There is no place like JoHOMEmon

I have spend the last 2 days with my host family. Yesterday, I braved another Taifun (which ended up passing us by for the most part) and drove all the way from Beppu to Fukuyoshi. I met up with my host family, and we had as quiet of a day as it can be with 3 small children in the house. We also went grocery shopping. The amount of determination and persistence it takes to keep 2 small children in one toy shinkansen grocery cart is astounding. I don't know how my two host sisters do it daily. Also, I have through determination created a better relationship with the baby. Before, she would cry whenever she saw me. However, Okaasan assured me, that she does that with any stranger, not just the "foreign" kind. Now she even laughed at me, and can be in a room alone with me without crying. Unless she is hungry.

Today, we visit to the Jômon open air park, that doubles as one of the oldest excavation sites in Japan. The weather is brilliant, as you can probably see in the pictures. We wander around the premises for 3 hours. We could have spend 10 hours and still not seen it all. It is amazing. From the replicated houses, to the old burial grounds and walk ways, all of it's a joy to experience.

After this, we stop at a famous ceramics shop in Akita.

For dinner we visit Sushi place that I have been to 10 years ago, back then with mum and dad. We have great conversations and even greater sushi. To end the day, we visit to the local Onsen one last time. I can't believe my time in Kyushu is almost over.

Pictures Fukuyoshi

Tomorrow and the following day will be spend shopping in Fukuoka before I have to go back. :)

Lonely roller coasters

Today is my last day in Beppu. And I have really done all the normal touristy things. So instead, I travel to an amusement park. There are no school holidays, and it's Tuesday, so I am nearly alone in the gigantic park. I ride the roller coasters sometimes on my own, but in all cases as many times as I possibly can without waiting times. I love it!

Back in Beppu, I spend 1 hour in a cat cafe with cute cats and kittens, who don't know that I usually prefer dogs.

Last in the day, I take a mud bath in Hoyoland Onsen. The setup is... adventurous. There is next to no signage, so you wander around naked. The outside bath is mixed, which means you have to somehow get in and out of the bath with modesty. 2 other ladies and myself take 3 tries to time it right, before we are sufficiently submerged to face the "men" in the bath. I even get a ride from a few ladies back into the city, which saves me the wait for the bus.

Pictures Beppu 

Mountain in the clouds

Kyushu is preparing for another Taifun the day after tomorrow. The day that I want to go back to Fukuoka. Well, we will see what happens.

The weather seems better today, so I take the rope-way up the highest mountain in the area Tsurumi San. Sadly, a few minutes after I arrive on top, clouds completely surround the mountain. This means there is no view at all. But the air is refreshingly cool, and there  are a few nice statures and walkways, so I am not to bothered. After this, I take a bus back to the sea, where I have a hot sand steam bath. Very relaxing and warming. After wandering around some more, I find a great family owned Kimono business, who have easy to wear Yukata, which accommodate all sizes and can be put on in less than 5 minutes. I have great fun at the store and leave with a beautiful Yukata. This is really all for today, I am still a bit tired from yesterday.

Pictures Beppu

Kunisaki- a beautiful secret in the mountains

Today, I am undertaking a traditional Japanese bus tour through Kunisaki. Usually, I would never go for a pre-arranged bus tour. However, the places I want to go, they are quite far off the public transport grid. The bus tour includes only 4 people, so at least we are not a horde of tourists following a tiny flag around like confused ducklings.

First, we stop at Usa Jingu. It's a gigantic shrine complex in a picturesque pine forest. One major standout here, is the fact that Shinto Shrine and Buddhist Temple exist in the same place, fitting together almost seamlessly in a blend of black and red. I could have spend hours wandering around and dreaming of the past. However, as with all guided tours, the time frames are very tight. This is an overarching theme throughout the day. Any of the places we visit would require at least double the time to experience fully. But without the tour, I would have not been able to visit any of the places at all.

Next is Fukiji, the oldest wooden structure of Kyushu, including mural cavings from the Heian times (9-11th century). Sadly, no pictures are allowed in the temple. However, we have a monk explain the history of the place (which I am struggling to follow, as mosquitoes try to eat me alive again.)

Maki Odo also does not allow pictures, with grand buddha statures to match.

The following stop nearly kills me. Kumano Magaibutsu are buddha statures carved in gigantic rock surfaces.  However, to get to those statues, you have to climb up mountain "paths" that are simply insane. Please see the pictures for further explanation. However, I make it safely up and down.

The last stop on our tour is Futagoji, a temple complex with a gigantic pair of Niouzu statures. Usually, those type of stone monuments are fenced in and warded off, but these just stand around in the great scenery. Really, the Kunisaki area is beautiful.

In the evening, I relax in the Hyotan onsen. :)

Pictures Kunisaki

A Game called: Allergy or just really hot Onsen

Today is packed with natural hot springs, or "jigoku" as they are called in Beppu. I manage to hit them all in one day, and I am also able to try a few onsen out myself. The first jigoku is gray and bubbles within muddy waters. They place is called Oniishibozu, because apparently the gray bubbles remind Japanese people of shaved monk heads. I also enter the Oniisibozu Onsen. It leaves me bright red and again worried about a possible allergy against the water.

