TL;DR – I took a day trip to Miyakonojo.

Disclosure – I paid for my flights, accommodation, entry, and everything you see purchased in this article.

Exploring Japan –

I had always planned to go back to Japan one day, and had started making plans to go back in 2020. Then, well, 2020 happened. But late last year, I finally had the chance to put those plans back in motion as I flew out of Melbourne for Osaka, and thus my time in Japan began.

By pure fluke, I had discovered just before leaving that a good friend of mine, who lives on the other side of the country, would not only be in Japan at the same time as me, but they would also be in Kyushu at the same time as me. Fast-forward through some schedules being compared, and we discovered that there was one day that we could catch up, and that was in the small mountain town of Miyakonojo. The first part of the trip for me was to take what turned out to be a very swanky train to Kagoshima, and then a local into the mountains.

On my way out of Kagoshima, I caught my first glimpse of Sakurajima, though spoiler: this won’t be the last time it appears.

This would end up being an almost three-hour trip into the mountainous interior of Kyushu, which I didn’t mind, because you got to see a side of Japan that rarely gets observed. Also, you felt the whole vibe of the country shift as it moved away from the coast, and the trees grew larger, and villages became even more quaint, and time slowed down a touch. Honestly, the same as every other mountainous place I have visited, but with a Japanese spin to it.

Miyakonojo was an odd town, in that I could never quite get a handle on it. It was filled with interesting juxtapositions that seemed to defy all labels you tried to attach to it, but it also felt like the history of Japan was written all over the town. It was at this point when the heavens opened, and the rain bucketed down in both cats and dogs, and while I was glad for my umbrella, I am not sure how effective it actually was.  

Wanting to get warm and dry, I caught up with my friend, and we had some lunch. I cannot tell you what this was; it was 100% what I needed in that moment, and I was glad for it. Then we spent some time shopping, exploring, discovering that Gacha capsules are harder to open than you would first think and Japanese book/comic stores are wild.

We spent the day catching up, but soon, I needed to head off because I had to take a three-hour train back to Kumamoto. The train back was in the gorgeous retro carriage, and it felt perfect for the world we were travelling through.

During a pit stop in Kagoshima, I thought it best to get some food before taking the final leg of my journey. I am not sure that a pumpkin lasagna tower is a particularly authentic Italian offering, but it sure was delicious.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images and content have been created by the author unless stated otherwise