The Road to Hirado & Itoshima: A Weekend Getaway

Originally, Bryan and I were trying to fit in one last international trip this summer. I had everything planned out and was ready to book flights when Bryan found out that the ship needed to complete some more maintenance and thus, the short underway period was shifted to the smack dab middle of our leave. With Bryan being the only dentist and no one else being able to do his job, his leave was denied and our plans were ruined. Thanks, America.

After stomping my feet and having a mini meltdown complaining about how the ship has RUINED my last summer hoorah, Bryan and I figured out a shorter, local trip to enjoy during the six days between floats. When life gives you lemons, you smear 'em in the concrete during a fit and then scoop up the pulp and make a small batch of lemonade. Or something like that.

Trying to make me happy, my lovely husband agreed to a weekend getaway revolving around beaches and sunshine. My man knows how to pacify me! So on the morning of Saturday, July 23 we jumped in the car and hit the road towards Hirado!

Knowing that this trip would require some driving, Bryan and I borrowed Jaime and Dave Doebrick's car, you know, my princess friend! We have the lovely Mira Gino, but our car is meant for city driving, so we were lucky to have friends that didn't mind swapping vehicles for a few days! Here we are stopping to fill 'em up at a local gas station. With the current yen rate, it's much cheaper to pay for gas off base, and some of the gas stations are manned so you don't have to even pump your own gas! Check out those gas nozzles hanging from the ceiling- once you pull in, they lower down and the workers fill your tank for you!

平戸大橋: Hirado Bridge

Then we began the hour drive north to Hirado. Hirado has been on my list of summer day trips for a while, as it's known for amazing beaches and scenic views. We knew we were in the right place when we crossed the San Francisco Bridge- I mean the Hirado Bridge!

川内峠: Kawachi Toge Pass

First stop of the day: Kawachi Toge Pass. This open, green area is known for scenic views and (we learned) a lack of shade. Whew! Summers in Kyushu are HOT and HUMID and during our short hike, we would have killed for some shady trees. But I can truthfully say, the panoramic views from up there were stunning and well worth the extra sweaty hike!

Why is Bryan wearing sweatpants in 99° heat? You will see later in this post. Why did he roll them up above his knees? Style. And I didn't want to drag his tail down this moutain post heat stroke.

シービューランチ: Sea View Ranch

Now the purpose of those sweatpants in July.

The highlight of our morning was horseback riding on the beach at Sea View Ranch! I won't lie, when I proposed a weekend getaway to Bryan, I talked up this adventure as a selling point- and it did not disappoint!

We arrived for our 11 am tour, where we met "Rundle" (aka Randall), who was born right here in Hirado, and Sampson, who was born and trained in California! Bryan and I had a few minutes to walk around the arena and learn the horses' commands before venturing off with our Japanese guides to ride on the beach! It was the perfect day for this: sunny skies, crystal clear waters, beautiful scenery, and mellow horses!

We worked up an appetite from our ride, so we ventured next door for lunch at the Sea View Ranch's restaurant, where we shared some Japanese curry and the day's special: steak and shrimp. We both agreed if we venture up to Hirado again, we will 100% be stopping back here for a meal! Everything was to die for, and the view was stellar!

人津久海水浴場: Hitotsuku Beach

As stated earlier, Bryan pacified me with a weekend beach getaway, so post-lunch we ventured farther on Hirado Island to find a nice beach for the afternoon! After driving by, making an illegal u-turn on a curvy, mountain road, paying ¥500 for parking, and lugging our beach gear down some uneven steps, we made it to Hitotuku Beach! We even recognized some of our Hario neighbors at the same beach!

塩俵断崖: Shiodawara Cliffs

After getting our sun fill for the day, we ventured past tons of rice fields to the northernmost point of the island. At Shiodawara Cliffs, we sat and enjoyed a snack of rice chips and goldfish while listening to the waves crash on the hexagonal-shaped cliffs that have formed from the rough seas over thousands of years!

生月観音堂: Ikitsuki Kannon-do Temple

On our way back towards Hirado city, we made a pit stop for pictures with the giant Buddha statue at the Ikitsuki Kannon-do Temple. We were the only people there, so we goofed off a little before admiring the great view!

平戸城跡: Hirado Castle

Finally, it began to cool off for the evening (and by that, I mean it went from 99° to 85°) so Bryan reluctantly agreed to climb the 5 stories-worth of stairs to the Hirado Castle! Was it worth it? Maybe not. BUT the good thing was, we went so late that it *technically* was closed, so we got to go up for free!

平戸温泉うで湯あし湯: Hirado Onsen Arm & Leg Spa

After the trek back to our car, Bryan was starving. After driving around trying to find the restaurant I had planned, we found some sketchy parking, meaning it was in a totally safe spot, but we were a little concerned that we were "illegally parked." Japan is known for having pay lots everywhere and like 2 free spots in front of shops. Since the shops were closed, we weren't 100% confident we wouldn't get a ticket parking there...so we crossed our fingers and hoped the American license plate gave us a little leniency and forgiveness for not knowing all the rules!

And after all that, the restaurant was closed.

On the way back to the car, we did run across the free, outdoor arm and leg spa! Bryan gave me 5 minutes to sit and soak my feet before his grumbling stomach turned into grumbling comments about hunger. Japan's onsens are definitely a favorite activity for me- but it's also better in the cold winter months. Not as enjoyable when the 100° water matches the 100° temperatures outside!

We ended our first day with dinner at a random pizza shop we found near our hotel. Day one in the books!

