Woke up about 3 in the morning to find bath’s awning outside completely covered in thick white layer, and snowing heavily. I was terrified now, what if the roads became sealed off? I checked the road status websites to find all roads to Yufuin under snow gear restriction, meaning either chains or studless tyres. Despite my mom’s attempt to assuage my fears, that even if we were trapped it wouldn’t be a problem, I could barely sleep. I could have requested the car be equipped with studless tyres, but I didn’t.

早上3點起來迎來的是滿天風雪，外頭風呂的遮棚上已厚厚一層白色。這可把我嚇出一身冷汗，若是道路被封閉怎麼辦。看路況網站上往由布院的路都有雪地止滑的限制，需要雪鏈或雪胎。雖然老媽安慰我說就算被困住也不是問題，還是睡不著。原本有機會跟租車公司要求裝雪胎的，但沒有這麼做。

Sunrise, I took a bath in the room’s private onsen. All the hills and rocks was now covered in white, a lovely view which I tried my best to enjoy.

天明了。在房間風呂內泡了下溫泉。所有的山坡和石頭都覆蓋了白色，我也試著放鬆享受這美景。

Before breakfast time I went to the main hall and found the Taiwanese staff there, and I asked him about the conditions. Good news was if it became absolutely necessary it would be possible to swap into studless tyres at the local service shop, however the other local staffs who had been here much longer were not worried and say the light snow would have melted by the time we check out.

早餐前我先去母屋打聽看看，找到那位台灣籍的服務員，問問他認為狀況如何。好消息是必要情形下可以在附近的維修店換雪胎，其他住這裡的在地員工則認為這點雪等到我們要出發時就會融化了，無須擔憂。

 

I was a little skeptical, but felt much more relieved. Worst case was just a matter of spending some money and changing tyres. Outside, Hozantei’s mascots, a flock of ducks were frolicking in the freezing pond unbothered by the cold, their feathers thick and fluffy.

雖還是有點懷疑，但放心許多了。最糟就是花錢消災換輪胎。外頭，帆山亭的吉祥物們，一群鴨子，無畏寒冷的在冰池中嬉戲，牠們的羽毛厚又毛絨絨的。

Breakfast served at 7:30. Platter of pickles, tofu sides, miso soup, rice and the requisite grilled fish. It was a simple, satisfying meal and we thought better than dinner last night.

早餐7:30開始。各式醬菜，小碟豆腐，味噌湯，白飯和必備的烤魚。簡單，有滿足感的一餐，比昨天晚餐好吃。

Turned out there were two Taiwanese staff working here. Apart from the young man there was another young lady who helped serve our breakfast. My parents struck up a conversation with her and asked about her experience here. The rural onsen towns were facing depopulation, combined with the hard working involved it was difficult to attract new young staffs, so many in the areas turned to people from overseas who were interested in working in Japan. It also had the benefits of helping overcome the language issue with foreign guests.

這才發現原來這裡有兩位台灣籍服務生。除了先前那位年輕人外還有一位小姐今天早上負責我們的早餐。爸媽和她聊上幾句，詢問她在這的經驗。鄉下的溫泉區面臨人口流失，加上旅館的工作不輕鬆，很難吸引到年輕人，於是許多地方便從國外招募想到日本工作的人。這同時也能幫助跟外國住客語言不通的問題。

 

The sun had fully risen and the riverside view from the room was exquisite. The bright glittering snow contrasted with the dark of the bush and tree branches. Whatever trouble the snow might cause, this view might be worth it along. Had it not snowed the view might have been a barren brown of winter, now it was like a scene out of a traditional ink painting.

太陽完全升起了，房間外的景色相當精緻。閃亮的白雪和黑色的樹叢和枝葉形成強烈對比。不管這雪製造多少麻煩，能見到這景色也值了。若不是這雪外面的景色可能就只是冬天枯黃一片，現在則像幅山水畫。

The staffs were right about the snow. By 10:30 much of the snow on the road had melted away. I’m not sure whether they had sprayed them with water or the asphalt naturally soaked up sunlight more and was warmer; the grass and trees on either side were still covered thickly.

服務員說的不錯，到10:30路上的雪大多都化掉了。不知道他們是不是有灑水或是柏油本來就容易吸熱; 兩旁的草木仍積著厚厚的雪。

 

The staffs helped carry our luggage up the ramp to the car park, the luggage were held up in the air to avoid them touching the wet grounds. They had already helped brush away the snow from the car windows, though upon the hood and trunk the snow was left there which gave some quite interesting sights later in the day. As we drove chucks of powdery snow would break off and scatter into the wind poetically.

旅館人員幫忙把行李抱到停車場，高高抱著避免行李沾到泥水。他們已經幫忙把車窗上的雪掃掉，車頂和引擎蓋上的則留著，還挺好玩的，之後開著開著就會有一塊雪剝落，瀟灑地在風中灑散。

 

Hozantei overall was a good experience. There were some bad spots, like the old lady in the first day a little cold (probably due to the language issue). The Taiwanese staffs on other hand were very friendly (probably nice to see someone from back home). CP was average, the room was definitely worth the extra price (I think Standard III is a must, only 2k more than a Standard I but the bath is so much larger plus the shower room). Food was average. The room and ryokan buildings were adequate and traditional, a very rural farmhouse feel to them. It would be better in other seasons as the warmer weather would encourage guests to wander into the main hall and gardens and enjoy some other activities.

帆山亭綜合來說是個不錯的體驗。有些可改進的地方，像第一天的老太太有點冷漠（可能是語言的關係）。台灣籍的服務員則是很友善（大概難得遇到家鄉的人）。CP值普通，房間值多費那點錢（標準III式是基本，多兩千但溫泉池大得多，加上有淋浴間）。吃的還好。房間和旅館建築大致上沒問題，很有傳統味，有鄉間農舍的感覺。在其他季節會好一點，天氣若叫暖就可以在母屋和院子閒逛，享受點其他的活動。

 

We drove to the tourism centre of Kurokawa Onsen. Parking was very limited in Kurokawa Onsen, this was one of the few spots where one could park. In the peak seasons it might be hard to find a spot and will have to park at the carpark on the outskirt, today there were plenty of space.

我們開到黑川溫泉的旅客中心。黑川溫泉的停車場所有限，這裡是唯一幾個能停車的地方之一。旺季時可能一位難求會需要停到郊區，不過今天位子很多。

One must learn abit of Kurokawa in order to fully appreciate it. Kurokawa is a legend amongst Japanese onsens. What makes it special? Nothing, which is why it is so special.

要體會黑川必須先稍微對他有所了解。黑川在日本溫泉中是個傳奇。他有什麼特別的？沒有，所以才很特別。

 

The 60s and 70s were Japan’s golden age. In the boom years companies and people were flush with money. Companies would host onsen outings for their employees, and people joined tours and visited onsens for leisure. Onsen tourism exploded and many onsen towns saw big investments.

60和70年代是日本的黃金歲月。經濟飛漲的那個年代公司和人們都很有錢。公司會舉辦員工溫泉旅行，一般人也會參加旅行團去溫泉渡假。溫泉觀光成了當紅炸子雞，許多溫泉村鎮增加了許多大型投資。

 

Large onsen hotels propped up in onsens that were close to the cities, the most famous being Kinugawa and Atami. These hotels may be 10s of storeys tall, with grand lobbies, shops and theatres. There would be nightly performances to entertain guests, the stereotypical pingpong tables for guests to pass the time, and various gaming machines. These hotels sought to capture guests, satisfy their every possible needs in order to keep them inside and take every yen they spent.

大型溫泉旅館在接近都市的溫泉區一一立起，最有名的就是鬼怒川和熱海。這些旅館可能有10多層樓高，有雄偉的大廳，店鋪和表演廳。晚上會有取樂住客的表演，有老套的乒乓球桌來打磨時間，還有各種遊樂機台。這些旅館試圖綁住住客，滿足他們所有的慾望，盡可能讓他們待在旅館裡拿到他們花費的每一塊錢。

 

But this destroyed any feeling of an onsen town. Instead of having a sense of township each hotel and ryokan became their own little isolated fortresses, competing against each other with little regard of the overall appeal of the onsen.

