I woke up with Jives at 3:15 am and we headed to the onsen. I had the bath completely to myself the entire time!! A first on this trip! I washed and soaked in the outdoor bath, then the indoor bath until 4am when I went to the vending machine area to meet up with Jives. We had a beverage together, then headed back to the room for some last minute packing before the train at 8:06am. 

Harith woke up just as we were arriving back at the room. We all packed up, having an instant coffee and then headed down to reception to do the self checkout. We then walked to the train station, mostly under covered walkways, as it was raining quite heavily and there was even a heavy rainfall advisory for Miyazaki prefecture. At the train station we bought some breakfast foods at a bakery. I got a bread filled with cheese, the kind they usually use for curry-pan. We then put some more 2000 Yen bills on our Suica cards and then used our JR passes to go up to the platform where we ate our breakfast.

We took the 8:06am Nichinan 6 train bound for Oita. The ride took 3 hours, but it was super bumpy as the train curved around the coast, going through tunnels. I sat beside a younger man, Harith was across the row and beside an older man and Jives was at the front with a variety of different lady passengers that seemed to swap at each stop. The older gentleman next to Harith asked me if I wanted to change seats with him so our “groupo” could sit together, so I sat beside Harith for the last 30 minutes of the train ride. We arrived at Oita around 11am and found the station stamp. We then walked to our accommodation that was three minutes away. We asked to leave our bags (this was no problem) before check in. They gave us a little baggage claim ticket and then we set out on a little walking adventure of Oita.

First we walked to a little park that is a frequent haunt of cats, but the rain had scared all the cats away. We then walked to the castle ruins. The castle was actually fairly intact. The castle was called Funai castle and was constructed in 1597. We crossed a beautiful wooden bridge and entered the inner walls. 

There was a lovely garden to walk through and you could actually climb on the walls for a stunning view of the surrounding area. 

Jives and I filmed two rap takes. We then exited the castle via the south exit and found a castle stamp for our books. We then visited a beautiful shrine called “Nagahama” shrine. There was an Inari shrine attached to it as well. 

We then wandered back towards the station, stopping at a huge shrine that looked interesting along the way, Manjuji Temple. I am so glad we visited this temple. The gardens were made of immaculately raked stones and there were Japanese maple trees dotted throughout. The structures were old dark Japanese cedar and smelt amazing. We had the entire place to ourselves as the rain lightly fell. It was a magical experience. 

We then headed back to the train station to see Tokyu Hands and try to find something to eat. At Tokyu hands I bought an onigiri sticker (that inexplicably said “curry-pan” on it in Japanese). Jives got a Polar Bear Cafe calendar and a change purse with a Kappa on it that also inexplicably said “naughty boy” or “pervert boy” on it in Japanese as well. I wonder if these items are marketed to sell hilarious Japanese words to foreigners unknowingly. Either way, I like it!!! 

We walked around the food court, Jives wanted to get some Italian Ramen and I wanted to get some tempura, but Harith was not feeling any of the food court options, so we decided to walk about 15 minutes and go to a “vegan” cafe nearby. The place was called “Soy Cafe” and it looked very closed, but we went in and I was very glad we did. We each got the vegetarian set meal that came with all you can eat tofu. You serve tofu into a wooden bowl and then add toppings to it. Topping like: garlic chili oil, yuzu paste (spicy), soy sauce, sesame oil, wasabi, dashi etc. We then got a salad course with greens, daikon and a roasted carrot, along with a small bowl of homemade hummus where you dip okra and daikon. The salad dressing was amazing!!!! For the main course we were given pasta with creamy egg sauce, mushrooms, rosemary and something crunchy I couldn’t quite place. The meal was so good! It came to 1750 Yen each. I paid for mine and Jives with two 2000 Yen bills, asking “ daijoubu desu?” as many places do not accept 2000 Yen bills. The lady took the bills and exclaimed “Sugoi!!! Hai, daijoubu desu!”. She was actually amazed by the bills, a rarity! I read that some places will get really excited when you use a 2000 Yen note, calling out other staff members to come see them, but thus far I had only had people either not except the bills of VERY reluctantly accept them while showing very obvious contempt. 

We then walked to our hotel “Dormmy Inn” to complete check in. Oh, Dormmy Inn, I adore you!!! Check in went super easily, and they had taken our bags up to the room. We relaxed for a bit and had a beverage before Jives and I headed out to a drug store to find some bandages and toothpaste. We then went for a lovely evening stroll to a park that looked like the cover of a low-fi album. We took a lot of photos (that Jives actually is going to use as an album cover oddly enough) and we were enjoying the park quite a bit when an air raid siren went off all eerie like. We had no idea what was going on, and still don’t really. There was a gale warning and a small earthquake nearby, but I don’t know what could have triggered the sirens. The eerie part is the way in which the siren stopped, much like an old broken toy slowing down in a whirling dystopian way. 

We then walked down a street full of cat murals and statues before heading back to the onsen bath. It was 9pm which is the worst time to go to a public bath. I entered the bath and there were about 15 people in the tiny changeroom, so I threw my stuff in the last available locker, meaning 25 lockers were occupied. I then went to use the bathroom, as I thought some people might clear out. When I emerged from the toilet, the room was even fuller somehow and three ladies were now completely blocking my locker. I sat down and waited until they were done… but they were having a long loud conversation and took well over fifteen minutes to change. At this point Jives was already likely out of the bath, so I grabbed my stuff and left without bathing. I was right, Jives had just finished his bath but only four guys had been in the men’s side of the bath. Women just hang around in the locker room more I guess, doing their hair etc.