Next it's the Umi-Jigoku natural hot spring, with bright blue water and a green house powered by the steam . I also enter the Yama Jigoku, where they raise a lots of animals as well, including a hippopotamus and rabbits.

I follow the road further south towards Kamado Jigoku. The steam of these natural hot springs was used for cooking in older times. I eat an egg boiled in the steam, which tastes like German Soleier.
However, not all of the Jigoku are as... pleasant. The Oniyama Jigoku decided to bread crocodiles. Who in the 7 hells thinks: Hot spring... definitely needs more crocodiles. The Shiraike Jigoku breeds piranhas.

The last two hells are Chinoike, a red boiling hot spring, and Tatsumaki, a natural geyser.
For lunch, I eat some of the best Omuraisu ever. The chef has worked in the Intercontinental Hotel in Hamburg and Düsseldorf. In the 70s. He is very happy to talk and tells me about the time he was allowed to make a Bento for the Tenno, who had visited Germany for the Olympics. He also introduces me to his friend, who studied classical opera singing in Lüneburg in the 90s.
I also enter the Kannawa Mushiyu Onsen, where people volunteer to bake themselves in a gigantic oven. You wear a Yukata, and lay down on herb straw in a tiny oven while hot steam is pouring in. It is insane. But of course I had to try it.

For dinner, I went to a great sushi place, where the chef challenged me to eat his house special. We had a great time talking about the history of "coexisting" Buddhism and Shinto in Japan. And I did my best to eat the octopus leg without pulling a face. I succeeded.

Pictures Beppu

Beppu not so nice

Today doesn't start well. The station assistant sold me the wrong type of train ticket yesterday, so I have to exchange it. Then I have to take my heavy suitcase up and down the staircase again. In Beppu, I meet with a friendly tourist information employee. However, once I arrive at my hotel, I am made to feel quite... unwelcome. They clearly don't want a foreigner at the hotel, and they try to do everything they can to discourage me. This includes stating I should carry my suitcase in the rain until 4 PM, instead like every other hotel I have been to, I could leave it at reception. I go back to the station for free wifi, cancel my reservation and find a different hotel.

After this, I try to stay in high spirits, but it is a bit difficult. Finally the rain lets up, I get some food, and try my first onsen. It is a very nice old house, but there is just a tiny bath to use. There is again a friendly older lady who helps me with the ins and outs if the bath (there is a definite pattern of friendly old ladies on my trip). And after I get out of the bath tub, it seems I have reacted quite allergic to some contents of the water. My legs are bright red and stay that way for about 20 minutes before the effect subsides. I hope this was just something in this onsen, and will not be repeated in all the other resorts. I have been fine in onsen before, even in the sulfur kind. However, the second onsen I try in the evening brings the same result. The brochures state the water is rich on Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate... baking soda. I don't think I am allergic to that, but we will see.

I check into my new hotel and start shifting through the information I collected. Sunday will be spend on a bus tour to Kunisaki peninsula. Saturday will be spend at the hells and the onsen surrounding them. Then I have one day for the ropeway and further away onsen.

Pictures Beppu

Usuki, Utzki, Tzki

Today, I am getting on yet another train to Usuki, or as the guy at the station calls it "Uttzki". Over 2 hours and I fall asleep again. I am really getting into the "public transport sleep" mode of things. Thankfully, so far, I have always woken up on time. (Which probably means, tomorrow I won't). Usuki station is small, and requires me to climb steep stairs up and down before I am finally at the station proper. From there thankfully, it is only a short walk to the hotel. However, it is already looking like rain. I take my umbrella and wander off into the "city".

First, I walk threw the ruins of Usuki Castle. Like many things I find today, many things are yet to be discovered. Many of the explanations include "is unknown" or "has not yet been found". However, a few things are clear. When the castle was first build, the ground was still an island. As a lot of sand and sediment started to reclaim the sea, the lords decided to reclaim the soil for more ground to build. Nowadays, the island has fully become part of the bigger island called "Kyushu". During my wanderings through the ruins, I also meet a full class of elementary school children. I stand still and let them pass, as they all stare and some actually walk backwards to stare some more.

After this, I walk through some old samurai residences and the old town center. Of course, after a while, it feels like the rooms all blend together. If you've seen one you have seen the mold they all follow. However, there are very few old buildings in this good of a state, and I enjoy wandering around with Tatami under my feet. There is something oddly calming about it. The rain lets up and then comes back with a vengeance. Most of the rest of the day is spend under an umbrella.

I also take a bus towards some great stone buddha carvings. Again, it is unknown who or why, but there are some great statures carved into a volcano ash made rock wall. Some of them are in truly remarkable condition, if you imagine they are actually over 1000 years old.

Usuki is actually also famous for Fugu (blow-fish). I take a few minutes to think about the potential deadliness of blow fish, and the possibility that my trip will have a quite sudden end. But life is for living, and I wouldn't pass up the "best blow-fish in south Japan" for anything. I ask for a very good recommendation, and eat blow fish sashimi, tuna, tempura and much more.

Pictures Usuki