但這毀了溫泉村鎮的氣息。取代村鎮向心的是一棟棟各自為政要塞似的飯店和旅館，互相競爭不顧整體溫泉區的受歡迎度。

 

Then the bubble burst and companies could no longer afford employee trips, the number of visitors to onsen towns fell off a cliff and the huge hotel complexes which costed a fortune to maintain went into the red. As the hotels closed up it caused a downward spiral. Each shuttered hotels and shops became derelicts and made the town felt ever less lively until everything became a deathly quiet broken only by the light of the few hotels that still struggled on. People felt less inclined to visit these onsens.

然而泡沫瓦解了，公司無法再負擔員工旅遊，溫泉區的訪客數雪崩式滑落，需龐大經費維持的大型旅館開始赤字連連。旅館的倒閉造成惡性循環。每一間拉上鐵門的旅館或店家都成了破壞景觀的廢墟，村鎮顯得越來越沒有生氣，直到變成一片死寂，偶爾才被少數苟延殘喘的旅館的燈光暫時打斷。人們更不想去這種溫泉區了。

 

Kurokawa escaped such fate by a combination of luck and misfortune giving birth to ingenious ideas.

黑川透過從不幸中誕生的智慧，加上一點好運，逃過了這宿命。

 

Kurokawa is essentially a small onsen town in the middle of nowhere. It has no access to trains and is several hours out from the major cities by car or bus. It has no long history or traditions, no landmarks or famous shrines and temples, its onsen water quality is not spectacular. There’s nothing special about it that distinguishes it from the several hundred other small onsens throughout Japan and while the major onsen towns boomed, the ryokans in Kurokawa merely existed, with only Shinmeikan doing decently due to its open air baths.

黑川基本上是個處在鳥不生蛋之地的小溫泉村。沒有鐵路，從大城市開車或搭巴士也要數小時。沒有歷史或傳統，沒有地標景觀或有名的神社或寺廟，溫泉的泉質也沒好到哪裡。他跟日本其他數百個小溫泉沒什麼不一樣，當大型溫泉村鎮在蓬勃發展時，黑川的旅館只是卑微的存在著，只有新明館因為有露天風呂而比較有人氣。

 

Then in 1985 the second generation took over running of Shinmeikan and sought to bring changes to the onsen. The idea of running the onsen town as a single entity with a single brand and identity was born. The theme would be open air baths amongst the wild forests. Tree were planted, a standard appearance was adopted throughout town, black signage with white text, black on earthen orange walls for buildings and any unnecessary sign boards removed. The onsen hopping pass was born, for 1200Y (now 1300Y) one could visit any 3 ryokan’s baths, to encourage guests to visit different ryokans and enjoy the feel of different onsen baths, the idea was to treat the entire town as one big onsen ryokan, and selling the hopping pass also gave the tourism association a steady source of income which they could utilize to maintain the town’s appearances and host events.

1985年新明館第二代當家接管後企圖改變黑川溫泉。把整個溫泉村當作單一主體，單一形象和特性的概念產生了。主軸定位為天然樹林中的露天秘湯。他們開始種樹，村內建築的外觀統一為土橙色牆面和黑色樑柱，標示全改為黑底白字，多餘的廣告也全撤除。建立了溫泉手形的制度，只要1200Y(現在1300Y)就可以任選三家旅館泡湯，鼓勵訪客光顧不同的旅館，享受不同的風呂的滋味，這想法是把整個村當作一家大溫泉旅館。而販賣手形也提供當地觀光協會一筆固定收入，可以用來維持村子的整潔和舉行活動。

 

Because of Kurokawa’s initial lack of investments the town had no large ryokans that would affect the small hidden village in the mountains atmosphere and were able to come together as locals. The town was reborn, against the overall trend of onsen town decline, Kurokawa’s visitor numbers increased 3 fold by the 2000s. Over a million visitors a year for a town less than 4000.

由於黑川一開始並沒有吸引投資，這裡沒有會破壞山中小村氣息的大型旅館，整個溫泉區也能以當地人為出發點凝聚起來動員。整個村子重生了，面對溫泉村鎮普遍的衰退，黑川的訪客數反逆勢高速成長，2000年代時已成長三倍。一個不到四千居民的小鎮一年卻有超過一百萬訪客。

 

That’s the story of Kurokawa.

黑川溫泉的故事。

 

I bought a onsen hopper pass from the tourist centre, no intention of using, just a souvenir. The tourist centre also has lockers and provides accommodation booking service, and other general information.

我在遊客中心買了一個溫泉手形，純粹紀念沒有要用。遊客中心有置物櫃，也提供訂房服務和其他觀光詢問。

 

Kurokawa onsen is not very big, to make a walk around the main street would take about half an hour only, apart from the ryokans there’s only about 10 shops. We went at a leisurely pace, checking out the various ryokans and shops along the way. Many ryokans either also operate restaurants or have public sitting spaces outside to encourage tourists to drop in, take a bath or buy some snacks and other products. Day onsen guests can contribute significantly to a ryokan’s income.

黑川溫泉不大，主街走一趟只要半小時，旅館外不過也就十家店左右。我們用很悠閒的步伐逛著， 檢視沿途的一家家旅館和店鋪。許多旅館也同時經營餐廳或是在門外有可歇息的公共區域，鼓勵遊客入內泡湯，或買點吃的和其它商品。日湯訪客可是旅館收入的重要一環。

For example Ikoi operates a restaurant and offers lunch + onsen packages as well as selling onsen eggs outside with free sitting areas around a warm hearth and footbath. The footbath is also free but usually people would buy a towel for about 200Y. Their daytime operation accounts for 20% of yearly revenue. Many other ryokans also earn about 10% during daytime.

舉來來說，いこい有附屬的餐廳，提供午餐+泡湯的方案，在外頭也有賣溫泉蛋，提供圍繞暖爐的免費座位和足湯。足湯也是免費的，一般會買一條毛巾大約200Y。他們日間營業的收入佔年收入的20%。其他許多旅館日間營業的比重也有10%左右。

 

 

We take a break at the Shiratamako, a Japanese sweets cafe specializing in shiratama (a kind of little rice balls) and mochis. The grilled mochi was delicious, it was the first time I had a proper grilled mochi. I had bought mochi before and tried grilling myself but they never tasted right, at last I understand how they are supposed to taste.

我們在白玉團子吃了些茶點，這家日式茶點店專賣類似湯圓的糰子和麻糬。烤麻糬很好吃，這是我第一次吃真正的烤麻糬。從前有買過日式麻糬來自己烤，吃起來總覺不太對，現在我知道味道該是怎樣了。

The main street curves gently uphill. There’s a few souvenir shops, a honey specialist, a cafe selling Aso milk and horse meat buns and croquette, pottery and local sake seller.

彎曲的主街慢慢往上爬。有幾家紀念品店，蜂蜜專賣店，一家賣阿蘇牛奶，馬肉包子和可樂餅，陶藝，還有地酒賣店。

 

At the end of the main street we decide we should have something to eat before we head for Yufuin. Cafe Fu-Do, meaning Wind Degrees C, had a burger using meat from a local cow breed, akaiushi meaning red cow. Tasted about the same as other beef, nothing special but a decent choice if you felt like something with no surprises. Lunch choices in Kurokawa can be a limited as there were only 2-3 other eateries, not counting the slightly more expensive ryokan restaurants.

在主街盡頭我們決定出發往由布院前先吃點東西。附近的Cafe風C有當地紅牛肉做的漢堡。吃起來跟其他牛肉差不多，沒什麼特別但若不想遇到驚奇的話倒是OK的選項。黑川溫泉午餐選項有限，若不考慮較貴的旅館餐廳大概只有2-3家其他餐館。

We returned to the tourist centre and I asked the staffs for opinion on how to get to Yufuin.

回到遊客中心，我向服務人員詢問該如何去由布院，聽聽他們的意見。

 

The scenic Yamanami highway was out of question, it went high up in between two tall peaks and was knee deep in snow. The best detour available was the 387 highway that led from Minamioguni to Kokonoe, takes about the same time as the Yamanami highway, however this one was also marked with a snow restriction on the road status website. If the 387 was no good then we would have no choice but backtrack to Hita and take the Oita Expressway, adding over an hour to the original 1 hour journey.

