Bathing in Beppu!

Today, I was in the land of onsens, Beppu! For those of you who don't know, an onsen is a hot spring in Japan. Beppu is a city in north eastern Kyushu that was built on top of a huge natural spring which is heated by volcanic activity deep below the surface. I managed to take 3 baths at various onsens in the "Jigoku" area of the city. "Jigoku" translates into English a "Hell". I believe the name was given to this area because of the dense steam spewing out of all the pipes and street vents in the area. The picture I have attached is of Nannawa Mushi Yu which is a steam onsen. In this particular onsen you lay down on a bed of grass in a small stone hut for ten minutes. It's a lot like a sauna, but steamy! When you come out you are drenched! Then you go get in the bath and enjoy a good soak. It was a lot of fun, but not something I would want to do in the heat of a Japanese summer. Anyway, lots of fun.


-- Post From My iPhone

Aso's volcano!

Today was a wonderful day to see my first volcano! The largest mountain in Kyushu, Japan is Aso-san. It is an active volcano surrounded by five peaks. We were able to take a bus just about to the top of the mountain, and from there we took a gondola to the mouth. The plum of sulphuric gas was causing everyone to cough and sputter a bit, but the view inside was amazing! The most beautiful color greenish blue steaming lake of sulphuric lava lay at the suface and was reported to be 200 degrees Celsius. Apparently, it is a steaming 1000 degrees Celsius inside the mountain!

No burning projectiles today! (^_^)v


--Post From My iPhone

Kumamoto Castle

Spent the day at Kumamoto Castle in Kumamoto, Kyushu. Absolutely, beautiful! By far the biggest and most impressive castle I've seen here in Japan. The surrounding walls were gigantic as well!





-- Post From My iPhone