Hussein and Herman tour Japan, Day 13: Kumamoto to Mt Aso by Rental Car

Day 13 of 24 in Japan.
We rented a 1.0l automatic Nissan Micra from Kumamoto (Closest city you'll have heard of is Nagasaki) and took it to Mt Aso, the widest volcanic region in the world, and (apparently) the best drive in Japan. The car was brand new to the depot, we were the first to drive it, so I imagine the manager freaked a little inside when he saw me trying to work out how an automatic worked. Rental for 6hrs was about 7k Yen (£45 at the time). For a Brit to drive in Japan, you need an international driving permit which you can get from your local post office for a fiver. It's basically a translation of your actual license into other languages. You still need to take your UK/EU license with you.

Drive started out well, but as we got close to the mountain, we got hit by intense fog. The camera seems to exaggerate by making the whole image look quite pail, but the truth is the camera still did a better job of seeing through the fog than we did. Indeed the road was awesome, lots of turns and what would have been fantastic scenery, I'd definitely do it again if I knew the weather was going to be good.

Just as I decided to take a break at a car park near the top, a policeman pulled up next to us saying the roads from here on were closed. After a few minutes of hanging around, I suddenly became really ill, it might have been the sulphur in the air, the mouldy bread I had for lunch, all that Procari Sweat (a Japanese soft drink) or the extreme concentration in the drive up. Seeing that the weather wasn't going to clear up any time soon, we headed back home.

The way back down was even harder, I addition to the still lingering fog, I was seeing fancy colours dancing around (my migraine symptoms); I wanted to get back down as quick as possible before turning completely blind. I didn't tell Herman any of this at the time, he'd have freaked out.

The sweepers left a log in the middle of the road, somehow the brand new Nissan didn't even get a scratch. Back in the city we stopped to top up the fuel tank, Herman tried to decipher what fuel the car took, while I projected a stream of pure white vomit into a bush. I was quite amazed by the range, and immediately felt about 80% better.

As we got closer to the city centre, we realised "Home" on the sat-nav was no where near where the car belonged, and we were effectively lost. With 20 minutes to find the depot, we found it just in time. (OK, it wasn't that hard, we just sat-nav'd it to the train station and remembered the way from there..)

That night was "familiar foods only" night, and I found a McDonalds. I never resort to a McD's on holiday, but I felt i needed it to live. :(

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Kumamoto
• Mt Aso
• driving in Japan

[jairusmonillas]

where's the other tour japan videos? only one? i want to see more!!

[elgoorf123]

@jairusmonillas aye, this is the only vid i uploaded :( i keep meaning to do the rest but never get around to it...

[oHermanHo]

You said Nissan Micro XDDD

[elgoorf123]

@oHermanHo sssshhhhhhhhhh no ones meant to notice :(

[AnotherAmateur]

Brilliant! Quite entertaining.

[ssk1950ut]

I love japan so this videos is a very good

[elgoorf123]

@testtestthisisatest Its an amazing country, that europe and america should really look up to. you know what you land in a country, and the airports all shiny and clean, trying to give good impression for foreigners seeing the country for the first time, but then you step outside, and the streets are covered in litter and graffiti. Imagine walking out of the airport and seeing everything still neat and tidy, even out in the country side :P

[testtestthisisatest]

@elgoorf123 How was it in Japan? I'd love to go there!!

[elgoorf123]

@oHermanHo sssshhhhhhhhhh no ones meant to notice :(

[elgoorf123]

@oHermanHo sssshhhhhhhhhh no ones meant to notice :(