The return of the rain to my trip might be pathetic fallacy to match my mood. I feel slightly creatively burnt out, and a little tired even though my spirits aren’t dampened. I want to try my best to update this as frequently as possible, but I think it’s reached that midpoint slump where I kind of miss things. In any case, my last two rainy days in Kumamoto have been interesting to say the least, and my mood is sure to perk up in the coming days as I prepare to meet my host family in Hiroshima on Monday.
I rode the Shinkansen (finally) after leaving Huis Ten Bosch, and I was literally in Kumamoto station in a matter of 30 minutes. Bullet trains are insanely cool. The woman next to me, also going to Kumamoto, agreed with me that it’s a bit like stepping into a spaceship or a teleporter. I immediately went to visit Kumamoto Castle, the stage for the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 that saw it burnt to the ground. Once again, many years later, this castle listed as one of Japan’s top three is partially devastated. Since 2016 when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Kumamoto prefecture, the castle has been in intense and precise repairs.
It doesn’t take away from the sheer scale of the castle, and the fact that it took a natural disaster of an unnatural scale to shake it to its foundations is impressive. Walls spilling out onto the moats, turrets completely erased and entire gates brought to their knees: one could just as well have been walking into the aftermath of a bloody battle. The cranes and scaffolds that now brace the ailing structure are a keen reminder of how much history this place has seen, and what it means to the people who live in its shadow every day.
It’s at this point that it decided to rain at a biblical scale for my second time during this trip. I barely made it on to the streetcar and back to the hostel, where I shamefully ran across the street later into the station to get some fried chicken for my dinner…
Luckily I woke up to a dry forecast, and decided to pick up where I left off yesterday. The Suizenji Jōjuen garden was in my plans, and it was worth it. Even with the overcast skies, there isn’t really much to complain about with this place. It felt like being in Tellytubby land, the picture will help you better understand what I mean.
Jumping back on the streetcar, almost identical to the ones in Nagasaki and every bit just as unstable, I also wanted to visit the residence of the Hosokawa clan, the last feudal lords of Kumamoto prefecture. Only a short walk away from the castle the estate felt like it would be an ample replacement for having been deprived of the view of Kumamoto Castle in all its glory.
I found it shut, also under scaffolds and tarps… the walls spilling over like water and the wooden structure twisted and splintered. A sorry sight, but a harsh reminder of the volatile environment that is Kumamoto, Kyūshu and Japan in general. The Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art had to do instead, with a brief but fascinating history lesson on the resident feudal lords of old.
It was also sad to read online that the famous Kumamoto Oysters that I wanted to try no longer existed in their place of origin. Extinct in Japan due to poor crop management and pollution in the Ariake sea, these delicious little oysters that are world-renowned simply aren’t a thing in Japan.
Arguably a more disappointing episode of this trip. But I have high hopes for my last few days alone, where I will go all the way south to Kagoshima and further, and the finally find myself in Hiroshima, which will be a good place to explore more of Western Honshu. I just hope the weather holds out !
Humanposting 