Beppu

Time is flying and a big pile of posts is standing inside my blog as a draft. Ok, here you have one more (few still to come...please be patient;) from my (old) trip. As a defence I can say that right now I'm busier than ever before with my studies. First version of my thesis should be finished after one month. To make days a bit longer I have to finish many many experiments also. Judo is only thing I haven't given up because of this. Luckilly summer is always the time of pure power...hopefully also here in Japan!

Ok. Here you have the pics from Beppu. The no.1 place I visited during this trip. This town included over 100 official onsens (hot baths) and who knows how many unofficial. Water is really boiling under this town... I spent my day in this lovely small town (bigger than my home city in Finland, which is BTW 8. biggest in whole Finland) mostly in onsens...and especially "hidden" ones, better name would be "free" onsens. They are not hidden, I could find them (I had a map). I could find 4 free onsens from mountain with little help of REALLY kind (commercial) tourist office workers.:) Thank you Tourism Oita! These "free onsens" are made and maintained by local people. Many of them use these onsens daily.


Ship from Matsuyama was like cruisers going between Helsinki and Stockholm. Not only by look but prices of food were also similarly high.



The big ship. Sorry didn't fit to my camera from this close. A bus was getting us from the dock as in airports. :)



Like I said...lots of water boiling under the soil. These sights fill the whole town.



The first one.



And look who is bathing... ;)



Took some time to hike (or should I climb) to the next bath. Wonders of mountain area...some kind of dam..?



Wonders of nature and some spices from humans.



Finally there.


The second one.


Me and my new friend Tanabe-san. Tanabe-san is local onsen-otaku (every day all around year drives up to mountain to have a bath). He was kind to show me two more "free" onsens.


The third one...



...And me in it.



The view from bath over the Beppy city.



A hole into earth.



Sulphur was smellin every where...guess what is the odor in my t-shirt and towel used on that day still...



The fourth one and familiar face smiling. This clay bath is in top 5 in whole Japan! (some statistics to all who are interested such a things)



Sun was starting to set already.



But before heading to sleep, one more bath. This time I tried a sand bath and have to admid that it was strange. Like laying in really hot beach but without the sun...and the sand is getting hotter when digging deeper. Nice one, makes you really sweat.


Green smoke?


Slept in a bath house next to station. Only 1500 yen whole night including the bath, yukata, and a bed in a big Tatami room.



How to start a day in Beppu?


Inside.


....Having a bath is a perfect start to a day (also perfect end and a way to spent a lunch or etc, breaks ;). Wonder if I could move to life in this city and have my own onsen in my backyard..?! Oh BTW, hottest water ever in this bath! Had to sit 10 minutes with my legs inside before diving in.



Remainds me a certain place in Matsuyama and price of a ticket is only 1/13 of it. Paid 100 yen to get in this old onsen.


Ok, untill the next time. (btw, now is 15th of June here;)