由布院

After 阿蘇山 we drove to 由布院 (Yufuin) in 大分県. On the way to Yufuin, we stopped by a garden called 九重ラベンダー園 in the countryside of the 九重 (Kokonoe) area. The season for lavender is actually early~mid-July, but there was still some lavender at the garden, plus other beautiful flowers. It reminded me of my first visit in Japan, when we went to Hokkaido in July '03. Farm Tomita in Furano is famous for its lavender; we had to get up at 0600 to see the lavender before all the other tourists but at that time there were already dozens of photographers at the lavender farm. This time in Yufuin - there was no one else!







Yufuin itself is a small touristy town, like Takayama in Gifu, there isn't much in the town really, just some shops selling souvenirs and handicrafts. There was one shop, though, which caught my eye. It was a shop that sells only One Piece goods. The first thing/person that came into my mind was Andrew, 'cause he's a huge fan of the manga.

Around dinner time we drove past an italian restaurant and decided to check it out. The prices were not amazingly cheap, around 1200-1800yen for a pasta or pizza dish. It's worth every yen though. The restaurant was packed with people; the pizzas were baked in a stone oven. I ordered the classic margherita - tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil leaves - yum.