Labor Day Weekend at Lodge Kiyokawa

With the guys still at sea and school starting back, I knew I wanted to plan a girls getaway over Labor Day Weekend. After many, many group texts filled with local places to go, we settled on Bungoono- a small town in Oita Prefecture. Not too far from the onsen town of Beppu, where we rang in the New Year, Bungoono is home to cute campground that is known for its treehouses!

里の旅リゾート ロッジきよかわ: Lodge Kiyokawa

Meg picked me up from my apartment at 7:30 am on Saturday, September 3; I was ready to load up my cooler and backpack for a weekend of "glamping!" Once we met up with Kaiti, our caravan began the 3.5 hour journey to Oita Prefecture! With Typhoon Hinnamnor headed towards Japan, we knew we were in for a weekend of rain, but nothing was going to dampen our spirits!

We arrived around 11:00 am to check in, where we were greeted by the campground host who spoke wonderful English. After unpacking the car between rains, we set up shop under Kaiti's treehouse for a lunch of sandwiches before checking out our homes for the next two nights!

The treehouses are one-roomed cabins with Japanese futons. While the bedding included a "mattress," the 1/4 inch pad we were supplied with was not the most comfortable sleeping arrangement we have ever experienced. (Truth be told, I want to go back with Bryan during the fall, but we will 100% be taking our air mattress!!!) While Meg and I endured the futons, we were relieved that each cabin was air controlled, so we cranked that sucker down as low as it would go at 18° C (64°F) so we could sleep well that night curled up in our (very thin) bedding!

"we can do this!" faces

we made a friend!

Once the skies cleared up a bit, we headed down the hill to the river!

Truth be told, I was all up in my feelings, standing in the shallow parts of the river with a cider in hand and a book in the other. Memories of camping with the Kimbles in Brevard, NC flashed across my mind, making me miss home. Just like Brevard, we didn't get cell service at the campground, so you can laugh at the photo below as I try and find service to email Bryan that we made it to Bungoono!

Eventually, it was dinnertime, so we headed to the on-site restaurant for Yakiniku! Together we shared a grilled dinner of veggies, chicken and steak. Our campground host also stopped by to chat! We learned that he grew up in Canada before moving to Japan in his 20s. (No wonder his English was spectacular!)

Before calling it quits for the night, we stopped by the archway at the front of the campground for a photo op! Hadley's photography skills have improved since our first girls' trip to Miyazaki, for sure, and she still keeps us laughing!

稲積水中鍾乳洞: Inazumi Underwater Limestone Cave

The next morning we ventured from camp to explore a local "underwater" cave! Inazumi, we learned isn't only home to the limestone cave, but also a slew of ducks, a giant golden statue, a small waterfall and an *interesting* statue. (As you look below, I'm sure you can pick out the "interesting" one...)

yep. thats the interesting one

I'm telling you, sometimes Japan is weird. And yes, I tried to translate the signs behind it (hoping it was a statue of something else) but the signs didn't translate. Guess we will never know.

BUT we did spend the rainy time walking through the Inazumi Underwater Limestone Cave! As we entered this cave, I had "Sad Moment #2" as I reminisced about Bryan and I's first Japan trip, where we visited the Ryūsendō Cave in Iwate Prefecture during our Northern Honshu Trip last September! (How was that already a year ago?!)

When comparing the caves, the Ryūsendō Cave in Northen Honshu was vastly deeper, while this Cave was much better for beginners! I enjoyed walking through this cave and looking down into the depths of the underwater caves.

There was a sign out front that they welcome cave divers here....not no but HELL no. Bryan and I both agree you won't catch us cave diving! Too scary. I like to know that if something goes terribly wrong, I can always get back to the ocean's surface. In caves, there isn't always a reachable "surface." No thank you. I will stick to exploring it by land!

I know I mentioned the *interesting* statue earlier, so now's a good time to mention the *interesting* statues found all over Japan's countryside. Below are just a few of the creepy, masked statues that we ran across during this trip. From red demon men with clubs, to mask sculptures on bridges, I can honestly say I have no clue what they are or who they are supposed to represent. I can only say they are sure to give small kids nightmares!

原尻の滝 Harajiri Falls

The skies cleared up a bit, so we made our way to a nearby waterfall: Harajiri Falls. Within a short walk from a restaurant's parking lot, we stood at the foot of the "Niagara Falls of Japan." Reaching a height of 65 feet and nearly 400 feet wide, this natural wonder boomed into existence 90,000 years ago when Mt. Aso erupted nearby!

Feeling the rushing wind flowing off the falls took your breath away, and the mist of water helped to cool us down in this summer heat! We were able to get great pictures from the suspension bridge overlooking the falls, and then later stopped to dip our toes in the cold water!

With the Castillo girls ready to swim at Harajiri Falls, we headed back to camp for an afternoon of reading our books along the riverbank while the girls built fairy castles out of river rocks! We didn't realize how much we crammed into our morning adventure because as we sat down with a cold cider in hand we quickly realized it was only noon. (It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?)

As the sun began to set, I glanced up from my book to see a group of teenage boys swimming in a deeper part of the river downstream from our shallow spot. After watching them jump off a rock for a few minutes, I decided it was time to jump in myself! Kaiti and Meg soon joined me, and apparently, those teenage boys freaked out when I dove off their rock from earlier! (Kaiti and Meg said the boys shouted and jumped around while I was underwater!)

The photos may not be the best quality (Hadley is still learning that the zoom feature shouldn't be used on 10x) but the memories will last a lifetime!

After warm showers it was dinnertime! We headed back to the camp's restaurant where we devoured handmade pizzas! As I stated earlier, our host lived in Canada before moving to Japan- and during his time in Canada, he studied under an Italian chef! Let's just say, we were not disappointed in dinner! We even took the few remaining slices back to our campsite for breakfast the next morning!

Monday, September 5, began with more rain as we packed up our campsite and to begin our journey home. I was shocked when I paid the bill: it costs us $190 for our two treehouses for two nights, two amazing dinners and plenty of drinks during our dinners! This girls weekend was cheap AND it allowed us one final girls trip with Kaiti and the girls before they PCS back to the states later this month!

コストコホールセールジャパン: Costco Wholesale Japan

While Kaiti headed home, Meg and I took a pit stop at the Costco in Kumamoto! We got there right as they opened at 10am and spent 2.5 hours walking through the entire store! With two carts full of groceries for our homes, we crammed all our finds in the back of Meg's car and used my giant camping cooler to keep things cold for the remainder of our drive.

I may have spent almost $500 at Costco, but considering this is my second trip to Costco in nearly a year and a half, I figured Bryan will forgive me. Plus- I bought myself a soda stream for my birthday- so that's my excuse! (We will see if that excuse holds up when Bryan gets back from this float!)

PS: no judgment allowed for the crazy amount of wine I bought. My excuse for that purchase is that I'm hosting October's book club and I need options of what I will offer my guests! Plus I don't make good decisions under pressure. I'm like Phil from Modern Family:

Until next time (or until Bryan bans me from Costco permanently,)

--Katie