there’s no cool down room nearby.
Wake up, drink coffee, forget to sleep
50 grams, medium roast, 105 degrees Fahrenheit
To get to the cafe, obviously
A geology buff’s dream