景觀道路やまなみハイウェイ是不可能的，這條路一路往上從兩座山峰間通過，現在雪深及膝。最好的繞道選項是387公路，從南小國町通到九重，所需時間和やまなみハイウェイ差不多，但這條在道路狀況網站上也有標示雪地限制。如果387公路不行的話就必須走回路到日田再走大分高速，這樣會多繞一小時。

 

The staffs weren’t so sure about highway 387. It may be okay, they suggested.

服務人員不太確定387公路。或許可以走吧，他們這樣說。

 

My parents suggested we should give it a try, if not we can still take the detour to Hita. It was a good thing we did, the road status website must be a little slow in updating information as we saw no sign of road restrictions on the way. The road surface had less snow than areas around Kurokawa.

爸媽建議走走看，若真不行再繞日田。幸好我們有走，道路狀況網站大概更新沒那麼快，我們一路上都沒看到限制行駛的跡象。道路上的雪比黑川一帶還少。

 

Initially I was nervous and constant expected to see a check point. We descended the mountains and it turned to elation. The scenery along the way was quite beautiful, plenty of rolling woods and hills. There are a lot of onsens along the way, can’t go a 5 minutes without running into signs pointing to onsen hotels. There was a small stretch of road where steam was readily rising out of the sides.

一開始還很緊張，一直認為會遇到檢查點。慢慢下山後心情才轉為開朗。兩側的風景很好，有許多綿延的山丘和樹林。一路上都是溫泉，走沒五分鐘就會看到溫泉旅館的指標。其中有一小段路兩側還不斷冒出蒸氣呢。

Kokonoe showed that we had cleared the snow area completely; the path to Yufuin was now assured. We take a short break at the information and local produce promotion centre at the intersection.

到九重代表已經脫離雪區; 到由布院的路途確認沒問題了。我們在交叉路口的農產特銷觀光所停了下。

Because we left early incase we had to detour via Hita, we now looked to reach Ryu no Hige ahead of schedule. Given that we decided to drive through Yufuin main street first instead, get a feel for the town, confirm where the rental return and petrol station are, and pick up our train tickets so there’s one less thing to do tomorrow.

由於可能會需要繞日田，我們離開黑川的時間比計畫得早許多。現在到龍之鬍鬚變的會太早，於是我們先繞去由布院主街一趟，確認還車和加油站地點，順便取火車票這樣明天就少一件必做的事。

 

We parked at a 7-11 near the station, I went for the ticket while my parents went inside for some shopping. Convenience store parking is probably the best source of temporary parking in Japan, easy to find and so long as you bought something all is okay.

我們停在車站附近的一家7-11。我去拿票時爸媽就在裡頭逛。便利商店停車場大概是日本最方便的臨時停車方法，只要有買點東西就好了。

We bought more bread and a bottle of sake for dad, after that we head for Ryu no Hige, which must be discussed in its own chapter.

我們買了些麵包，還有爸要的大吟釀。然後前往龍之鬍鬚，關於這旅館的事必須另外一篇介紹。

 

Day 1 begins much the same as any other trip. The one deviation was that Plaza Premium had opened lounges in the airport so the credit card had switched to them as the partner lounge. There were actually two Plaza Premium in Terminal 2, one an open cafe style area where food with self serve foods, and another more lounge like one off to the side where the food came in sets and couches were plenty. I actually preferred the old Moore lounge’s food, there were more variety even if the seating were terrible.

 

第一天的開始和其他次旅遊大同小異。不同的一點是環亞(Plaza Premium)貴賓室所以信用卡合約貴賓室改為他們。二航廈其實有兩個環亞貴賓室，一個是類似咖啡店的開放式區域，食物飲料為自助式。另一個比較接近正統貴賓室在側邊，餐飲是點的套餐式，有許多沙發。我其實比較喜歡舊的Moore貴賓室的食物，變化比較多，雖然座位很爛。

Other than that it was the same old, the EVA Air Hello Kitty jet was joyful as ever, the outside was painted with the cuddly cat and and food containers and utensils were similarly designed. The food felt worse than last time but my parents actually liked them.

 

除了有點舊外長榮的Hello Kitty飛機依然討喜，外頭有可愛貓咪的塗裝，餐飲的器具和刀叉也有設計過。食物感覺比上回差，我爸媽反比較喜歡就是了。

The rental car chosen was Budget Rental. It is not the cheapest rental car company around but it was the best option given our plans. We needed to pick up from the airport and drop the car off at Yufuin. There were only 4 or 5 rental companies in Yufuin and only 2 had branches also at the airport. However only Budget had branch on the International Terminal side. The other company, Nissan Rental, was on the Domestic side. Outside that we would have to head to Hakata station.

 

選的租車公司是Budget. 不是最便宜的租車公司但對我們的計畫是最適合的。我們需要從機場直接拿車，在由布院還車。由布院只有四五家租車公司，而只有兩家也在機場有分店。而只有Budget是在國際航廈有分店，另外一家日產租車在國內線。除此之外就只能到博多車站一帶了。

 

When considered that we were staying at Hozantei and the sooner we reach there the sooner we could enjoy the onsen, a few thousand difference in car rental was secondary. Budget offered significant time saving and convenience over the other options.

 

考慮住的是帆山亭，越快到就越快能享受溫泉，在租車上多個幾千不過是次要考量。相較下Budget省時又方便。

 

I called Budget on the phone, the person talked a little English and after confirming my name, told us to wait outside the departure level, to the right side where there is a small police post. If I hadn’t read it about it on their website beforehand though I doubt I would have understood where we were supposed to wait.

 

我打電話給Budget，另一頭的店員會說一點英文，在確認我的名字後便請我們在出境那層樓右側有個駐警室那裡等。如果我不是已事先在網路上讀過我懷疑我是否能弄清楚等車地點。

 

We headed upstairs and the shuttle van showed up before I could even take a photo of the police post. The driver confirmed my name again then drove us to the store situated just across the road at the entrance ramp of the airport terminal.

 

我們上樓後還沒有機會照駐警室，Budget接送車就來。駕車再次確認我的名字後把我們載到機場入口大道另一側的店面。

We were quickly ushered inside and a chinese lady walked us through the procedures, most of which I had already known about. Insurances, must inform the police and rental company after any accident, even if it’s just driving into a wall yourself, driving and parking rules, needing to fuel up before returning the car, things like that. The lady also mentioned that Yufuin had seen some weather lately and that we should be careful since we were driving there. I wasn’t too worried, I had checked the forecast earlier that day and things were expected to remain about 5 degrees C, overcast but otherwise fine.

 

我們被帶到店內，一位中國籍店員為我們一一講解手續，大部分我已經讀過了。保險，若出任何意外一定要通知警察和租車店，就算只是自己撞牆也一樣。開車和停車的規矩，還車前要先加滿油，’這一類的。店員也提醒我們由布院最近有些天氣狀況，我們要開車去要留意。我並不太擔心，前一天已確認過預報，應該會維持在5度左右，陰天但除此外良好。

 

Despite our plane’s delays of about 15 minutes behind scheduled time thus arriving at Budget after 12, a fair bit behind schedule, we actually left ahead of time, before 12:30.

 

雖然我們的飛機延誤了15分鐘所以到Budget時已12點，我們離開時其實還比預期的早，還不到12:30。

 

The trip down to Kurokawa was expected to take around 2 hours, with a quick stop or two we should reach there by 3:00pm.

 

往黑川的路途預期需2小時，途中稍停一兩次大概下午3點可抵達。

 

The total cost of the rental was about 28k for 48 hours. The base rental cost about 17k, plus 13k for dropping off at a different location, 4k for the total safety pack (2k per day), then there was a 33% promotional discount for offseason, plus a 1k coupon for being a first time user.

 

租車48小時總花費大約28k。基本租車費是17k，加上異地還車13k，4k全保險(每天2k)，然後淡季33%折價促銷，還有第一次使用送的1k折價卷。

 

I did not rent an ETC card as we were travelling on a weekday so no discount was to be had from using an ETC. We couldn’t blitz past the toll booths, but we won’t need to confirm the ETC usage upon dropping off the car either. The toll was expected to be about 2.5k all up.

