Japan

黒かつ亭 Kurokatsutei @Kaogoshima, Japan

Posted on 8 September 2017 by lendeliz

IMG_3872.jpgAfter visiting 桜島 Sakurajima, we returned to 鹿児島 Kagoshima in search of the famous and popular 黒かつ亭 中央駅本店 Kurokatsutei Kagoshima-Chuo Eki Honten for some delicious とんかつ Tonkatsu Deep Fried Pork Cutlet for dinner (they have another branch 黒かつ亭天文館店 Kurokatsutei Tenmonkan Branch in Kagoshima and one branch 黒かつ亭東京駅店 Kurokatsutei Tokyo Eki Branch in Tokyo Station).

黒豚 (Kurobuta) “Black Pork” refers to the skin colour of the animal, and are Berkshire pork that were originally imported to Kagoshima about 400 years ago.

We opted for the 上ロースかつ定食 Premium Loin Set (¥1,560) and 黒かつ亭定食 Loin & Fillet Set (¥1,380).

While the meat was juicy and had a good bite, we found the breaded crust to be a tad too oily. However, the generous amount of cabbage certainly helped to give it a refreshing lift. Surprisingly, we both felt that the simple カツカレー Curry Rice with Pork Cutlet that we found at 霧島神宮 Kirishima Jingu to be far more delicious. Perhaps the curry rice far exceeded our low expectations because it was relatively away from Kagoshima; while we had much higher expectations of the pork cuisine by restaurants located right in Kagoshima.

黒かつ亭 中央駅本店 Kurokatsutei Kagoshima-Chuo Eki Honten (Main Store):

  • Location: 〒890-0053 鹿児島県鹿児島市中央町16-9 中原ビル1F, Nakahara Building 1F, 16-9, Chuocho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima-ken, Japan (Google Maps)
  • Directions: 5 min walk from East Exit of JR 鹿児島中央駅 Kagoshima-Chuo Station
  • Website: www.kurokatutei.net (Facebook)
  • Hrs: 11am – 3:30pm, 5pm – 10:00pm daily
Categories: Dinner, Japan, Kagoshima, Travel | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Half day trip to 桜島 Sakurajima @Kagoshima, Japan

Posted on 8 September 2017 by lendeliz

IMG_3859From 高千穂 Takachiho, we took a bus to 延岡 Nobeoka, and then train to 宮崎 Miyazaki (to collect our luggage), and then continuing on to 鹿児島 Kagoshima. It was already close to 3pm by the time we reached our hotel to drop our luggage (and we started at 6am!).

Since the weather looked good, we thought we should cover 桜島 Sakurajima today, otherwise the whole day would seemed like it’s just taking different transport from Point A to Point B. 🙂

We had purchased the Kagoshima Welcome Cute Pass (¥1,500) (when we got off the train at 鹿児島中央駅 Kagoshima-Chuo Station), and so after checking-in and dropping our luggage, we rushed to take the tram (aka streetcar) from our hotel to Kagoshima Port. Through brisk walking, we made it in time to catch the 15:40 ferry to 桜島 Sakurajima, and arrived at the volcanic island a short 15 minutes later. 🙂

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Categories: Japan, Kagoshima, Travel | Tags: , | 1 Comment

Overnight stay at 高千穂 Takachiho, Japan

Posted on 7 September 2017 by lendeliz

IMG20170907133618IMG_3761.jpgOne of the main highlights of this trip was to visit the beautiful 高千穂峡 Takachiho Gorge!

We had a hard time deciding if we wanted to do this as a day trip (might be too rushed), or to do an overnight stay and watch the cultural show at night (which we might not understand at all). Eventually, we decided to take it easy and stay one night at the gorge, as we would be travelling long distances often during this trip.

