A pre-wedding Honeymoon? (21 days around Asia)

[HirafuHeartAttack]

Day 9 (Part 3):

We eventually settled on an Izakaya above a Lawson just on the edge of Nishitachibana called Akenaya (sort of in Hotel MyStays Miyazaki) which was really quite good and we would recommend it to anyone in the area.

We were shown to a small enclosed booth as is common at a lot of these izakayas. Ordering was via QR code with our phones translating most of the menu. We ended up with a varied spread including Miyazaki specialties wagyu and chicken nanban.

All of the food was fresh and delicious and I'll emphasize that if you want to go and try the best beef in Japan in an affordable way then Miyazaki is the place to visit. We started with some delicious sashimi.



Followed by a salmon carpaccio.



Chicken Nanban, which has seriously grown on me since first trying it in Miyazaki in 2023.



And finished it off with Miyazaki A4 wagyu Shabu Shabu.



After the meal we went back onto the street with about 80 minutes until the last train. Given the limited services that run along the Nichinan line, it was also the only train left to depart. In order to kill some time we looked for a bar on the way to the station.

We walked past a block of containers which had been fashioned into shops, restaurants and bars and headed up into the blue glow of Cafe&Bar Bios. We were the only people here so chatted with the bartender (with great assistance from google translate) and enjoyed a few drinks.



The bar was quite interesting with a number of fish tanks around the space, including all along the right hand wall above. After paying up we realised we were a little further from the station than we first through with only 10 minutes until the last train departed. Not wanting to have to get a fairly expensive taxi home we hot footed it the 800m or so to the station, quickly purchased the tickets necessary for the return trip and jumped on the train with about a minute to spare.

We made it back to Kodomonokuni around 11pm and made a quick pit stop for dessert before calling it a night.

 

[HirafuHeartAttack]

Day 10 (Part 1):
After a pretty late night we still woke bright and early to a beautiful sunrise over the ocean right outside our window. This view is seriously hard to beat!



With the wind beautifully still I was eager to get out the door. Given the swell direction we unfortunately weren't able to surf directly outside the hotel but it was only a short drive to a spot called Kisakihama to find some fun little waves.






As you can see from the shot below we really weren't all that far from the hotel.



After finishing surfing we drove back past the hotel to the centre of Aoshima and parked up to find some breakfast and coffee. We ended up at Aoshima Coffee where we had some BLT bagels and iced lattes.



Next was some retail therapy at one specific store we knew we had to revisit. Aoshimaya is a big collective of mostly local goods with some other Japanese favourites thrown in. Primarily we were after Hyuganatsu dressing which is nearly impossible to find outside of this region, but utterly delicious on salads. We grabbed a few bottles amongst a couple of other things however I'm still kicking myself for not picking up a bottle of Hibiki Blenders Choice for 16500yen ($175aud) when it retails for around $400aud here.



After making our purchases we headed back to the hotel to unpack the car and prepare for a little road trip to a highly anticipated lunch we had booked.

 

[HirafuHeartAttack]

Day 10 (Part 2):

Last time we visited Miyazaki we met up with a friend of a friend - Masa, who showed us a bunch of spots in southern Miyazaki and that we surfed with. Masa and his wife, Tomo, have since opened up a beautiful Italian restaurant in Nango called Tsuyano Fresca. A few days before our arrival I messaged Masa and he made a booking for us to come and try their new place.

We left Aoshima and drove an hour south through Nichinan and Nango and up into the coastal hills. The scenery up around the restauarant was vibrantly beautiful.


We arrived to what is essentially their home and found the small parking lot off to the side. Thank god for google maps and some well placed road signs by Masa as this place is well off the beaten path.



Once inside we were warmly greeted by Tomo, obviously aware we were Masas friends as not a lot of gaijin find their way up here. We were seated and presented with the set menu and given choice of pasta. Tomo had also written the menus in english especially for us which was appreciated as it's normally all on Japanese, but shows their attention to detail and hospitality. Honestly it's hard to find words to describe how good this meal was, so I'll just try my best with the photos below:



Starters were roast A4 miyazaki beef with a jus and deliciously light mashed potatoes, a cured salmon which melted in your mouth and had just a subtle hint of sweetness and a creamy corn soup with buttery notes. We also had their homemade yuzu and mint lemonade which on a 32 degree day was one of the most pleasant drinks I've ever had.



Next was some local Miyazaki oysters (not pictured) which were juicy and sweet but unlike their Hokkaido counterparts not the size of of your hand. In fact they seemed very similar to some of the south coast oysters you get in NSW given the similar climate variations and clean waters they share. After that was home made foccacia with local olive oil. It's very hard to beat warm fresh bread and the little salt flakes and olive oil were perfect accompaniments.



For pasta we ordered a puttanesca and a carbonara. Both were divine - the puttanesca had just the right amount of spice and a hint of smoke from the in house smoked chicken used. Similarly the carbonara had in house cured bacon and local eggs and was rich and creamy.



Dessert was a citrus panna cotta with mandarin. Again, divine, with just the right amount of sweet and sour notes from the fruit and sugar. This was served with tea or coffee. On my way in I spotted a very good looking espresso machine on the bar bench and asked Tomo if a latte was possible, and what came back rivalled the best cafes we have here in Sydney.

