Beppuuuuu....Beppuuuuu.....

What a day!!!....what started out to be a 2-hour tour ended up to be a 6-hour tour. Today was a visit to Beppu's (別府市) famous jigoku (地獄), in other words, Hell Hot Springs. The difference between Jigoku and Onsen is that Onsen is for people to bath in; Jigoku, if immersed, will kill you....just like what James Bond did to that guy in 'You Only Live Twice'.

There are a total of nine jigoku's - Umi (Sea), Oniishibouzu (Devil Rock), Yama (Mountain), Kamado (Oven), Oniyama (Devil Mountain), Shiraike (White Pond), Kinryu (Golden Dragon), Chinoike (Pond of Blood), and Tatsumaki (Tornado). There were some very spectacular jigoku's...where the minerals/chemicals cause the liquid to be different colors.


Four of the Nine Jigoku's

Many of the jigoku's have a place where visitors can dip their feet into the hot water. I felt sooooooo good...although I am allergic to the minerals and forgot to bring my Allegra with me. I have a little time limit, just like Ultraman...where I can only dip for maybe 5 minutes. The last thing I wanted is to have itchy feet for the rest of my tour.


A Little Leg Dipping

Back in 2003, I had the horrible experience of submerging in a natural hotspring for too long, and have to continually bath in Alveno Oatmeal baths for 2 weeks. I was itching all over my body, although there was no apparent rash. So....I am veeeery cautious this time around.

There were about two or three jigoku's that were total rip offs. One was a stupid aquarium, one was a boring greenhouse, and one was a terrible zoo with an crocodile farm. The zoo was the worst. They have elephants, flamigos, snakes, monkeys, etc. All of these animals are housed in not-so-ideal situations. Not really a pleasant site. But as to why they are at these jigoku's? I have no idea....

Another thing that was very peculiar were the two jigoku's that relates to dragons. Both places look like some store out of China. Very un-Japanese. It was like I got transported to China for a moment in time.

Late in the afternoon, I took a train from Beppu to Fukuoka (Hakata). Tonight, I am staying at Hyatt Regency, thanks to Rodney who got free accommodations via his Hyatt Gold Passport Points. So...a real bed for tonight....no floors!!!

P.S....I got to eat at the infamous 100 yen per sushi plate tonight....superb deal with lots of selections!!! Anyone coming to Japan should definitely look these places up!


Satisfaction at the 100 Yen Sushi Restaurant