Immerse yourself in the heart of natural beauty of Japan!

I have been staying as an exchange student in Kyushu University in Fukuoka City, located in the island of Kyushu for around 2.5 months since last October 2015. Everyday here is like a wonderland! Because of eagerness to discover new places, I've taken any break time and visited dozens of awesome places. Here I want to share it with you.. Hopefully you got a chance to be here someday in the future!^^

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October 2015
#Sanmaparty #Futamigaura #SakuraiShrine
#Kyudou #HakataTomyoLanternWatching #Hanabi

6th October - Sanma Party

October was the season for sanma, so this time my Sensei and Senpai-tachi held a welcome party for me. Sanma is a kind of fish that goes well in BBQ. The fishes were delicious by its' own even though we didn't use any seasonings :9

12th October - Futamigaura

The other day, I went to Futamigaura beach with my new friends. Located just around 30 minutes by bike from my dormitory, the Futamigaura Bay is famous for a big gate (called torii 鳥居 in Japanese) built just by the beach. On the summer solstice we can watch sunset just between twin rocks behind the gate.

Above picture is a statue of Futamigaura which placed inside a shrine nearby, it's called Sakurai Shrine. This shrine has well arranged garden, it is by far the most peaceful, simple and modest shrine I visited.

17th October - Kyudou

I got a chance to experience Kyudou, a traditional Japanese Archery Club in Kyushu University. I couldn’t as a regular member because my stay in Japan only for 6 months, while the clubs’ training program need at least 4 years, but the members are really kind because once every semester they give chance to international students to take a short class of Kyudou. We tried shooting arrows to a target and... Wow, it was difficult, the 15 metres target were challenging, despite the real distance for Kyudou is around 50 metres!
In the end of the class we took a group picture, and I got to befriends one another as well^^.

19th October - Hakata Lantern Festival

On 19th October, there was a lantern festival called Tomyo Watching Kabuki Fetsival in Hakata area, Hakata is the downtown city centre of Fukuoka. I went together with many international and Indonesian friends. Thousands of lanterns were lit up from 17.00 pm and assembled to be walking route streching from JR Hakata Station to Gion area. In many spots we can enjoy lanterns collage formed into figures and writings, some spots were in temples some were in fields.

I think this festival are phenomenal. There was an atmosphere of peace, happiness, and quiet at the same time. It would have been similar to a ritual of meditation if there weren't so many people, but it was not a problem because I really love tonight's experience.

31st October - Hanabi and Halloween

Hanabi means firework festival, it is often held for the summer, so I didn't expect to see one in October, but what a luck! There was a school festival on the neighborhood and they lit up fireworks for the main event!

That day was also the Halloween day. When I returned to my dorm after seeing the fireworks, I spent warm party with my dorm friends, celebrating Halloween! It's a common thing in Japan, actually there was a parade of people wearing fancy costumes and the night were full of tricks or treats, but for me being together with friends is enough :)

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November 2015
#Chanoyu #SagaBalloonFiesta #KaratsuKunchi #KihachiOnsen #FukuokaMarathon #ShiraitoFalls #Koyo #Homestay

This is my 2nd month, autumn leaves are beginning to pop everywhere including in my campus. But first thing first; in the beginning of November I volunteered to participate in 茶の湯 or Japanese tea ceremony.

1st November - Tea Ceremony

This is an event held by the university for international students to learn about the culture and essence of Japanese tea ceremony. As a volunteer I got chance to make matcha and serves tea and sweets to the guests. The biggest advantage of a volunteer is getting to wear a yukata^^ That's why I immediately register! Of course, this is an opportunity that I wouldn’t miss. Hahaha…

3rd November - Saga Balloon Fiesta

The next thing was Saga Balloon Fiesta, it's an annual prestigious hot air balloon international competition which opens for public. Here, visitors can see numerous hot air balloons, there were so many stalls selling souvenirs, local delicacies and games. I spent time strolling around and amazed by the balloons! It must be though for the judges to choose the winner because the balloons were all great! The competitors are really creative, they even arranged so that the balloons look great at the night show!