 

我並沒有租ETC卡，在平日駕車過路費ETC沒有打折。我們或許不能在路過收費站時直接開過去，但還車時也不用核對ETC過路費。過路費加起來大約要2.5k。

 

The GPS navigation in the car was a thing of beauty, giving extremely precise voice directions (we chose Chinese, but it can also do English, the interface remained Japanese though which could be an real issue for others), and is very meticulous about which lanes to drive in so there were never any surprising lane changing.

 

車內的GPS導航可真優秀，不但語音導航非常準確（我們選中文，也有英文可選，不過介面還是日文所以對其他人可能會造成一些問題），同時對切換車道也有詳細的指示，這次從沒遇到突然需換車道的情況。

 

Japanese signages, at least on the expressway, were also very well designed in giving directions, even the shape of the interchanges and which lane to take.

 

日本的道路標示，至少在高速公路上，在指引方向方面也設計的很好，連交流道的形狀和該走哪條車道都有標示。

 

One peculiar thing one notices while driving in Japan is that no one obeys the speed limit. Usually, at least in Taiwan and Australia, one drives 10k above the indicated limit. Every car in Japan was driving at least 20k above that. I settled on about 12~13k above the limit to not hold up traffic while still feeling some plausible deniability if any police cars pull us over. Never did see a police car however, didn’t even see any speed cameras. I hope there weren’t any cameras anyway. We paid the rental car in cash and they didn’t ask for any credit card details, I wonder who would have to pay the fine if we were caught speeding.

 

在日本開車有一件事很奇怪，就是沒有人遵守速限。通常在台灣和澳洲，開車會開超出速限10公里左右。在日本每輛車都至少超過20公里。我最後選擇開超出12~13公里，這樣比較不會影響車流，就算被警察攔下來也覺得還在可裝不知的範圍。不過沒看到一輛警車，連測速照相機也沒有，至少希望沒有測速照相機。我們是用現金付款，店家也沒有要信用卡資料，若真超速被罰不知道是誰要付罰金。

 

The loop expressway around Hakata had a single toll fee and one had to pay upon entering it, after that upon entering the main Kyushu expressway systems at Dazaifu, we had to take a ticket similar to the ones at the mall car parks. Then upon exit feed the ticket to the toll machine for it to calculate the appropriate fees.

 

繞博多一圈的環狀高速是單一收費，一上去就需付錢。之後在太宰府進入九州高速時則是需取票，類似賣場停車場機器會吐的那種。然後下交流道後把票插入機器讓它計算過路費。

 

The driving went surprisingly smooth, so smooth I could hardly believe it when we turned onto the Oita Expressway, way ahead of schedule. A little bit into the Oita Expressway I pull the car into the Yamada service area. This was one of the larger service areas along the expressway and one of the last places where we could stock up before heading into the mountains where even convenience stores were rare.

 

駕車初期的順利，當提早行程轉入大分高速時有點難已置信。上大分高速不久後我轉入山田休息區。這是高速公路上一個比較大的休息區，也是我們入山前唯一能採購的幾個地方之一，進入山區後連超商也沒幾家。

 

The service station had a eatery and a grocery shop area, turned out to have a little less instant noodles or bread than expected, focusing more on local goods such as various sweets and other food products. We did manage to pick up a bunch of locally grown oranges and persimmons, they were cheap and delicious. There would not be other fruits as cheap as here throughout the trip later, a good thing we stopped here.

 

休息區有一個快餐部和賣店，泡麵和麵包種類比想像的少，比較多各種糕餅零食和一些食產品。不過有買到好幾包當地產的橘子和柿子，便宜又好吃，之後都沒看到這麼便宜的水果，有停這真是賺到了。

 

 

 

We turn off the expressway at Hita. Since we hadn’t picked up any instant noodles I pull over at a 7-11. We load up on some noodles and bread, plus dad bought a hot bun, then was back on our merry way.

 

我們在日田下交流道。由於沒有買到泡麵，我在路旁一家7-11停下。我們採購了泡麵和麵包，還有老爸買了個包子，然後繼續上路。

 

The road from Hita to Kurokawa was more winding than looked on the maps, even if one didn’t cared for the speed limit one couldn’t really drive too much above anyway. After Minamioguni, the town nearest to Kurokawa, specks of flakes began to drift into the windshield. Snow? I frowned before deciding a snow this light couldn’t pose any trouble.

 

從日田到黑川的路比地圖上看起來的彎曲，就算不管速限也開不了多快。過了黑川最接近的小鎮南小國町後，斑斑薄片開始飄到擋風玻璃上。雪？我皺了皺眉，認定這點雪不構成問題。

 

We reached Hozantei around 3:30pm. It’s clear the GPS expected one to drive above speed limit too as its initial timing estimates were spot on. And I had thought we would manage it early by driving over the limit. It was good enough, I had originally envisioned us reaching there around 4pm.

 

抵達帆山亭時是3.30pm。很明顯的GPS導航預期駕駛維持速限以上，一開始預估的抵達時間完全無誤。我原本還想超出速限可以早到呢。不過這樣夠早了，我原始設想是4點到呢。

 

A Taiwanese staff picked up our luggage and an old Japanese lady brought us to a small cottage which had been turned into a bar. We were glad to be out of the cold, the place was a little cramped and did not seemed to have proper seats. A welcome drink was served, it was a fruit wine, though I could not understand the lady at the time other than it was some form of alcoholic drink.

 

一位台灣籍服務員先幫忙抱起我們的行李，另一位日本老太太則帶我們到一間小屋改建成的酒吧。很高興能脫離外頭的寒冷。裡頭地方有點擁擠，也沒有比較正式的座位。老太太送上迎賓酒，一種水果酒，不過當時我並不理解老太太所說的，只知道是某種含酒精飲料。

Mom was none too pleased about the cleanliness of the place however. Someone before us had spilled their drink over the table and floor, now dried into sticky patches. I tried to inform the old lady but either I couldn’t make it clear or she couldn’t really be bothered, it wasn’t until we asked for a towel to wipe the table ourselves that she came around to clean up the spilled patches.

 

老媽對這屋子的整潔度不怎麼滿意。在我們來之前有人在位子把飲料灑了，變得乾乾黏黏的。我試著告訴老太太但要不是我說的不清楚就是她並不想管，一直要到跟她要茶巾後才過來幫旁忙把污漬擦掉。

 

After drink we were taken to our room, Yamaboushi (山ぼうし). The old lady showed us around the room, asked for our heights so she could fetch yukatas of the right sizes. Seemed a little odd as yukatas are loose wears so sizes needed not be exact, she could surely judge the approximate fit just by looking.

 

喝完酒後終於可去期待的房間了，山ぼうし。老太太幫忙介紹房間的設備，也問了我們的身高好去拿大小適合的浴衣。感覺有點奇怪，浴衣是很寬鬆的衣物，大小不用多精準，應該靠目測就可知道該拿多大的浴衣吧。

Anyway, we were more taken in by the outdoor onsen to be bother by the small details.

 

也不管那麼多了，比起這些細節我們對外頭的戶外風呂更有興趣。

 

Yamaboshi was one of the Hozantei’s two Standard III rooms. The Standard I and II rooms are similar, with a simple rock onsen bath next to the gently flowing stream, the only differences in the bath’s size. Standard III sees some big differences. Standards I and II have the shower installed on the wall right next to the bath without any protection from the elements, in winter taking a shower can be quite cold. In addition to an even larger bath, Standards III gets the addition of a secondary shallow lie flat bath and a half enclosed shower area which became sufficiently warm once the hot water is running and steam fills the shower space.