I must add as well all of this only cost about $35 per person, which was astonishing given just how good the food was. After lunch we stayed once the other patrons had left to chat with Masa and Tomo about their lives in rural Miyazaki and how everything was going. The restaurant has had quite alot of publicity and seems to be doing well and we would implore anyone coming to this region to seek it out! I also asked about the coffee machine and they mentioned that one of the biggest things they missed from their time in Aus was the coffees here, so they paid a pretty significant amount of money to import an italian machine to make good coffee in Japan, for which I was very grateful!

After saying our goodbyes we set off back towards Aoshima which provided a beautiful afternoon drive winding up the coastline.

 

[HirafuHeartAttack]

Day 10 (Part 3):

After arriving back at The Holiday Inn we decided to take advantage of the onsen. This is one of the best parts of this hotel IMO with a great view of the ocean and a couple of different baths, a cold plunge and a sauna.

Before leaving Tsuyano Fresca we had asked Tomo and Masa if they could enquire about a reservation at Amimoto, an izakaya we had visited last trip across the road from our hotel. Unfortunately for us Amimoto only accepts phone reservations and they only speak Japanese, but fortunately Tomo was more than happy to call on our behalf and made us a reservation for 7pm.

We decided to grab a few drinks from the hotels store (very reasonably priced) and enjoy them on the beach before dinner. At this point we witnessed one of the crazier things I've seen in Japan. We noticed some splashing in the water and then realised that a pretty sizeable (maybe 4ft) shark was aggressively chasing fish not far from where people were surfing.




We spoke to a couple of the surfers who didn't seem too fazed by all this, so maybe sharks are more common here than I thought? After the entertainment and finishing our drinks we headed across the road to Amimoto. We were seated and looked at the menu while a big group of Korean tourists walked in. Now maybe I'm just not used to Koreans as much as I am to Japanese but the following observations somewhat foreshadowed our own visit to Korea later in the trip. That is to say this group was loud and fairly blunt, bordering on rude, to the staff. Something that mirrored many of our interactions a week or so later.

Anyway our Amimoto experience outside of this was once again fantastic, though prices have increased since 2023.



We started with their sashimi platter which was huuuuge for 2 people, but we polished it off with no issue given how fresh the seafood is here.



We then had Miyazaki wagyu, deep fried prawns and chicken nanban. All fantastic, particularly that beef in teriyaki sauce and butter. All this was washed down with some beers and sours. As we left the matron of the restaurant asked where we were from (she actually spoke quite good english but seemingly never answers the phone) and we explained that we were Aussie and that this was actually our second time here. She was so excited to hear this and told us to let her know if we ever come back while presenting us with her business card. She also found out I was into rugby and was so delighted to show me all the famous rugby players (among others) that have visited.

Just an aside and the reason for the incredible number of sports stars that have visited her restaurant - Miyazaki is one of the largest bases for the pre-season camps and competitions of many of Japans professional sporting leagues (soccer, baseball and rugby). In fact it's quite surreal the density of world class sporting facilities (and big stadiums) for such a small city.

 

[HirafuHeartAttack]

Day 11 (Part 1):
Another early start to get some waves in before the wind came up. I headed to Kisakihama solo for a quick surf before heading back to grab my fiance so she could have a surf as there was some little waves just north of the hotel. This is also where I found out bindis also exist in Japan unfortunately.

After 2 surfs we returned to change for a day out. But first proprity was caffeine and we were in luck as what was previously a big empty hall attached to the hotel was now a big Murasaki Sports store with a cafe attached.



The coffee was fantastic and we chatted to the barista for a while. The shop is also a welcome addition to the hotel as it was a huge wasted space previously. It was also a sign that there is a bit of re-energisation happening around Miyazaki and particularly Aoshima as young people are starting to reverse the trend of moving to the big cities and seeking out a slower pace of life.

After coffee we decided to drop the boards off at Kens shed as we didnt plan on surfing again. This once again gave me a chance to nerd out over his collection!



Next this we headed into Miyazaki to an Aeon mall for some shopping and lunch. We ended up having a bunch of different things, and getting a bit of a chuckle out of one particular translation...




After returning to the hotel we used the onsen once again then set about working out where to go for dinner. We wanted to revisit SanBarco, a taco restaurant we went to last trip. We had to wait until later in the afternoon to call but secured a 7:30pm booking.

With time to kill we walked down to the Aoshima beach park area, bought some drinks and enjoyed them watching the sunset.




Getting peckish and with dinner still a little while away we found a grocery shop where we bought some sashimi, then went via 7/11 for some more drinks then having a little pre-dinner picnic.



Finally 7:30 rolled around so we made our way to SanBarco. Our table wasnt quite ready but they were more than happy to provide us drinks and a menu while we waited. Once we were seated we ordered and were once again served a fantastic meal here.





The staff here were all awesome and most are really good surfers too so it was easy to chat to them about that. As they were closing we decided to seek out some bars that had been recommended to us. Ironically there was really only 2 bars open in all of Aoshima, both next to each other in the same building so we just picked the more lively one.

We spent the rest of the night out drinking with some very funny Japanese surfers and another table of younger Japanese guys and girls who had a mate that could barely stand which was incredibly amusing to them. A Canadian bloke who'd been living in Japan for years also ended up there so we talked to him for a while before calling it a night as we had a huge few days coming up!