steam-powered city
A short trip on the train, as most of my entries have begun, landed me in the coastal city of Beppu. Known famously for it's hot springs the hillside on which it sits is littered with onsen and makes this one of the hotspots for relaxation and pleasure.
As soon as I arrived I headed for the Khaosan Beppu hostel to drop off my bags. I only had two nights here so I needed to get out and make the most of my time. While the weather was decent I grabbed a bus across town to the hell springs, a group of nine different springs that are far too hot to bath in. Unfortunately, some of them have been highly commercialised with animals housed in tiny cages as though it's necessary to justify the price of the attraction. Some however were quite beautiful with the billowing steam rising into the hills above.
They were really great to wander around and took up most of the afternoon, leave just enough time too visit an onsen. It's one of those things you really have to do while in Beppu. The bath house had lots of different kinds of spa including the waterfall; which pounds down on you from a height and is great for relieving stress and aches across your shoulders and back, and of course the outdoor onsen (it was raining at the time and felt great with all the heat from the pool) surrounded by rocks and plants.
A couple of hours later and I was done and dusted. An early night.
The next day I headed up into the mountains around the city and caught a cable car up to the top where I was afforded some great views of the coast and the mountains.
It's a beautiful, beautiful place. But time waits for no man and I'm off to Hiroshima.
As soon as I arrived I headed for the Khaosan Beppu hostel to drop off my bags. I only had two nights here so I needed to get out and make the most of my time. While the weather was decent I grabbed a bus across town to the hell springs, a group of nine different springs that are far too hot to bath in. Unfortunately, some of them have been highly commercialised with animals housed in tiny cages as though it's necessary to justify the price of the attraction. Some however were quite beautiful with the billowing steam rising into the hills above.
They were really great to wander around and took up most of the afternoon, leave just enough time too visit an onsen. It's one of those things you really have to do while in Beppu. The bath house had lots of different kinds of spa including the waterfall; which pounds down on you from a height and is great for relieving stress and aches across your shoulders and back, and of course the outdoor onsen (it was raining at the time and felt great with all the heat from the pool) surrounded by rocks and plants.
A couple of hours later and I was done and dusted. An early night.
The next day I headed up into the mountains around the city and caught a cable car up to the top where I was afforded some great views of the coast and the mountains.
It's a beautiful, beautiful place. But time waits for no man and I'm off to Hiroshima.
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Wish i was with you, those spa's sound great.pictures continue to impress, i was up the lakes tuesday and the views were superb had a good day. keep well. dad
Hi craig just checking in,If you see a place called tamara take a couple of photos, dont know where it is dont know much about it but it has significance. hope you are well, ko nichi wa and sayo nara.
The place dad is talking about is called Tomari and its a port for cruise ships, for passengers to travel to other parts og Japan. Go to Sendai , north of Tokyo on the coast, will probably be more interesting,
Mam
The place bob refers to is actually called Tomari
and its a port for cruise liners. Sendai might be a better option to visit