Unique traditional food at Kumamoto, Kyushu

It was still early in the morning and as both JS and Monkey walked past these stalls...the whiff of yummy desserts for breakfast triggered alarms in our tummy....hahahahaha...bee boo bee boo bee boo. Need food it says. :P

We were so intrigued by these cute lil dumplings liked dessert being sold by 3rd generation of a family outside the Suizenji Park. The ladies selling them were encouraging us to try them. It's the speciality of Kumamoto, so it's a must try :))))

Both of us shared a piece and it came with hot tea. Later we found out that it's called Ikinari Dango.

It's hot!!!! Almost like a bun, but made from rice flour.

Wow!!! wat a lovely surprise on the inside. A huge chunk of japanese sweet potato which was so fluffy and yummy...and some red bean paste. Soon both JS and Monkey were fighting over who gets the last bite off the yummy fluffy Ikinari Dango >.<

As we were feasting on the sweet dumpling, our eyes were darting left and right and saw more items to be tried. Every packaging seems to have this cute black bear with chubby red cheeks....he's called Kumamon :)))) the mascot for the city of Kumamoto.

What are these???? Looked like fried fish cakes to us....We went into the kitchen and saw how it's being fried. People here hardly speak english....so u just need to figure out their explanation and we realised this food is also unique to Kumamoto and one of the secrets to longevity.

Kumamoto has the highest number of centenarians in Japan. Meaning a person who has lived up to the age of at least 100 years old!!!!

Karashi Renkon
So we bought the smallest piece, the really really old jovial lady cut it into two to unveil that it was indeed a lotus root on the inside....stuffed to the max with spicy japanese mustard. The yellowish outside was just flour wrapped around the lotus root.

The first bite was it's really crunchy. Then the mustard hits you....somehow it's spicy and yet has some degree of sweetness to it. Usually restaurants here served them sliced, but the one we bought was a small one, so this is how u enjoy it. It was really delicious and we wanted to buy some back but then the lifespan of this Karashi Renkon is just too short. So enjoy them while u are here :)))

Have more so that u'll live up to 100 years old at least. Hehehehehe. Somehow I still think it's the water in Kumamoto that contributed to the longevity of folks around here :)))

Monkey and Kumamon.

Now there's a Kumamon added to the dismay of my other hobbits at home. Well we didn't buy it. It was given to us at the ryokan. So......hehehehe...I know my bed is getting too crowded these days.

So remember to try these whenever you are in Kumamoto :)))

Suizen-ji Garden, Kumamoto

Suizen-ji Garden, the other main attraction in Kumamoto. Built by the Hosokawa Family in 1636, as a tea retreat for the family. Today it has been declared by the National Government as a historic site of scenic beauty. It is really really beautiful and ZEN


We arrived early in the morning to catch the morning sun, but most of all to avoid the crowd...wat's the fun in photography when there's too many people? Oh it really depends, if you want humans in ur pic like at a busy street then u need to be there at peak hour like the busy crossing at Shibuya Tokyo....

Otherwise...if u want to have this huge humongous beautiful ZEN garden to urself....please come early :))) Since we needed to be early, we didn't have our breakfast and hopped over here via the friendly city tram. Public transportation in Japan is really efficient and so so easy to use...:))))

We the human beings didn't have breakfast...but the animals must!!! so we fed them breakfast first :))) Notice the calmness right at this moment....so ZEN so lovely so quiet......watch the next few pics.

Their breakfast was some sort of cereal thingy and it smelt so good :))) Prollie I was very hungry then....but once I was scrunching the paperbag retrieving their food....the ducklings swam like olympics champions and sped over at their fastest gear...all the Koi fish came over!!!!

and the frantic manic feeding frenzy began!!! The ducks the pigeons the fish all of them were fighting for food.

GAH!!!!! the pigeon came and attack my food!!! I mean technically it's their food...but all the animals were so hungry!!!

WAHHH go away go away!!! JS was so eppy snapping away instead of helping me to shooooo those birds away. I was almost in tears

T_T
"That stupid pigeon attacked me u know!!!!" *sob sob sob*
JS: "WAHHHAHAHA no it did not...it just wanted ur food...just feed them!! why were u clutching it so close? it's not money u know? wahahahahahaha u were so cute and farnie!!!"

T_T how could u find it hilarious watching your loved one being attacked? *sob sob sob even louder*

Then JS brought Monkey to this shrine...to pray for safety and never be attacked by pigeons anymore!!!!

-_-" yea yea yea....u could have helped me during the attack instead of shooting pics. He defended that it was a "kodak" moment. Okie...if it is....please submit for competition and see if those pigeons gonna vote for ur pic or not. Hmph!!!!

