Beppu
08 Jan 2006
In the beginning of January, there was a lot of snow in central Kyushu. A nice occasion to visit Beppu, the city famous for its hotsprings and they even have a sandbath. Since we've never experienced a sandbath, we just had to go. There were other people with the same idea, so we had to wait a while for our turn. You can tell winter is short here, they didn't provide for adequate heating [and that in a town full of hot water/steam]. They had two oil heaters in the hall, which just didn't do the trick.
But finally the waiting was over, we were allowed inside. We had to undress en put on a yukata (a cotton house coat). Then we had to lay down on the sand and a lady shoveled warm, wet sand on top of us. After about 10 minutes part of the sand is replaced with new warm sand. After 20 minutes it's over with the fun. We had to get up and go back to the changing room where we take off the yutaka and shower the sand off. After that it was time for a soak in the hot water - great.
After the sand bath, we are nice and warm, so we take the cable car to the top of the mountain. It is a magnificent view with the snow covering the mountains. Unfortunately we cannot go for a walk, too slippery with all that snow.
The next day we do the Beppu Jigoku Tour. That tour takes us around the nine Beppu "Hells", hotsprings in various forms; blue water, red water, gray mud etc. Of course there are also footbaths, which we cannot pass up on. On the edge of the footbath they made little chairs, you fold open the backrest and are ready for a nice soak.
The tour is a real tourist trap. Busloads of people visit the hells. Not all of them are interesting, some are even decorated with hideous statues. Eggs get boiled in the hotsprings, so there are also many little stalls where you can buy the boiled eggs.
Then it is time for the "piece de resistance": Kurokawa. A quaint little village, completely devoted to hotspring bathing. There are more than 20 hotspring baths in and around the village. Usually the hotsprings are segregated, but we found a mixed one. It is a beautiful place, various baths and all with a great view over the river and the woods at the other side of the river. We are the only visitors so we had the chance to take a few photos. Enjoy!
On the way home we visit Mt. Aso. This is a live vulcano and it is our fourth time here. Until today we weren't able to go to the top, because the wind came from the wrong direction. This time we are lucky and get to go up. We take heed to the warning about the acid gas in the air and are just in time for the last cable car going up. It is terribly cold, foggy and it snows. Luckily the fog parts for a little while, so we can have a peek into the crater. The weather doesn't allow us to spend a lot of time at the edge of the crater, and the last cable car going down is already waiting. We finally were able to take a peek into the crater, but will definately come back this summer for a more extensive visit.
But finally the waiting was over, we were allowed inside. We had to undress en put on a yukata (a cotton house coat). Then we had to lay down on the sand and a lady shoveled warm, wet sand on top of us. After about 10 minutes part of the sand is replaced with new warm sand. After 20 minutes it's over with the fun. We had to get up and go back to the changing room where we take off the yutaka and shower the sand off. After that it was time for a soak in the hot water - great.
After the sand bath, we are nice and warm, so we take the cable car to the top of the mountain. It is a magnificent view with the snow covering the mountains. Unfortunately we cannot go for a walk, too slippery with all that snow.
The next day we do the Beppu Jigoku Tour. That tour takes us around the nine Beppu "Hells", hotsprings in various forms; blue water, red water, gray mud etc. Of course there are also footbaths, which we cannot pass up on. On the edge of the footbath they made little chairs, you fold open the backrest and are ready for a nice soak.
The tour is a real tourist trap. Busloads of people visit the hells. Not all of them are interesting, some are even decorated with hideous statues. Eggs get boiled in the hotsprings, so there are also many little stalls where you can buy the boiled eggs.
Then it is time for the "piece de resistance": Kurokawa. A quaint little village, completely devoted to hotspring bathing. There are more than 20 hotspring baths in and around the village. Usually the hotsprings are segregated, but we found a mixed one. It is a beautiful place, various baths and all with a great view over the river and the woods at the other side of the river. We are the only visitors so we had the chance to take a few photos. Enjoy!
On the way home we visit Mt. Aso. This is a live vulcano and it is our fourth time here. Until today we weren't able to go to the top, because the wind came from the wrong direction. This time we are lucky and get to go up. We take heed to the warning about the acid gas in the air and are just in time for the last cable car going up. It is terribly cold, foggy and it snows. Luckily the fog parts for a little while, so we can have a peek into the crater. The weather doesn't allow us to spend a lot of time at the edge of the crater, and the last cable car going down is already waiting. We finally were able to take a peek into the crater, but will definately come back this summer for a more extensive visit.