Amistad Hotel

Sunday, July 24 began with a free Japanese breakfast at our hotel! A small side salad, bowl of rice, chunk of egg, cut of fish, a slice of pork and an interesting chicken nugget filled us up for another sunshine-filled beach day! I was slightly intimidated by the coffee machine, so I chose a picture that looked like it contained milk and enjoyed my mystery morning coffee!

白糸の滝: Shiraito Waterfall

On our way to Itoshima, we swung by Shiraito Waterfall after hearing it was a great family-friendly waterfall with a giant parking lot. As we climed the nearby mountain, we chuckled at the thought of attempting the steep climb in our Mira Gino! There's no way our car would have made it!

As we arrived, we weren't expecting the crazy crowds! This place was PACKED with locals fishing, picture-taking, picnicking and taking photos in front of the waterfall! Shiraito Waterfall definitely gave us a glimpse of the "normal Japan" prior to COVID and crowd control!

桜井二見ヶ浦の夫婦岩: Sakurai Futamigaura's Couple Stones

After riding our brakes down the mountain, we made it to the Couples Stone Shrine! As its name implies, this shrine is famous for married couples and, as legend has it, if you stand under the Torri Gate with your spouse, lifelong happiness is sure to follow you.

The waters were stunningly blue and crystal clear! We set up our beach camp for the day and after an hour of tanning, I talked Bryan into swimming out to the couple stone with me! We had seen others venture close to the rocks, and one brave woman climbed up, so we followed her lead and did the same! I wish we had packed our GoPro, but the story will have to suffice:

We swam out with our flip-flops on our hands and then swam around finding the best way to attempt our climb up. Bryan poked himself on a sea urchin (I told him to watch out for them!) and after it didn't swell up or turn black, we carefully continued our shallow swim towards the rocks! I led the way and showed Bryan where to step as we climbed up the left Couple Stone. We sat and enjoyed some quiet time and simple conversation while looking at the different perspectives of this shrine!

Eventually, we had to climb down and figure out how to get back. This is when we realized the tide had come in substantially...and a the sea was a little bit rougher. Welp. Seeing Bryan calculate the Tricare insurance nightmares of Barnicle slices or sprained ankles, I took the lead and, while he was half-looking, jumped off the side of the couple stone into what looked like deep-ish waters! Seeing I survived, I told Bryan to pull his feet to his chest and do what I did! During the exhausting swim back to shore, Bryan thinks he was stung by a jellyfish. My animal whisperer needs to clarify that he's a friend, not a foe to his sea friends!

We snagged two rocks to bring home as reminders of our Itoshima memories. They should last longer than Bryan's urchin cut and jellyfish sting.

ハングリーヘブン 福岡今泉店: Hungry Heaven

As it started to cool down around 5 pm, we packed up our beach gear and began our drive to Fukuoka for the night! Being back in the largest city on Kyushu, Bryan was tasked with dinner planning and he found a 100% beef burger joint! Hungry Heaven was heavenly. Both our burgers were ginormous and the cajun fries gave us the perfect combination of McDonald's & Bojangles fries from home! Whew- with full bellies we waddled our way back to our hotel!

解放されたホテル春吉開智: Liberated Hotel Haruyoshi Kaichi

For our final night of this weekend getaway, we stayed at the Fukuoka Liberated Hotel. Since Bryan swears his favorite hotel in all of Japan was a different unmanned hotel, I was sure to find another for this trip! These Japanese unmanned hotels are perfect for Americans- iPad check-in and check-out, no language barrier, and some really cool themes make for an easy stay! We also have noticed that these unmanned hotels offer the largest rooms, so it's nice to spread out in the modern designs.

Monday morning began with an Australian breakfast at Bills, where Bryan got the Aussie breakfast set, I enjoyed the Aussie french toast and together we split a delicious raspberry scone.

コストコホールセール 久山倉庫店: Costco Fukuoka

Before beginning the journey home, we swung by a local mall to look around a 3COIN shop. While there, we learned that there was a movie theater in the mall and it was showing Top Gun! Since we were short on time and because Bryan has already seen it three times, we decided to push off a movie visit!

Then it was Costco time! Lucky for us, the Castillos have a Japan Costco membership, and apparently, all white women look alike, so I pretended to be Kaiti for the day! Time passes differently in Costcos....so three hours passed by in a flash and our wad of cash was spent. Yep, you read that right, Costco Japan only accepts Mastercard, so it's a cash-only venue for us! We had a cart filled with things for all our friends and ourselves! These things included:

• 8 packs of chicken breasts

• 3 Rotisserie chickens

• Ribeye steaks

• a Disney outdoor rug (that will be stored until we have a backyard...but it was cheap!!)

• enough raspberries and blueberries for three families

• 10 lbs of salted almonds (unashamedly, that giant bag is just for us)

• a giant gift for Reynolds

• and a partridge in a pear tree

But seriously, we love Costco Japan. And not just because we left with a GIANT Hawaiian pizza for dinner once we get home. Our tastebuds shouted to the heavens as we split a bulgogi bake, a Korean beef-filled bread, that satisfied our hunger after checkout. I would argue that the bulgogi bake would be worth a trip to Japan on its own. (You may be able to get it at Korea Costcos too.) 10/10 recommend!

After our grand adventures, our puppies were beyond excited to see us! Reynolds especially loved her Costco surprise: a giant, pink Sarah! Named after the Land Before Time triceratops, Reynolds' newest toy is twice her size and already getting shaken to death!

Until next time!

--Katie