4th November - Karatsu Kunchi Festival

Just the next day after Saga, I went to Karatsu which located on the northwest side of Kyushu Island. That day, there was a Karatsu Kunchi festival. This is kind of a parade of 14 enormous god statues in representation of animals; dragon, carpfish, demons, etc… I cannot mention it all because actually I don’t know what kind of animal that is.

Anyway, there were so many crowds watching the parade but fortunately I got nice spots to take pictures... Enjoy them!

8th November - Fukuoka Marathon

Another event I saw here is Fukuoka Marathon. This city often hold this kind-of event, the participants run 40-km-distance at that time, and the route passed my university. It's good to see how the neighborhoods value this event, many of them cheering runners to support them, so it's becoming like a special event!

15th November - Kihachi Onsen

Around the middle of the month, there was onsen trip organized by my dorm leader. Our destination was Kihachi Hot Spring which is located just by the seaside on the north eastern part of Kyushu Island. It took almost 1 hour to go by bus from our place.

The place was amazing! We can enjoy beach and hot spring there. It was my first time to try onsen, at first I was hesitated because it’s uncommon in my country but since it’s a rare chance to experienced onsen, and everyone is doing the same, so I just joined them :D. More great things, I can stroll around the beach with my friends after onsen. It felt so relaxing just to be there. Beach calms our mind...

21st November - Shiraito Falls and it's surroundings

The last trip I did this month was to the Shiraito Falls 白糸の滝 which located around Itoshima prefecture. This destination is not the most famous one, I know, but there I can enjoy good autumn weather. So on 21st November 2015, I had the time of my life with my though friends Karine and Evan together. The route wasn't easy because we went by bike, but it was worth it because we passed many great natural landscapes, rivers, garden, forest, and finally the waterfall! That day, something inside me complete, because we felt exhausted as well as satisfied to reach the top of the falls by bike. We had lunch in front of the water, hahaha!

More good news, I did see koyo leaves here, it's also on the Shiraito journey, we just landed on several temples and took photos. This is my favorite pictures, wind was blowing when the camera clicked so I got the falling leaves captured as memory :')

28th & 29th November - Homestay

In the end of the month I got chance to experience homestay with Japanese family, Kawagoe family^^ I played with four cute children, cooked Japanese and Indonesian dishes with my host mother Aya, and went around Tenjin area. Next Christmas, I'll have party together with them, yay! Looking forward to that.

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December 2015
#JapaneseSchool #Kitazaki #NagahamaFishMarket #ChristmasMarket #WinterIllumination

Now it's already December, cold weather approaching every night and early morning. But fun experiences continue...

1st 'til 8th December - Visit to Japanese School

Several days on December, I got invited to teach Japanese Elementary and Junior High School Students about Indonesian culture. It's really really fun! The students are really pure and cheerful so even though at first I felt a bit nervous, the feeling quickly replaced with relief and joy :D. This experience is really valuable and I'm grateful to be here.

12th December - Nagahama Fish Market

Few days late, I went to Nagahama (near Tenjin area). Fish market opens for public only once on the second Saturday of the month, so this event become quite popular among the community. I went with two friends and we saw auctions, wriggling creatures, merchants selling top fresh and cheap seafoods and tried free top quality sashimi here!

13th December - Kitazaki Walk Tour

Next I got another invitation to a walk tour around Kitazaki, a seaside area with many historical temples. Together with several international students, we hang out with the local community. They explain about the place history, the culture, local houses, famous seafood (especially in this season, the most delicious oysters are available in Fukuoka until March next year!) and afterwards we had lunch together in their guest house. Yay!

15th December - Christmas Market and Winter Illumination

Finally, now the Christmas is near and I got chance to go to Christmas Market both in Tenjin and Hakata. There were great decorations, delicious warming foods and beverages, authentic souvenirs you can't get somewhere else and performances stage. When the evening comes, amazing illumination lit up through the area. This is my first time seeing Illumination, I felt so amazed by my surrounding, all of them seems magical, trees were glowing, the roof is decorated with stars, there's a giant castle shaped like Christmas tree and wonderful light show with wonderful music.

Follow me on my journey ^o^
That's all for me now, have a good Christmas and New Year!

-Adj