From Yanagawa, I cycled a few kilometers south of nearby Omuta because my map showed a tiny ferry that would save me hours and hours of cycling time. The map turned out to be accurate, and an hour or so later I was at the base of the volcano of Unzen, which has erupted several times in recent years. The reports of refugees staying in elementary school gymnasiums always get prominent play on TV; they have additional resonance for Kansai residents since the Kobe earthquake of 1995 when many of us were in the same situation. Unzen has onsen (hot springs) and several walking paths like this. If you want to see it leisurely, you can stay at the kokumin shukusha, youth hostel or campground in descending order of comfort; there are other hotels and inns as well.

At Unzen, I encountered the first glitch of the trip: there were no beds to be had in the entire area, not even the campground. (Though, had I but known it, friends were staying there that very night with a tent they had borrowed from me!) I was advised to shoot straight down to Nagasaki, where I'd have a better chance of finding a bed for the night. This is an example of the pretty coastline along the way.