 

山ぼうし是帆山亭兩間標準III式房間之一。標準I和II式房類似，都在潺潺溪岸邊有個簡單的石頭溫泉池，差別只在池子的大小。標準III式的差異就大了。標準I和II式房的淋浴設備就裝在露天風呂旁牆上，沒有任何對風雨的阻攔，冬天淋浴時可能會很冷。除了更大的石頭溫泉池，標準III式房間還多一個臥湯和半封閉的淋浴間，開熱水淋浴間充滿蒸氣後就夠暖。

 

Despite the name the two Standard III rooms are not alike. Yamaboushi’s lie flat bath is right next to the regular waist deep bath with a wooden awning overhead. The other room Azami have its lie flat bath indoors, inside a small hut by the regular bath. Indoor was more comfortable in the cold, but the little hut also blocked much of the view of the river from the room. Things considered Yamaboushi’s view probably makes it the better room.

 

雖然和另一間同樣是標準III式房，但兩間房並不相同。山ぼうし的臥湯就在一般及腰深的泡湯池旁，上頭還有個遮雨木棚。另一間あざみ的臥湯是室內的，在泡湯池旁的一個小屋內。天寒地凍時內湯會比外湯舒適，但小屋會擋住房間觀賞溪流的風景。考慮景致下還是山ぼうし略勝一籌。

 

Hozantei also has two large public onsens baths. In the old days they were one female and one mixed, but now they are strictly gender separated. A decreasing number of ryokans in Kurokawa still has mixed public baths; as private room baths proliferated there was less demand for mixed public baths for couples wanting to bath together.  

 

帆山亭另有兩個大露天風呂。從前有一個是混浴，現在改為男女分離。黑川有混浴的旅館漸漸減少; 個室私人風呂的盛行意味想要混浴一起泡湯的情侶的需求降低。

 

In the morning the two public baths are swapped so one gets a chance to experience both.

 

早上兩個大露天風呂會互換，這樣兩個風呂都有機會體驗。

 

The room is separated from the onsen by an engawa, a kind of half open air corridor connecting the interior with the outside, almost like a veranda. The exterior facing side of the engawa has clear glass doors and on the inside another set of more traditional Japanese screen doors. The screen doors have slidable paper windows, closed up they allowed guests to change in the engawa then go out and take a bath without being seen or disturbed by those inside the room. I can enjoy a tea in the room while my parents bath outside.

 

房間和外面風呂間隔一個縁側，半開放式的走廊空間。外側是整片玻璃門，內測是日式拉門。拉門上有可開關的小紙窗，關起來的話住客可在縁側更衣，出去泡湯和房內的人互不影響。爸媽泡湯時我就在房內喝茶。

 

Like many ryokans the room does not have separate shower inside, just toilets and wash basin.

 

跟許多旅館房間一樣，房間並沒有浴室，只有廁所和洗手台。

 

We change into the yukatas brought to us. As the weather is quite cold 3 piece of wear was provided. The standard yukata, a haori (almost like a jacket) and a tanzen (thick lined robe). Deceptively warm, the tanzen blocked out even the chilliest wind.

 

我們換上拿來的浴衣。由於天氣寒冷一共有三件。一般浴衣，類似背心的羽織，還有長袍的丹前。看起來不怎樣穿起來可暖了，再冷的風穿了丹前也不怕。

 

I head to the public onsen while my parents settled into the private bath outside. We were one of the earliest to arrive and Hozantei being about 1km out from Kurokawa Onsen main street few day bathers come by. There were no one in the public onsen yet. I grab my trusty Acro S to snap off a few shots (this is why I insist on waterproof phones), leaned back against the side and let the hot mineral water soak away the chills.

 

爸媽在房間泡湯，我便去大露天風呂。我們是住客裡比較早到的，而帆山亭離黑川溫泉中心有一公里多，很少會有泡日湯的來。大露天風呂裡空無一人。我拿我的Acro S快速照了幾張(堅持防水手機就是為了這一刻)，靠著池岸享受充滿礦物質的熱水驅離寒意。

The sky had grown dark by the time I returned to the room. It was still snowing lightly. I killed some time in the gardens, soon it was 6pm and we headed to the main hall for dinner.

 

回房間時天色已暗。四周仍飄著薄雪。我在中庭消磨時間，很快到了6點，可去母屋吃晚餐了。

Hozantei’s meals are served in a dining hall, with no separation between the tables. It’s not a big deal, but it does indicate that in terms of service and quality the place didn’t aim for the highest.

帆山亭用餐是在餐廳內，每個桌子間並沒有區隔。這沒什麼大不了，不過這的確顯示這裡並不要求頂尖的服務或品質。

 

The first course is a platter of appetizers, soup. A float is brought over, upon were plates of sashimi, including horse sashimi. Horse sashimi is kind of a local delicacy. I cannot say I like it too much, felt abit like slightly rougher beef sashimi.

 

第一道菜是開胃菜拼盤，還有湯。店員們端上一艘大龍船，船上擺著一盤盤生魚片和馬刺生。馬刺生是這地方的名菜。味道不能說喜歡，感覺比牛刺生更豪野一點。

 

The comments about Kurokawa Onsen’s weakness being food has some merits to them. From the very start to the end of the dinner course it was clear that Hozantei was at least 2 or 3 levels below Yatsusan-kan. From the presentation, the delicateness of the dishes, method of cooking, to the overall speed of serving and choice of orders.

 

說到黑川溫泉有時會看到評語說料理是他們的弱點，似乎並非是無根據的。從晚餐開始到結束，明顯跟八三館差2-3個層級。從裝盤，料理的細膩度，烹飪手法，到上菜速度和先後順序，都略微遜色。

 

It’s a very subtle thing and hard to describe. I do understand now why sometimes kaiseki meals are described as being a poem. A good course has a natural rhythm to it, you do not realize it when it is there, but when it is missing it becomes apparent. Yatsusan-kan served a very proper, traditional kaiseki, while Hozantei was more a countryside home cooking using better ingredients.

 

這是很微妙的事，不太好形容。我現在了解為何有人形容懷石料理為詩。好的料理會有一個自然的韻律，存在時不會感到，缺少時則能感受到。八三館遵循的是正式傳統的懷石，帆山亭的感覺則是用料較好的山野家常菜。

 

Take the western dish inserted in the middle. It came right after the tempura dish, yet still contained a western batter fried prawn, right next to western style salads. It seemed a little jarring.

 

拿中加插入的那道西式菜來說。他是在天婦羅之後，但在西式沙拉旁仍有西式炸蝦。感覺有點突兀。

 

The speed of serving was also uneven, sometimes they would serve 2-3 in succession before we had finished, other times needed some waiting..

 

上菜速度也不太穩定，有時會連上2-3道，有時又會要等一下。

 

Minor details, the food was good and we enjoyed the meal.

 

不過除了這些細節，料理不算差，晚餐有滿足感。

 

The main course was a hoe grill. Literally, a black iron hoe was placed over open flame, pieces of Higo beef and vegetables were grilled on it. It’s basically teppanyaki in a very fun way and fitting of the rural landscapes. The history behind it was that in ancient times farming families may not have many cooking utensils, so when necessary they would simply turn over their farming hoe, put it on a flame and cook food on it.

 

晚餐壓軸是鋤烤肉。如字面的意思，一個黑鐵鋤頭放到火上，豐後牛肉和蔬菜放到上面烤。基本上就是鐵板燒啦，很有趣且符合鄉村氣息的做法。來由是古時候農家沒有太多的做菜器具，必要時就把務農的鋤頭一翻，架在火上就可在上面烹飪食物了。

 

The Higo beef was good with some flaws. The meat wasn’t marbled evenly and there were pieces which contained large bits of fat and tasted fatty. Can’t expect them to serve 5A meat though, even at Yatsusan-kan it required booking a special 5A beef plan.

 

豐後牛肉不錯不過稍有瑕疵。肉的花紋不夠均勻，有些地方有整塊肥油吃起來會膩。不過也不能期待吃到5A級牛肉，就算在八三館那次吃到5A牛也是訂房的特別方案。

 

 

We retreated back to our rooms, enjoyed some tea then headed back into the onsens. The public onsens closed at 9, which seemed a little early since we only finished dinner at 8, which meant it was 8:30 by the time we felt digested enough.

 

吃飽喝足後在房間喝茶稍作休息後就再次去泡溫泉。吃完晚餐已經8點，也就是稍微休息消化後就8點30了，大露天風呂只開放到9點，感覺早了點。

 

The public onsens had lights that could be switched off. In summer this would provide perfect stargazing while enjoying the hot onsen, sadly today was cloudy with drifting snow.

