u/Beflijster

I'm considering my options for travel in the third week of November.

I come from Osaka, where I stay for a week in a hotel near Shin-Osaka. My plan is to visit Kyushu for about a week, and then return to Osaka and stay there for another week.

My first plan was to buy a Japan Rail pass, travel to Kagoshima, after 3 days travel to Nagasaki, and from there, travel back to Osaka. Thing is though, the JR Pass does not seem quite worth it for these 3 trips alone.

Also, I have seen videos about the Sunflower ferry, and I am fascinated by it. I'm beginning to wonder if travelling from Osaka to Shibushi by ferry is worth it for me. As it saves a hotel night, and it is an interesting experience in itself.

And for the Kagoshima-Nagasaki and Nagasaki-Osaka trips, just buy regular shinkansen/JR tickets.

I'm now trying to find fares on the Sunflower ferry website, but it is a bit of a nightmare. It seems that for most of the time, it is offline, I get lots of errors, and the translation options are limited.

Anyone have tips on how to tackle this? Thank you!

Hello dear people!

I just booked a trip to Japan and I'm going to Kyushu for 6 nights with the Japan Rail Pass, travelling from Osaka.

I have already booked a hotel for 3 nights in Kagoshima. And now I have to decide what to do with the other 3.

I'm a slow, wandering kind of solo traveller, I don't have to see everything, I would rather like to see a few things well. Some things I like:

-history and archeology.

-Traditional culture, kimono thrift stores, ceramics, art, architecture.

-Nature, volcanic activity, ornithology, geology.

Things I'm not really into:

-socializing, night life, fine dining.

-otaku culture.

-onsens.

Also, I'm from the Netherlands. I have looked into Huis Ten Bosch, but I'm not really a theme park kind of person and I'm not that exited about it. But I am interested in seeing the trade post in Nagasaki for historic reasons.

So what's an old girl to do? Nagasaki seems nice. I hear good things about Fukuoka, but then again, maybe it is possible to do a trip to mount Aso from Kumamoto?

Is it a good idea to visit Kumamoto after the recent earthquake?

arigatou gozaimasu!

I'm about to finish the academy for the second time and I'm not sure where to take it from there. I'm disabled due to autism. This has given me a lot of free time and special interests, and I got skilled in lots of things. I have a story I need to tell trough art if not for me, to give people like me representation.

Because I don't see a lot of people like me in the art scene, and when they are they are sectioned off in the "outsider art" pen.

I feel I would be a fraud if I went that route, because I'm educated. But I have no place among professional artists.

Also, the European modern art scene seems daunting and an in-crowd thing that I will be socially skilled enough to fit into.

What's a person supposed to do?

I'm seeing some tutorials use Sodium Hydrosulfite and soda ash for jacquard pre-reduced indigo, while others recommend the 1-2-3 method with calcium hydroxide and fructose.

Which one is the best for reliable results and ease of use?