Aso:

On my first morning in Aso I was surprised by a delicious breakfast! Definitely one of the best one’s I’d had in Japan so far.

After that I was shuttled to the train station where I then took the bus up the mountain. Yeah ik I could’ve walked from the bnb but I decided to conserve my energy for the top.

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I was really surprised by the beauty of Mt. Aso. Having grown up in Switzerland I’ve seen my fair share of mountains and hills. But this somehow felt different. Lush greens, intricate rock faces, clear springs, great views and in the middle of it all an active volcano. 

A thing I noticed pretty quickly was the difference of attire between tourists and the locals. Tourists including me were wearing t-shirts and shorts whereas the locals were usually clad in professional looking hiking gear with all sorts of pockets and nifty little details (some even had helmets).

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It was one of my first hikes in a while and thus a bit challenging. Other than that, it was awesome! I’ll definitely come back if I have the chance. 

Takachiho:

On my second day I had planned a trip to Takachiho. This has been one of my dream destinations! Initially I wasn’t even sure if I’d make it there since it was a bit of a challenge to get there. Luckily there seemed to be a direct bus from the Aso station.

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Yeah I could really start getting used to this breakfast!

On that morning I joined Jo, a badass Australian woman for breakfast. After a quick chat we realized that we had similar plans for the day.

She most graciously invited me to join her on the trip to Takachiho since she had rented a car. This made things a lot easier!

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The trip to Takachiho was spent chatting about all sorts of things including taxes, crypto and immigration. It was really interesting to compare Straya to Switzerland. 

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What made Takachiho interesting was the gorge that snaked through town. And it was even better than I had imagined. The pictures online really don’t do it justice. It was kind of surreal how beautiful the place was. Nature really is magical sometimes! 

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After chatting over some coffee, it was time for Jo to continue her trip. I’ll try to visit her when im in Australia since she’s got a beautiful little bnb on the gold coast. It really was a pleasure! 🙂

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I almost didn’t wanna leave tbh but I was starting to get hungry. Coincidentally it was national sports day in Japan. Next to the entrance of the Takachiho shrine (which is absolutely stunning as well) they had set up a few food stalls and games. There I got myself some grub and slowly made my way to the bus. 

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Interestingly enough I was greeted by a police car on the way there. Turns out they had planned a parade of sorts (not sure if it had to do anything with national sports day though. It was a mix of dancing, music, chants and fancy costumes. They even had some sword and spear fighting towards the end

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All in all I’m really grateful for the 2 (full) days I got to spend in the Aso region. But I must say my Airbnb hosts were the real stars of the show! I had arrived in Aso with  no plan at all. However with the help of them I was able to plan one of the best weekends I’ve had so far! Of course you can’t forget Bread (Cat) and Oreo (Puppy).

Hontoni arigato! ♥️

To emphasize, I’d like to share my bnb review I left for them:

Wow! Thank you so much for this amazing stay! From the first moment on I was embraced with a warmth and care that you seldomly come by. The owners are really sweet! So forthcoming and yet still full of surprises. Transportation to and from the train station was great as well. They really thought about everything! I’ll definitely be missing the breakfast. The best one I’ve had in Japan! To top it off they have a cute puppy and a cuddly cat! What more could you want? I’ll definitely come back on my next Japan trip! 🤗 Hontoni arigato! ♥️ PS: They’ve got a great taste in beer as well 😉