 

大風呂的燈可以關掉。在夏天可以邊泡湯邊賞星，可惜今天不但烏雲密佈還飄雪。

The seats and trees in the garden were now glazed in a thin sheet of snow. It didn’t looked to be stopping either and worry crept into the mind. Maybe the snow will stop during the night. I hope.

 

中庭的長椅和樹這時已覆蓋上一層薄薄的雪。看起來一時停不了，也開始有點擔心了。或許這雪入夜後會打住吧。希望。

Origin 原點

 

The origin of the trip took on several evolutions over the course of almost a year. Ever since the last trip back in October the year before, it was decided that the next time I took my parents on a trip it will be have to be at a leisurely pace. Dad is not young anymore and he gets tired easily in the afternoon.

 

這次旅遊的原構思在將近一年中經歷了多次演變。從上回在去年十月的旅行後，就決定下次帶爸媽將採取非常悠閒的步調。老爸不年輕了，下午常會感到疲倦。

 

The answer that comes to mind easily is then onsens. Despite having been to Japan many times I have yet to stay at a proper onsen town. Yatsusan Kan in Hida had onsen but wasn’t well known, the visits to Tamatsukuri Onsen near Matsue and Toya-ko Onsen in Hokkaido were day trips without staying overnight.

 

直接想到的答案很清楚，溫泉。雖然去過日本數次，仍沒有在真正的溫泉街住過。飛騨的八三館有溫泉但不有名，逛過的松江附近的玉造溫泉和北海道的洞爺湖溫泉都只是當天來回，並沒有過夜。

 

The date was chosen to be in either autumn or near end of year as summer can be too hot for onsens, plus it coincided with relative’s wedding in Taiwan. Preliminary plans was for 4-5 days with 2 nights of onsens.

 

日期定在秋天或接近年底。夏天泡湯可能有點熱，同時也可參加台灣親戚的婚禮。初步規劃定調為4-5天，2晚住溫泉。

 

Picking the Onsen 選則溫泉區

 

Scouting a suitable onsen proved more difficult than imagined. The original list began with onsens accessed via Tokyo, ones in east central Japan and north eastern Japan with good shinkansen access. Tokyo have many lovely xmas light decorations starting in December so this was a good night time activity for the day of arrival and day before departure.

 

實際尋找適合的溫泉區比想像中的困難許多。原名單是從東京交通的溫泉，從日本中部東側到東北，搭新幹線可到的溫泉。東京12月有許多美麗的聖誕燈飾，作為抵達當晚和離開前一晚必須待在市區的景點再適合不過。

 

Snow was a plus, though November/December the chances were maybe 50/50. The obvious choices were then Kusatsu (草津), Kinugawa (鬼怒川), Nasu (那須), Kawaguchi-ko (河口湖), Hakone (箱根), Karuizawa (軽井沢) (and the smaller onsens around the area).

 

有雪景更好，不過11/12月大概只有一半機率。最想當然爾的選擇是草津，鬼怒川，那須，河口湖，箱根，軽井沢（還有這幾區附近的小溫泉）。

 

Ginzan (銀山), Zao (蔵王), Shirahone (白骨), Yudanaka (湯田中) the Monkey Onsen , Nyuto (乳頭) were also considered shortly before deemed too out of the way given the short trip.

 

也有考慮過銀山，藏王，白骨，湯田中-猴子泡溫泉，乳頭，等溫泉，不過考慮行程短暫稍嫌遠了點。

 

Open air onsen was a requirement and the ryokan must not be too big else the public onsen may become crowded. Heavy considerations were given to ryokans with rooms that came with their own private open air onsen, later this would turn more of a prerequisite.

 

露天溫泉是基本要求，旅館也不能太大不然公共溫泉可能會太多人。評估時房間有私人露天溫泉的旅館為優先，這點之後慢慢變成考慮旅館的前提。

 

The other consideration was that the onsen should be kakenagashi (掛け流し), meaning the onsen water is not recycled and with minimal water added.

 

另一個考慮的重點是溫泉掛流，也就是溫泉水不回收循環，也不添加多餘的水。

 

The plan concentrated around two options. Hakone + Kawaguchi-ko or Karuizawa + Kusatsu. Kinugawa and Nasu were ruled out as there were no desirable ryokans (and I would later find out they are notorious onsen derelict towns, I might talk about them later as my search branched into an onsen town development research)

 

規劃上逐漸集中成兩種選擇。箱根+河口湖或軽井沢+草津。鬼怒川和那須因沒有適當的旅館排除 （之後會發現兩者其實是有名的廢墟溫泉鎮。我後來研究行程時岔題成了研究溫泉街道發展史）

 

I turned over every ryokan in the onsen towns, trying to get a feel of their room and onsen. Over a hundred ryokans must had been researched and twenty or so seriously considered. Two practical plans were formed, one each for the mentioned routes, and the choice of onsens down to 1-2 for each town in the route. There was a ryokan in Kusatsu, Toki no Niwa (季の庭) which ran a shuttle bus from Karuizawa, this would have saved over a 1000 yen per person, time saving and incredibly appealing. Also Karuizawa have a very famous and beautiful xmas lighting in one of the resort’s church.

 

我翻遍了溫泉區的每家旅館，摸索他們房間和溫泉的樣子。研究的旅館大概有一百間，嚴肅考慮過二十多家。發展出兩個可行的方案，分別為之前提過的兩種跑法，每個地點的旅館也篩選到剩一兩家了。草津有一家旅館季の庭有從軽井沢的接送車，省超過1000Y的車錢也省時間，非常吸引人。同時，軽井沢有一個渡假村的教堂的聖誕燈飾非常漂亮有名。

Technically I had already completed initial trip plans and was well into refinement stage, identifying exact transport timings and sightseeing attractions. But there was always something missing. The schedules never quite matched, the trains were always just a little too late or early, the time it took to move to and from the onsens were just a little too long, edging into exhausting and possibly not worthwhile with inadequate time for sightseeing.

 

我嚴格上已經做好了初步規劃，進入到處理交通時間和景點等細節的階段了。但總覺得好像缺少什麼。行程表總是對不起來，電車時刻總是太晚或太早，來往溫泉所花的時間太多一點，顯得有點累人，也可能壓縮到觀光時間不值得。

 

Several tweaks were attempted, shifting the order of the locations and attractions. In the end I took the decision to give up 2 months of planning, go back to square one and start again from picking out an entry area.

 

嘗試修改過幾次，改變地點景點順序。但最後還是決定放棄已經投入2個月的規劃，從新回到原點從找進入日本的地點開始。

 

Nagoya was immediately ruled out. Gero Onsen is boring and Oku-Hida Onsen is too far (plus we’ve already been to Takayama).

 

名古屋無須考慮，下呂溫泉沒什麼好玩的，奧飛騨溫泉太遠（也去過高山了）。

 

Kansai was given some thoughts but again ruled out. Kinosaki Onsen is good, the rest not so much. Shirohama in Wakayama is too far and seaside onsen in winter? Not good. Arima is a tourist sardine can. The rest of onsens were also ruled out for various reasons.

 

關西有稍微想過，但也排除。城崎溫泉不錯，但剩下的就不怎麼樣。和歌山的白浜稍嫌太遠，冬天在海邊也不好。有馬一堆觀光客擠沙丁魚。其他的溫泉也不考慮。

 

That left Kyushu.

 

剩下的只有九州了。

 

When it came to Kyushu, the onsen choice is easy. The standard triple onsen course following the Kyushu Crossing: Begin from Kumamoto, Kurokawa Onsen, Yufuin Onsen, Beppu Onsen then return to Hakata.

 

說到九州溫泉選擇倒是很簡單。最基本的溫泉三冠走法，循著九州橫斷從熊本出發
，黑川溫泉，由布院溫泉，別府溫泉，然後回博多。

 

Beppu was chucked out as there was only budget for 2 nights (3 nights of onsen is also a little too much for the body).