It took us a while to find the B&B 浮き雲 Ukigumo, where we would be staying for the night. The friendly owner spoke English very well, and directed us to a shortcut to get to the 高千穂峡 Takachiho Gorge 🙂

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Categories: Japan, Miyazaki, Travel | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments

塚田農場 Tsukada Nojo @Miyazaki, Japan

Posted on 6 September 2017 by lendeliz

IMG_3705.jpgIMG_3719.jpgWe have always enjoyed the soup at 塚田農場 Tsukada Nojo in Singapore, and now we had the chance to try out at the 宮崎 Miyazaki outlet where it all started 🙂

Apparently, in 宮崎 Miyazaki, they use only free-range, home-bred domestic chicken. Only selected farms that have passed Miyazaki Prefecture’s stringent production conditions are allowed to breed this specific type of chicken, which produces leaner meat with well-marbled fat. Reading the description, we were more than ready to try all kinds of chicken cuisine 😀

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Categories: Dinner, Japan, Miyazaki, Travel | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Day trip to 霧島神宮 Kirishima Jingu and 関之尾の滝 Sekinoo-no-taki

Posted on 6 September 2017 by lendeliz

IMG_3621.jpgWe were feeling very excited today, as we would be visiting 霧島神宮 Kirishima Shrine (aka Jingu), which worships 天孫瓊瓊杵尊 (Ninigi-no-mikoto), the grandson of 天照大神 (Amaterasu-omikami), the Sun Goddess.

According to Japanese mythology, Kirishima is the place where Ninigi-no-mikoto arrived in Japan, in accordance to Amaterasu-omikami’s orders to reign over the ancient Japan, and subsequently, his descendants were the Emperors of Japan, first being 神武天皇 Jinmu-tennō Emperor Jimmu.

We visited 鵜戸神宮 (Udo Jingu) Udo Shrine (2 days ago) which worships  鵜葺草葺不合命 Ugayafukiaezu-no-mikoto, the father of 神武天皇 Jinmu-tennō Emperor Jimmu and son of Ninigi-no-mikoto. Miyazaki is truly the land of Japanese Mythology, and there are many more shrines dedicated to these mythological deities.

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Categories: Japan, Miyazaki, Travel | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

丸万焼鳥本店 Maruman Yakitori @Miyazaki, Japan

Posted on 5 September 2017 by lendeliz

IMG_3618.jpgOther than beef (still drooling from the unforgettable 宮崎牛 Miyazaki Beef), Miyazaki is also famous for chicken; in particular, チキン南蛮 Chicken Nanban and 焼き鳥 Yakitori Chicken are the 2 must-try dishes here.

丸万 Maruman was one of the highly-recommended restaurants to try the 焼き鳥 Yakitori Chicken, and we went to the 本店 original store to check it out.

We were led to the rooms upstairs because it was full downstairs (which also meant we were not able to see the chef in action 😦 ), which involved removal of shoes, and while there was only Japanese menu available, an English-speaking staff pointed to us which was the most popular dish, and also tried to explain what certain dishes were when we enquired.

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Categories: Dinner, Japan, Miyazaki, Travel | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

きっちょううどん Kitchou Udon @Miyazaki, Japan

Posted on 5 September 2017 by lendeliz

IMG_3600.jpgIt was a cold day, and we were resting from our excursion yesterday while craving for something soupy. A hot bowl of udon definitely seemed like an excellent idea for lunch 🙂

きっちょううどん Kitchou Udon is a chain of udon restaurants all over 宮崎 Miyazaki and one happened to be near our hotel along 橘通 Tachibanadori.

English pictorial menu was available, so ordering of udon was not an issue, but there were also some fried items available at the ordering counter, with only description in katakana. No worries, you can just pick whatever that looked interesting 😛

We opted for the 肉スぺシャル Niku-Special Udon (¥750),  and added メンチカツ Menchi Katsu (¥120),  which is ground meat with chopped onions breaded and deep-fried, イカ天 Ika Tempura (¥100), which is squid deep-fried with tempura batter.

