We travelled via train from laid back Kyushu (during the week,) to vibrant Osaka on Saturday morning. As we approached Osaka the train was more crowded- to standing room only& when we got off the train – wow! Crowds! We stayed at a really nice Nikko hotel with a great location- right across the street from Gucci! 😄

Osaka is vibrant, safe, fun and I took lots of photos.

Jack wanted to enjoy a bento box lunch on a bullet train & Beppu to Osaka was a good time! Additionally had to add the photo of sweets offered at a cafe!

We wanted to experience a ryokan with Jack & our options were getting limited. Beppu – near Oita is famous for its onsen – so we selected what we thought was a ryokan. Onsen – yes. Ryokan- no. It was missing the traditional food part. We had an amazing private onsen with a view of city, we had a traditional room with tatami mats & bedding, & kimonos. We were starving & ate at the closest restaurant- really good Pizza & z beer!🤣

Beppu is interesting as onsen – steam clouds dot the landscape as does the odor of sulfur!

A short train ride away from Oita is the mountain town of Yufuin. A fav with Japanese tourists. Cute historic streets, shops, spring runoff fed streams, spring g flowers, nice little lake & temple. A fun day trip on the local train which takes us past beautiful countryside. Rice paddies, small farms.

I write this blog on my old iPhone. And that means lots of typos and seldom a beautifully written literary masterpiece- ha! 😄 however , this is a way for us to remember fun little things on our travels.

After …I published last story I realized that I said the little Oita bar was all gringos – WRONG! We pride ourselves on looking for spots with lots of friendly locals. This gives us the wonderful experiences that we love. we are now pretty darned good at walking into a restaurant either no English menu, no photos, only Google Translate! This and the very friendly Japanese citizens make for amazing experiences.

Onto a bullet train heading towards Kyushu island. We have targeted Oita for 2 nights. A midsized city with onsen. Train rides are a treat – stunning scenery – with no traffic nor navigation worries. Oita has a lovely train station – good for a quick snack & off to our hotel. Dtop bags & head to our first public bath – onsen. It is a historic building (ie really old) and not on any tourist bus route / which we love. Ok – this is my first onsen- snd the local ladies are quick to point out – my responsibilities- wash wash wash. Got it. Next bathe. OMG – the water is hot – talking boiling-yikes! Thankfully a gal speaks English & csn point me to a spot where I can run ice cold water – then dip a toe into bath. It is great. Very mineral rich – ie sulphur – my body loves it. Meanwhile Greg & Jack are having their own great onsen experiences. After an hour we meet outside. 100 feet away is the tiniest bar ever. Cute. In we go to celebrate with a beer. Only gringos- of course. Two beautiful women are at table next to us. Aya & Ayla. Both speak English- they ask us if we need help – nope – we figure out how to order beers! Now – we really have no other plans – so I go to their table & ask if they can recommend activities. They can & do & we have a wonderful conversation. Jack asks them to join us for dinner -they agree – and we have the best dinner ever. Aya is a professional cook – who recommends a restaurant & entrees. How fortunate! Ayla is a budding singer – look out Taylor! And we have new friends.