Today was a private charter day. To reach the Kyushu Natural Animal Park (African Safari) in time for the Jungle Bus, the charter started at eight, and our daughter was carried into the car still fast asleep.

The car was warm and I dozed off several times, while my wife edited the past few days’ travel clips on the way.

We arrived before ten, with a long line of cars already ahead of us. I was worried we wouldn’t get a Jungle Bus, but luckily we secured the noon departure. With plenty of time before then, the driver suggested we explore the walking area first. It was colder up in the hills, so we made the most of our time: we had lunch first (barely acceptable), saw the petting zoo, and the supposedly ferocious kangaroos.

Aren’t kangaroos supposed to be quite fierce? Can you really watch them this close up? Standing inside the enclosure holding our daughter, I felt a little scared.

There isn’t much to see on foot in the park. We later heard that a friend who arrived at 9:30 only got a 2 p.m. Jungle Bus slot and had a rather miserable day.

After queuing more than twenty minutes in the cold wind, our Jungle Bus finally arrived.

Before setting off, the driver explained how and when we could feed the animals. The mouflons at the first stop were very fierce, banging their horns against the cage when they didn’t get fed. The next “guests” were American bears—lazy and uninterested at first, and for a moment I worried we’d have to leave with the bear biscuits still in hand. Next came the lions, who had to watch out for the hawks overhead while they ate; the meat right next to ours got snatched away. The elephants used their nimble trunks to pop carrots and sweet potatoes into their mouths. While feeding the camels, I kept worrying they’d spit. Whenever we waved goodbye to the animals, our daughter would grab Mommy’s hand—we thought she wanted Mommy to wave too, but afterward she said she was afraid the animals would carry Mommy off.

My wife rated the Jungle Bus highly. You can also drive through the park in your own car, but because of the feeding, the animals are actually all crowded around the Jungle Bus, so self-driving cars can only watch from the edges. That said, I think it’s a bit risky to build into an itinerary. It’s best to come and queue as early as possible; otherwise, since this attraction is some distance from everything else, getting a late slot can be really awkward.

Our last stop was Yufuin. Our daughter still wanted to keep sleeping when we got out and refused to walk. She didn’t wake up until we entered the shopping street, where she fussed for ice cream and ended up getting a 3,000-yen Chiikawa.

Lake Kinrin and Yufuin were crowded everywhere, and the old streets didn’t feel particularly special. I suspect you’d need to stay a night at a hot spring inn to really soak up the atmosphere; if it’s just a one- or two-hour stop on the itinerary, I honestly don’t think it’s worth it.

I’m very grateful to our driver, Mr. Kuninaka Takuya, for this charter—professional service and easy to communicate with.

Tonight was our last night’s stay. In the evening my wife went to Hakata Station alone to buy souvenirs, while I looked after our daughter on my own and bought her ice cream from the vending machine on the 13th floor.

Note: This article is translated from Traditional Chinese.