Sometimes you just need to get away. That's how we felt last weekend and escape we did. The weather is perfect these days in Amakusa and we had perfectly sunny temperate days over the weekend.

Here's what went down. On Saturday we finished work at about 8:00 p.m. and we packed up our car and drove 5-6 hours to a mountain we were planning to hike. The last 40 kms were on a dark windy mountain road. We were even lucky to see three deer standing at the side of the road. We arrived at the parking lot at 1:30 and slept the rest of the night in our car. While I said it was temperate around here it still got pretty cold in the car. We were glad when 6:30 rolled around and it was time to hit the path. The mountain was Mt. Sobo (all places indicated on the map here) and we had a nice hike up and down. We had been warned that the hike was quite strenuous and would take 8 hours and so we were relieved when we walked back into the parking lot after only 6 hours.

Finishing on time was great because it let us get to where we really wanted to be ahead of schedule. Where we really wanted to be was a small onsen (hot spring) town in the middle of Kyushu called Kurokawa. Kurokawa has a host of famous traditional Japanese inns clustered on a a river. For a number of years it has been the most romantic place to get away and we have been there a few times in the past. Usually we just pay the 4 bucks to take a dip in one of the hotel baths, but this time we had decided to splurge and stay overnight. It was quite the treat. We arrived and were shown to our room and given yukata (the gown you se us wearing to the left). As we had come for the bathes, and had come in dire need of one after hiking we immediately went for a dip. Our hotel had six baths, all different and unique. Two of the baths were what are called family baths. They are smaller and you and your family can lock the door and enjoy a bath as a famly. As you can see Sarah and I took advantage of our family status!!

After a bath we took a walk around the town decked out in our yukata. We feel we don't get as many looks as we once did being tall blonds foreigners in Japan but the sight of us in yukata must have been quite intersting as we got stares from all directions.

After our walk it was time for dinner. Dinner in a traditional Japanese inn is out of this world. The food is scrumptious and prepared in the most beautiful way. Our meal was no different. Highlights included raw squid, raw horse (really!!) and sticky rice wrapped with a cherry leaf and stuffed with hamburger. It was all delicious and we enjoyed every bite.

After dinner we took a walk to help our stomachs with digestion and took one more bath before settling into our futons with softest down blankets covering us.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and drove the next place on our list. Near Mt. Aso (a famous active volcano) is a sight that can't be missed by any self respecting Japanese. And judging by the hour long wait on a single lane highway to turn into the parking lot not too many people were missing it. The sight was a cherry tree that was planted in 420 A.D. We had been told about it but weren't sure what to expect before we got there. This is what we found. A huge old tree, covered in blossoms and surrounded by hundreds of people; eating lunch on plastic sheets spread under the tree, taking pictures and buying plants at a huge oudoor plant sale. The atmosphere was infectious and soon we found ourselves snapping lots of pictures and eating a most delicious fished grilled over an open fire.

After hanging out for a few hours we headed back for home refreshed and ready to get back into the weekly routine.