Amami Superman Photography

On our trip to Kyushu, as we were making our way towards Takachiho Farms on the Ebino Plateau, we stopped to take some photos of some deer on the side of the road. It was cold and after getting back into the car and heading out again, Jade mentioned she had to use the restrooms. So we stopped at a public restroom just down the road. As the girls were in the bathroom doing their thing, I got out to read some of the signs they had posted nearby.

As I was reading the signs I noticed off to the side some trees that had a bunch of fungus growing on them. I took a moment to take a few shots of this.

I wish I could be as artistic as nature is...

In my mind, when I think about Kirishima, I think about its onsens. As I was trying to find out more about Kirishima, I came across loads of information. Here is a quote from japan-guide.com.

From japan-guide.com
Kirishima is an active volcanic mountain range that lies on the border between Miyazaki and Kagoshima Prefectures. It is made up of mountains, highlands, volcanic lakes and hot springs and offers good hiking through beautiful mountainous surroundings. Although geographically separate, Kirishima and Yakushima Island make up the Kirishima-Yaku National Park, one of Japan's oldest national parks.

The mountains of Kirishima play an important role in Japanese mythology. They are said to be the site where the god Ninigi no Mikoto, grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, was sent to rule over the earth and establish the lineage of Japanese Emperors. At the top of Mount Takachiho-no-mine you can see the spear sunk in the mountaintop, which Ninigi no Mikoto used to descend to earth.

Ebino Kogen and Kirishima Onsen are the two most prominent resort towns in the Kirishima area. Ebino Kogen on the Miyazaki side of the border, is a small village with a couple of hotels in a highland area surrounded by mountains and volcanic lakes. On the Kagoshima side is Kirishima Onsen, a more developed hot spring town with good baths and nice views over Kagoshima Prefecture.

You can find this page here at japan-guide.com

So there we were driving through a volcanic region and this is one of the sites we saw off the side of the road. It's a place where the hot water just runs out from the rocks on the side of this mountain.


I wanted to walk down and take some other photos, but it was raining and wet and I didn't feel like getting drenched while walking down through this grass.


The air was thick with the smell of sulfur. The rotten egg smell almost made Jade vomit when she got out of the car.

The more I read about Kirishima, the more I want to go back there. I feel with our tight schedule, I missed a bazillion photo opportunities. Maybe next year in the fall we'll go back there and spend a few days.