Yoron island in Kagoshima Prefecture is the best resort place in clean sea water, much better than Okinawa, Ishigaki, Miyakojima.
It takes only 35-minute flight from Naha Airport, 2-hour in taking ferry from Motobu, Okinawa.
The best place in the island is Yurigahama, which is the land at a low tide during a limited period between spring and autumn. It takes 3000yen in round trip each person to go to the island by boat.
If you arrive at Naha Okinawa airport, I will recommend you to eat in Fish restaurant “Uomaru” “魚まる”. This restaurant is within 5-minute walk from Akamine station, just one stop from airport station. The restaurant provide with fish set including raw fish “sashimi” around 1000yen.
Shuri Soba Okinawa Noodle near Shuri castle is very popular not only for tourists but for locals. Even in July before Japanese summer vacation, many people visited this shop.
Okinawa noodle is the first choice. Most of visitors order “Jushi” rice with noodle.
Shirokuma shave ice with condensed milk is very popular in Kagoshima. Mujyaki in Tennmonkan area is the first choice. However several shops prepare for variety of Shirokuma ices.
Most of visitor for Shuri castle are foreign tourists especially Chinese and Korean. By COVID-19 and bad relationship with Korea, almost visitors are Japanese or foreigners living in Japan. Tourists do not visit the park especially main buildings even though tourists can officially travel between prefectures since June 19, 2020. Probably they are not interested in burn-out castle in 2019.
Japanese government has officially allowed tourists to travel between prefectures, fter June 19th, 2020. Even after this day, the half of shops in Kokusai street in Naha were closed because they have targeted foreign tourists especially Chinese tourists.
Most of flights to Haha has been full of Japanese passengers especially weekend. However, they stay in other area such as northern Okinawa without staying in Naha. Even Japanese tourists do not return to Naha any more, unless the shops in Kokusai focus on not only foreign tourist but Japanese.
I added Reishi Mashroom for daily Chinese Herbal tea, in order to improve my immune system. Reishi mashroom has been as expensive as gold since China dynasties, but the artificial cultivation that succeeded in 1970s decreased the prices. Currently, Reishi is widely cultivated in Japan.
My updated herbal tea is including Chrysanthemum Flower 菊花 Lycium Fruit 枸杞子 Glossy Privet Fruit 女貞子 Solomonseal Rhizome 黄精 Rehmannia Root 熟地黄 Cistanche Herb 肉蓯蓉 Ganoderma lingzhi 霊芝 Honeysuckle Stem 忍冬
If I feel fever, I add the following two herbs. Forsythia Fruit 連翹 Platycodon Root 桔梗
InJuly 9th, Japan government signed the participation to Artemis program, Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway Program led by the US. EU and Canada join this program, while China and Russia plan similar program independently.
My comment for this issue is how Japanese government acquire the budget for implementing and operating the program. Annual budge of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA) has continued to be stable in 150 billion yen, 1.5 billion USD for more than 10 years. Operation budget for ISS is estimated to be 40 billion yen, 0.4 billion USD. Aerospace Experts estimate that it will cost 500 billion yen, 5 billion USD , in order to deliver one Japanese astronaut to the moon. It will take at least 10 years, even if all budget for ISS is allocated to the program. However, it is impossible to set zero budget for ISS in 2024.
I am skeptical that other aerospace budget such as space science will be cut to save implementation cost.
I stayed at Kirishima Kanko Hotel 4 times in March, May and June this year. This hotel relatively provides reasonable prices in Kirishima Hotspring compared with Kirishima Hotel and Kirishima Kokusai Hotel. Especially, staying in weekday between Monday and Thursday is much cheaper than in weekend. I paid 17,500 yen per night, in weekday price, for two, including dinner and breakfast.
This Hotel provides Japanese Kaiseki-style dinner and buffet breakfast. Breakfast is on average.
I recommend taking outdoor baths in Northern building rather than larger bathes in Central building.