Jives and I woke up at 3:15am to go to the onsen when it was hopefully not as busy. I entered the bath and placed my slippers in the slipper cupboard. I entered the changeroom and chose a locker near the wall. I could see that there were at least a few people in the bath despite the early hour. I chose a wash station and washed my hair and body. I went to the outdoor bath and sat there for a while. The outdoor bath was surrounded by tropical plants, with a view up to the sky. I sat there and noticed that the other lady was looking over, so I got up and went inside so she could feel comfortable coming outside. I sat in the indoor bath for a while and was joined by another lady. I decided to shower briefly to cool down before drying off and heading back into the changeroom to change. The lady that went outside when I came in looked as if she was waiting for me to leave so that she could take photos. I met Jives in the vending machine room for a beverage. He had just got out of the bath as well, which was good timing. He said that he had the entire bath to himself, lucky! We enjoyed a nice cold tomato juice together before heading back to the room. Harith had just woken up. 

We had a coffee in the room before heading to a place nearby called “Komeda’s Coffee” for breakfast. We ordered three breakfast sets. I got toast and a boiled egg, which came to 500 Yen each. The dinner had a lovely feel to it. The seats were red and velvet and it felt like a Japanese dinner. 

We then walked to the train station where I put 4000 Yen on my Suica card in 2000 Yen bills. We had been having some trouble using our 2000 Yen bills as they are no longer in circulation in Japan, only abroad. Most of my bills that I had purchased at home were 2000 Yen bills, but you can put those on your Suica card no problem at a machine. Most places will let you pay with a Suica card so that is a pretty fool proof way of making use of this tricky 2000 Yen bills. We then got some coffee and snacks and waited for the train to Aoshima. It should have been a pretty straight forward train, but I messed up and we ended up at the airport (which is along the way, just not the right place). This is coincidentally the airport where an unexploded world war two bomb had JUST exploded on one of the taxiways. 

We got off the train and had to go back one stop to get on the proper train. Jives and I opted to walk the 25 minutes to the proper station, which was a lovely country walk (minus having to jump a small gate at the airport) along farmer’s fields and cosmos in bloom. 

We then got stopped by the 787 train for quite awhile while waiting to cross the tracks to catch our train. We met Harith at the train station and hopped on the correct train to Aoshima. The Aoshima train station was super tiny, with only one track and two platforms. We exited the unmanned station (showing our passes to the conductor) and processed down the road to Aoshima. 

Aoshima had strong surfer vibes. The main road heading to the island was full of shops selling shaved ice, fries, ramune (carbonated soda drink with a ball widget) and the traditional snacks you would associate with a beach episode of an anime. 

We slowly made our way down to the waterfront, stopping at a booth to get a fortune for Harith from a probably cursed doll. 

At the waterfront there was a long bridge that led to the island of Aoshima. On either side of the bridge was the bizarre washboard formation in the rock. The formation of the rocks was caused by a natural phenomenon and not a volcanic one like I had assumed. There was a giant orange torii gate at the approach to the shrine, just on the other side of the bridge. The shrine itself was beautiful and unlike any shrine I had seen in Japan. The shrine almost seemed to be engulfed in jungle. It was getting fairly hot too (30 celsius), so as the sun hit the wet leaves, steam was rising up off the ground. 

The shrine was bright orange as well, with many colourful carvings, again unlike any temple I had seen in Japan, where usually simplicity and natural colours and materials are used.  

There was a booth near the entrance where you could shoot arrows for 300 Yen and many fortune games like one with giant dice and a fishing game. There was also a rock you could lift and if it felt light your wish would come true.

Turning right off the main shrine there was a magical little pathway lined with ema (prayer tiles). You can then walk right through the jungle, crouching to avoid downed trees and jungle tendrons. At the end of the pathway you will find a little jungle shrine. Here you can pay to throw a clay disk at a hole in the forest, presumably to make a wish come true. This little side shrine in the jungle was my clear highlight of the island of Aoshima. 

We then headed back to the mainland where I took off my socks and shoes and stuck my toes in the super warm ocean. 

We then walked to a little booth where I bought us each a craft beer. The beers were delightful. I got an IPA, Jives got a citrus white beer (this area is known for citrus) and Harith got a wheat beer. We then walked through the regional gift shop where Jives got a pair of shorts. We then walked to the botanical gardens and Harith got a crepe along the way in a mango flavour. 

The botanical garden was lovely, as a plant fanatic I am somewhat biased. We then made our way back to Miyazaki via an old wooden train that we just happened to get seats on. The train even had its own stamp! We rested in the room once we made it back and then we each headed to the onsen. Harith did some laundry and went to the onsen between washing and drying his clothing. He said the wash service was free but you pay for the dry. I went up to the bath and one lady was just leaving. A second lady was just washing to go in the bath. I sat down at a wash station and washed my hair and everything thoroughly. I then went right outside to the outdoor bath. As I was just finishing washing up, another older lady came in and washed quickly. She looked at me and sighed loudly before turning and sitting in the indoor bath. A younger lady however came right outside and joined me in the bath. After a while I went and sat in the indoor bath, just as the older lady was standing up to come outside. I was hoping that would allow her to enjoy the bath without me in it (clearly she didn’t enjoy foreigners in the bath). After a second long soak I went back to the room where Jives had just arrived. 

We relaxed a bit before heading out to an udon restaurant just down the street, in the same building as the Don Quixote. We each ordered a bowl of udon from the vending machine. I got udon with grated daikon, Jives got some sort of pork and Harith got a tofu udon bowl. We pushed the buttons on the machine and each received a ticket that we then took up to the counter where they prepared our bowls. There was also a machine for water. We took our trays and added some spice powder, before sitting at three vacant seats. The meal was pretty delicious and simple. It was lovely having warm soup. 

We then retreated to the room.