Wash ur hands everytime before u enter any shrines/temples...next rinse ur mouth and spit it out.

The Izumi Shrine is where all the Hosokawa Family members were enshrined. 

Monkey prayed hard...no more attacks by pigeons!!! only me get to attack Les Pigeons on my plate...especially those roasted ones!!! yum yum yum

Notice the huge rope above me...it symbolized the clouds...with the white paper as lightnings. I know u didn't notice, bcoz u were bz looking at my huge ass -_-

This beautiful strolling garden is best enjoyed at a slow speed walking anti clockwise to the other end. It was created and landscaped to mimick the important road Tokaido connecting Kyoto and Edo. So all the 53 important posts were re-created here

Behind JS is the miniature of Mount Fuji. If you studied Japanese history, you will recall all the 53 posts as you stroll along this huge garden.

There's even a Noh theater house here...during summer time, there's performances.

Monkey was still traumatized by the attack earlier...BAHAHAHAHAHA
It's so beautiful and easy to get carried away just by enjoying the beauty and landscape of Suizen-ji Garden.

Of coz u must have tea here!!! after all the Hosokawa Family built this huge place just to enjoy the scenery and their tea and sweets!!!!



So we sat for quite a bit, chatting bout our next destination bcoz this holiday was coming to an end soon. Enjoyed the early morning sun and winter breeze, yummy tea made by the charming tea operator here who doesn't speak a word of english but made our morning so so lovely. 

Surprisingly Kumamoto is really a quaint city. When we mentioned to friends we will be headed there, it was rather an unpopular destination. But mind you, Kumamoto has got the most centenarians in the world. All the water in the city including pipe water were of natural spring water!!! Their diet is so unique you will find it weird *ok will blog about their food soon*

When it comes to Kumamoto it's all about their agriculture. With such high mineral and rich water....even richer volcanic soil, all the produces are of high quality. Think the beautiful strawberries and all the sweet tomatoes!!! :)))))))))))

We were glad that we came here and found peace :))))
*ok maybe except the pigeons -_-*

Kumamoto Castle

Monkey slowly made her way towards the Castle. It was already a long climb to come up here...and there's so many more levels to go upwards inside this castle.

Kumamoto Castle is the main attraction in the city of Kumamoto. Designated as one of the top three Great Castles of Japan. The other 2 are Himeji Castle and Matsumoto Castle.


The outer wall with a post at the corner facing West. The walls are really high. Each stone bricks were nicely laid accordingly to create this sharp precise edge.

There are roughly 800 Cherry Blossom trees here, so u can imagine how beautiful this place is in Spring? 

The sky was cloudless, so beautiful :))))
The main castle was peeking out among the cherry blossom trees. The castle was originally built in 1467 but was burnt down in 1877 after withstanding a 2 months long siege. How could one castle withstand such a long long attack...2 months is really long u know?

in 2 months time, I would have accept twice the salary or prollie travelled round Japan. Two months is really a very long time for war.

Today Kumamoto Castle is a reconstruction of wat it used to be on the original site. They tried to use back the very same material with the same design. This reconstruction was done in 1960.

We were so amazed by the bricked wall. So neatly laid at certain angles. U can't find much gap innit. 

The Castle looked like it's gonna topple over this...hahahaha

One of the outlook post, where the army could see far and high from around Kumamoto. 

Finally we scaled up to the top of the castle and this was way we saw. 360 degrees of Kumamoto City. 

Then on the other side, we saw the mountain range of Mount Aso including the smoke emitted on ur far left.....that's the volcano mountain.



The beautiful extravagant Honmaru Goten Palace....the sliding doors were so exquisite. 

More original parts were restored and exhibited at a special room

Monkey deep in thoughts......dunno wat was she thinking or sulking about. Her mood swings faster than the Nikkei Index that JS had trouble keeping up

So JS decided to entertain her with this :))))
"Hey look!! I'm the most feared Shogun!!!!"
Monkey -_-"

"But I dunno wat's inside Monkey's mind.....will she start smiling again?"
-_-"
JS pls dun make a fool of urself in public...but u do sure looked cute. I love you :)))

Finally we sat down and watched sunset together :))))
another beautiful day....aahahhhh....

Then it's time to go home coz they were closing the palace grounds. 
Nearby within walking distance there's Hosokawa Gyobu Tei, a beautiful residence left by the head of Hosokawa Clan during the Edo Period. We visited it the next morning. Will find time to blog about it. Too many pics to process *that's JS's job, and too many posting to do* I m kinda lost now.

So if u do make ur way to Kumamoto, this castle should be in your list. The most impregnable castle every built in Japan :)))))