 

只有2晚溫泉的預算先去掉別府（連泡3晚溫泉對身體負擔也太超過了）。

 

Given the highly standard nature of the course, planning could not be any easier. Day 1: Shinkansen to Kumamoto. Day 2: Take Aso Boy train to Aso, take a quick look around Aso then bus to Kumamoto. Day 3: Tour Kurokawa then bus to Yufuin. Day 4: Tour Yufuin then take Yufuin no Mori train back to Hakata. Simple, easy as pie.

 

由於是最標準的行程規劃上是再容易不過了。第一天搭新幹線到熊本，第二天搭阿蘇男孩到阿蘇，稍微逛逛後搭巴士去黑川。第三天逛黑川後巴士去由布院，第四天逛完由布院搭由布院之森會博多。簡單。

 

Simple is not an appropriate adjective for this trip.

 

這趟旅遊可是分毫不能用簡單來形容。

 

The Earthquake 地震

 

The Kumamoto earthquake in April threw everything into chaos.

 

四月的熊本地震打亂了一切。

 

The earthquake destroyed the roads and rails between Kumamoto and Aso/Kurokawa and also severely damaged the famous Kumamoto Castle, one of the key attractions in that city, and had to be sealed off. Given the effect this had on transportation, with rail severed and the bus taking long detours on a reduced timetable, it seemed obvious to drop Kumamoto and Aso entirely and look to head directly to Kurokawa from Hakata.

 

地震震毀了熊本和阿蘇黑川之間的道路和鐵道，熊本的主要觀光景點熊本城也受到嚴重傷害被封鎖了。在火車不通，巴士也需繞道且減班的情形下，很明顯的只能捨棄熊本和阿蘇，尋找直接從博多到黑川的方案了。

 

However the bus from Hakata to Kurokawa takes about 3 hours, and arrive in Kurokawa quite late, so I looked to break the journey by removing the night at Yufuin and replacing it with a night’s stay at Amagase on the first day, whose ryokan Tensui (天水) looks to be quite highly rated.

 

但是從博多到黑川的巴士需要3小時，到黑川的時間也很晚，所以我考慮是否將由布院的住宿改到第一天，往黑川中途的天瀬。這裡有家叫天水的旅館看來評價不錯。

On surface this looked like a good plan, deep down this never sat well. Breaking the journey this way compressed time in Yufuin quite severely, down to maybe 3 hours only. Also Tensui is not a well known ryokan and I could not figure out what its private room onsens were like from promotional photos.

 

表面上這計畫不錯看起來，但仔細想時總覺得不太穩當。不但壓縮到逛由布院的時間，可能會只剩不到3小時，天水也不是有名氣的旅館，我總是無法從宣傳照片上猜出他房間的溫泉長什麼樣子。

 

A tedious search was launched on youtube and japanese blogging sites to ascertain a better picture of the rooms. All while the plan for Kurokawa + Yufuin continued.

 

我開始在youtube和日本部落格上尋找房間的相片。同時也繼續規劃著黑川+由布院的選項。

 

Choice of ryokan, at least for Kurokawa is straightforward. Hozantei (帆山亭) was the top choice given its private onsen rooms (only a handful in Kurokawa has private onsens, and fewer has riverside views). There’s also Yamamizuki (山みず木) and Ryokan Sanga (旅館 山河). Either way there’s only 2-3 to consider.

 

在選旅館上，至少在黑川方面並不複雜。看在他房間的私人風呂，帆山亭是首選 （黑川房間有風呂的不多，可看河的更少）。另外來有山水木和旅館山河。總之符合條件的不超過2-3間。

It was good that research was made as it turned out Tensui’s private baths were not too big and lacked changing area.

 

幸好有深入研究，才發覺天水房間的風呂並不大，也缺乏脫衣間。

 

Around June the plan to stay at Amagase was abandoned and efforts were refocused around getting from Hakata directly to Kurokawa then a stay at Yufuin. The thought of using rental car entered consideration due to this.

 

六月左右時正式放棄住天瀨的計畫，集中安排從博多直達黑川然後住由布院的方法，也開始有了考慮租車自駕的想法。

 

Yufuin Ryokan 由布院的住宿

 

Hozantei had been chosen for Kurokawa and for Yufuin, Bettei Itsuki (別邸 樹) was originally the top choice. Bettei Itsuki follows the popular hanare (離れ) concept for hotels and ryokans in Yufuin, each room is its own separate cabin with its own private baths, spacious and quiet, free from disturbances from other guests. Bettei Itsuki is especially popular amongst foreigners, probably because of its multilingual website and just general word of mouth. Each room is also ~20k yen per person only, which is fairly cheap compared to other hotels with similar cabin rooms.

 

黑川的住宿已選是帆山亭，而由布院一開始首先考慮的是別邸 樹。別邸 樹走的是在由布院挺流行的離屋概念，每間房間都是獨棟的屋子，擁有自己的風呂，房間寬廣，安靜，不受其他住客影響。別邸 樹在外國人中格外出名，或許是他官網有多國語言，加上網路上互傳分想就越來越有名了。每間每人大約只要兩萬日圓，和其他離屋概念的住宿比相較下便宜。

 

Bettei Itsuki is not without its catch however. First is its variety of rooms, each room has its own layout and deco style. On its own this variety seems like a good thing until one digs a little more. Each room is not created equally, not even of the same size, one does not even has outdoor bath (some room has two, why??). Then consider that they do not allow specifying which room when one books using the internet (can only specify which room by phone). This means either booking by phone (which is very annoying), or take a gamble and book on the net.

 

別邸 樹不是沒有陷阱的。首先是他每個房間都不同，有不同的格局和裝潢風格。這原本不是什麼壞處，但稍微探討後就會發覺問題所在。每間房間並不同等級，大小不一，有一間甚至沒有戶外風呂(有的卻有兩個風呂，天知道為什麼）。再加上他們網路訂房時不接受指定房間（只能透過電話預約指定）。這樣就只能透過電話預約（但很麻煩)，或是就網上訂房賭分到好的房間。

 

Apart from the room roulette, the next catch is it does not serve traditional Japanese breakfast, opting for western style breakfast instead. This is a huge hidden saving on their part as a good traditional Japanese breakfast can run several k above a western breakfast. As for dinner, depending on the main selected there’s also some complaints about the portions being too small. Looking at the menus shared by others there are certainly less dishes compared to a typical kaiseki.

 

除了房間賭盤外，下個陷阱是他的早餐不是傳統日式早餐，而是西式的。這是經營者省錢的暗步，一個高級的傳統日式早餐和西式比可能貴數千日圓。在晚餐方面，看主餐選什麼有些人也反應說分量不太夠。看其他人分享的菜單，樣數的確比其他懷石少。

 

Lastly Bettei Itsuki is a little shifty about whether their onsen is in fact kakenagashi. A lot of blogs talk about it being kakenagashi but this is not mentioned anywhere on their official site nor on booking websites. This raises a few eyebrows as it seems like a good marketing point. Through various comments and posts I pieced together that they (and many other ryokan, including the one I was originally considering for Kusatsu) probably sit in a grey area of kakenagashi.

 

最後則是別邸 樹並沒有表明自己的溫泉是否是掛流。雖然許多部落格分享時提到他是掛流但這在官網或訂房網上並沒有提。這相當令人起疑，因為掛流該是很好的宣傳要點。在看過各種評價和分享後我大致揣測出他（和其他許多旅館，包含我之前草津考慮的那家）可能位於掛流的灰色地帶。

 

While they do not recycle the onsen water, they do not have enough onsen water to supply every room continuously. So they either ask that the onsen water be turned off during night time (people complained that the onsen was too cold and took a long time to be warm enough for use in morning), or requires notifying the front desk that one wishes to use the onsen so they turn on the supply of onsen water remotely (which takes several minutes to fill up the bath). Whether Bettei Itsuki managed to address the issue is a little unclear as the comments about restricted onsen water is sporadic, I suspect it might depend on the time of year and how much supply of onsen their well is able to draw.

