Shimabara Castle and Unzen

Still in Nagasaki today. We tried out this shop's special lemon ramen.

 It was a little weird. Unique, though.

This is Shimabara Castle.

 The gift shop was full of cute things.

Castella cake is a big product in Nagasaki. Look at that guy in the top left!

 Castella and pork bun phone straps. So cute!

 Stuffed pork buns and castellas. The castella couple has magnets in their faces so you can make their cheeks stick together.

There were a lot of statues around the castle.

 "Hey, you! Don't do that!"

 Just one fruit on this tree.

 This weird bird lady was my favourite.

 Kumamon and Shimabaran.

He's a happy mochi boy with a sake gourd. He was designed by the creator of the video game series Yo-kai Watch!

 It's always a little weird when a food mascot eats the food that they are.

 The mochi soup (zoni) was yummy. Nice broth, and it actually had vegetables in it!

After that we went to the Unzen Volcanic Geopark. 

Here's their mascots, Geo with his volcanic fedora and his sister Gina.

 This painting is titled "From Disaster to Peace".

 Unzen has its own hell area. They aren't as distinct as the hells in Beppu, but they were still a spectacle.

The sulfur smell here was especially strong.

Extra steamy, extra creamy.

 I don't know about sparrows, but the bubbling sound was very audible here.

 The rocks have yellow sulfurous residue on them from the steam jets.

There were cats hanging around, enjoying the warmth from the steam.

There's a cross up at the top there. It's a memorial for Christian martyrdom.

 True to the name, this one really did make quite a roar.

The Jealousy Hell was even a little bit green coloured.

 Sulfur on this fence post.

 Demon eyes glaring through the steam.

For dinner the sushi place we wanted to go to was closed, so we looked for another one. What we found was a tiny little place called Akagi run by an old couple, and we were so glad we did!

 It was so authentic. We got to watch the chef prepare the sushi right in front of us and serve it on the wooden countertop.

 It was some of the best sushi I've had. The atmosphere definitely contributed.

 We even got to try fugu (pufferfish).

The owners were adorable. The chef called me handsome and said I must be popular. When Michelle said that I have a girlfriend, he asked if we were married yet and if there would be a baby soon. When we took a picture together, he remarked on how tall I was and started pretending (?) to try and climb onto the table! They had me sit down so he could be the tallest one in the picture.

It happened completely by accident, but this unplanned dinner turned out to be a highlight of the trip.