The squid had a really addictive chewy texture, and the meat katsu was quite juicy. While the udon was slightly too soft for our preference, the entire bowl was filled with delicious ingredients (and lots of spring onion!). It was a meal that definitely warmed us up 🙂

Contact:

  • Location: 〒880-0001 宮崎県 宮崎市 橘通西3-3-27 宮崎アートセンタービル1階Miyazaki Art Centre Ground Floor, 3 Chome-3-27 Tachibanadori-nishi, Miyazaki-shi, Miyazaki-ken 880-0001, Japan (Google Maps)
  • Directions: 13 min walk from West Exit of 宮崎駅 Miyazaki Station
  • Website: www.kitchouudon.com/shop/03/ (Unofficial Facebook)
  • Hrs: 6am – 3am
Categories: Japan, Lunch, Miyazaki, Travel | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

焼肉レストランAPAS Yakiniku Restaurant APAS @Miyazaki, Japan

Posted on 4 September 2017 by lendeliz

IMG20170904184910Other than chicken, Miyazaki is also famous for its high quality 宮崎牛 Miyazaki Beef, and we really really wanted to try it!

We had read about the dinner buffet at 焼肉レストランAPAS Yakiniku Restaurant APAS (a very popular chain of restaurants specializing in 宮崎牛 Miyazaki Beef), which required reservations to be made in advance. Hence, we had popped over here the night before to make enquiries and to make reservations.

The 120-min 食べ飲み放題 Eat-And-Drink-All-You-Can dinner buffet was ¥6,000 (~S$70) for men and ¥5,500 (~S$65) for ladies, and would be even more value-for-money if you could drink a lot; shochu, wine, whiskey, beer, etc, were all part of the free-flow drinks menu.

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Categories: Dinner, Japan, Miyazaki, Travel | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

平和台公園 Heiwadai Park @Miyazaki, Japan

Posted on 4 September 2017 by lendeliz

IMG_3566.jpgWe had some time left in the afternoon after visiting the Nichinan Coastal area, and decided to visit another place of interest to fully utilise our 1-day Visit Miyazaki Bus Pass.

平和台公園 Heiwadai Park seemed interesting, and after checking the bus schedule at the Tourist Information Centre within Miyazaki Station, we went to the bus stop to wait for Bus #8.

The bus arrived earlier, so we could go up and have a seat while waiting for its scheduled departure. This was a good thing, for it started raining all of a sudden, and we were startled by the sudden jumping up movements by the passengers sitting at the bus stop. That was when we realised that the mini bus stop shelter did not cover the seating area 😮

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Categories: Japan, Miyazaki, Travel | Tags: | 1 Comment

Day trip to 鵜戸神宮 Udo Jingu & 青島 Aoshima @Miyazaki, Japan

Posted on 4 September 2017 by lendeliz

2017-09-04 08.08.59We woke up bright and early to catch the 8:19am bus to 鵜戸神宮 (Udo Jingu) Udo Shrine (dedicated to 鵜葺草葺不合命 Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto “Unfinished Cormorant-Feather Thatching” , the father of 神武天皇 Jinmu-tennō Emperor Jimmu, the mythical first emperor of Japan).

It was a super cloudy day, but rain was expected later in the afternoon, as well as whole of tomorrow (due to a nearby typhoon), so today was the best day to go 日南 Nichinan area for 鵜戸神宮 Udo Jingu & 青島 Aoshima, and we had to make sure that we get up the first bus!

It was a pleasant morning ride with little traffic. We first passed by little houses and saw some farmers doing a bit of burning (perhaps to fertilise the soil?).

After 50 mins, we passed by 青島 Aoshima (which we would come back to later), and began to see the beautiful coastal view 😀 en route to 鵜戸神宮 Udo Jingu (another 40 mins).

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Categories: Japan, Miyazaki, Travel | Tags: , | 4 Comments

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