 

雖然他們並不回收溫泉水，但他們也沒有足夠的溫泉水可不斷提供給每一個房間，所以他們可能會要求晚上不泡後把水關掉（有人抱怨早上水變冷了要等好久才夠熱），或是需通知櫃檯請他們打開溫泉供給（等裝滿需要數分鐘）。別邸 樹是否有解決這問題不太清楚，因為只有一些人有提到限制溫泉水的問題，我想可能是要看那個時期去住宿，他們的溫泉井能抽出多少水有關。

 

The choice then moved to Gettouan (月燈庵). A ryokan a bit further out from Yufuin’s main area. It is famous for its wooden suspension bridge connecting the main building to the cabin areas. Plans progressed to where I made bookings for a room with views of the Yufudake (Mt Yufu). But again, the same feeling with Tensui nagged at the mind. It was not clear how big its private onsens were, also sometimes it gets a few harsh reviews so the quality appeared inconsistent.

 

選項轉為月燈庵，一間離由布院中心有點距離的旅館。他最有名的是連結母屋和離屋的吊橋。計畫到已經訂了一間可看到由布岳的房間。但跟天水給人的憂慮感一樣，無法確定房間的風呂如何，同時偶爾會看到一些不好的評價，感覺品質不是很穩定。

 

After another exhaustive research it was determined that Gettouan’s private onsens were actually pathetically small, a bit like hole a little bigger than a metre square dug in the ground.

 

經過再一次翻地皮式的搜尋後，可確認月燈庵房間的風呂大概不比一平方米大多少，跟在地上挖個洞差不多。

 

The search was on to look for another choice.

 

於是只好再次重新尋找住宿。

 

As I looked over each ryokan in Yufuin, it was dawning that perhaps, a budget of less than 25k per person was not going to cut it for what I was looking for.

 

翻找過由布院的旅館後，我開始考慮是否每人兩萬五的預算對想要的條件太過嚴苛了。

 

Ikkoten (一壺天) then pops to the list. It had always been on my mind but out of consideration due to its price of about 29k per person. It took the cabin concept to a whole new level, with luxurious interiors and good spacious onsen baths. Rooms with a view of Mt Yufu costed over 30k per person however, and rooms without a view seemed a little pricey.

 

一壺天於是進入了考慮名單中。這家一直都有看過的印象但一人兩萬九在此之前並沒有考慮。他將離屋的概念更向上一層，有華麗的裝潢和龐大的風呂。但可看到由布岳的房間要超過三萬，而沒有山景的話感覺又貴了點。

 

Side note, the so called 3 ryokans of Yufuin: Murata (無量塔), Tamanoyu (玉の湯) and Kamenoi (亀の井) are a class above starting at around 40 to 45k a person.

 

順便一提，由布院的御三家：無量塔，玉之湯，龜之井還高人一等，一人是四萬到四萬五起跳的等級。

 

I juggled between whether to go high with Ikkoten or go low with another ryokan with maybe not such spectacular private onsens (ryokans within Yufuin’s main area tended to be a little more cramped and the outdoor private onsens are fenced in, only outdoor in the sense there’s not a roof overhead).

 

就這樣衡量著是否該走貴一點選一壺天或是走低價一點，妥協可能沒有太亮眼的風呂時（由布院主區的旅館稍微有點擠，戶外風呂也是都圍起來，說戶外只不過是頭上沒屋頂罷了）。

 

I cannot remember how I ran into Kusayane no Yado – Ryu no Hige (草屋根の宿 龍のひげ). Technically it’s not even in Yufuin proper. Regardless how I originally crossed path with the little known inconspicuous little ryokan (it’s probably not a ryokan, better classified as Inn or Lodge?), the place began to grew on me, and I begun to spend more and more time looking over its pictures and facebook.

 

我不記得究竟是怎樣找到 草屋根之宿 龍之鬍鬚 的。嚴格說他並不算由布院溫泉區內。無論我們是如何遇到這間不顯眼的小旅館（好像不能稱日式旅館，好像只能說是旅店或旅社），這小地方越看越討喜，我開始花越來越多時間在看他的照片和臉書。

I shall go into Ryu no Hige later at its own day write-ups. Suffice to say by August I was much enthralled by it and convinced by its review comments I decided it was the right choice.

 

我之後在草屋根之宿 龍之鬍鬚 住宿篇另外敘述這家旅館。總之八月時我已被他迷住，各種留言評價已說服選這家不會錯。

 

Loose ends 瑣事

 

All while I was busy locking in the onsen ryokans, hotel in Hakata proved to be a separate battle.

 

當我忙著鎖定溫泉旅館的同時，博多的住宿意外的另成一戰場。

 

For reasons still yet unclear (speculated to be when cruise ships from mainland China docks thus swamping the hotels), Hakata hotels sees ridiculous prices on Saturdays, about 3 times more than weekdays. I ended up momentarily booking two different choices initially, a single 3 person room for about 35k total for 2 nights, and a 2 rooms option at 44k for 2 nights (original expectation was 26~30k for 2 nights). After discussion with my parents we later opts for the 2 room option.

 

原因至今不明（傳言是大陸遊輪恰巧這天入港把所有飯店給埋了），博多的住宿星期六房價比平常高約三倍。我最重暫訂了兩個方案，一是三人房兩晚三萬五，二是兩間房四萬四（原本預期是兩晚兩萬六到三萬）。跟爸媽討論後選擇兩房的方案。

 

The Kumamoto earthquake greatly affected tourism in the area, as result an accommodation coupon campaign was launched which gave huge discounts to accommodation in the area. The initial wave gave up to 20k off a minimum 30k booking. This initial wave only applied to bookings up till end of September. The second wave was issued in early September and gave discounts of 10k off a minimum 20k booking, still quite generous. I took the day off to ensure I was able to get on the booking websites right when the coupons went live. (Only a number of bookings using coupons were allowed). With two nights off I made a saving of about 18k (prices are slightly cheaper if booked via official websites, but no coupons) which allowed me to justify to myself about choosing Ryu no Hige, as I was already about 30k over initial budget of 200k yen.

 

熊本地震嚴重影響了地方的觀光，於是他們推出了住宿折價卷的促銷方案。第一波三萬以上最多可折兩萬，可惜這波限於到九月底的住宿。在九月初發佈的第二波只給兩萬以上折一萬，也很大方了啦。我那天請了休假，確保訂房網開啟折價時能立刻訂房（折價卷總訂房數有上限）。兩晚大約省了一萬八（旅館官網上訂比較便宜不過就不能用折價卷），這讓我對選龍之鬍鬚稍稍能對自己有所合理化，畢竟這時我已超出原本二十萬日圓的預算大約三萬了。

 

Around the same time the decision was made to switch from going by bus to renting a car. This gave a lot of flexibility and potentially saved 1-2 hours each day, though took some courage as I had not driven in Japan before. Australia drove on the same side so I was not worried about the actual driving, rather I was concerned about all the traffic rules, especially parking in Japan, plus the potential of accidents and other factors that may affect the schedules. The worry turned out to be unwarranted but it was a serious concern at the time.

 

同時也決定將從坐巴士改為租車自駕。這增加許多彈性，每天也可省下1~2小時，做這決定其實抱了不少的勇氣，畢竟沒有在日本開車過。澳洲一樣是左駕所以開車是不擔心，而是很怕弄不懂交通規則，尤其是日本找停車位的問題，加上可能出車禍，還有其他各種影響行程的變數。這些擔憂後來可見是多餘的，不過當時確實是一大顧慮。

 

The plan was finally finalized in October. We would rent a car upon arrival and immediately drive down to Hozantei. The next day we will walk around Kurokawa then drive on to Ryu no Hige. The third day return the car at Yufuin, do some sightseeing and take Yufuin no Mori back to Hakata.

 

十月時終於確認最終行程。抵達當地後直接租車開去帆山亭。隔天逛逛黑川再開去龍之鬍鬚。第三天在由布院還車，四處逛逛後搭由布院之森會博多。

 

The fourth day I left intentionally blank with two possible plans. To Dazaifu (太宰府) and return early, or head to Shimonoseki (下関) and have seafood at the fish market.

 

第四天我刻意留白，只準備兩個備案，一是去太宰府然後早點回博多，另一是去下關吃海鮮。

 

The planning complete, all that was left was wait, and watch the weather carefully. For winter came early this year, as we would get a taste of.

 

規劃完畢，剩下的只有等待，還有嚴密注意天氣。今天冬天來得早，這點我們將領教到。