Month: November 2024

Hello! I am not keeping up at all with posting! We continue travelling around the country and are currently in Nagano. Hiked in snow today!

a bit different from today’s post from three of the seven Hell’s in Beppu!!

I don’t have my notes or maps in front of me so we are just going to have to wing it here. Basically there are 7 super hot springs boiling away that you can visit. Definitely not for bathing.

I think the first one we visited was the prettiest. The gardens and grounds were gorgeous.

Actually there were some spots you could have a foot bath. We didn’t though.

Amazing water colour here! Definitely hell like!

Yet on the other side of the building was another pool… Of this superb colour! Hissing and spitting away!!

On the end of the pole I suspect they were cooking a crate of eggs! It was all the rage to eat an egg cooked in the hot springs!

The smell was a bit whiffy ….

I am going to be lazy and just whack in the photos with minimum blather as I still need a shower and get to bed as there is another full day to do tomorrow!

We moved on to another Hell that was famous for the smooth bubbling clay.

It was only mildly bubbling.

Again, they set things out very aesthetically

Another footbath

Steamy rocks

And on the the third hell where they had bubbling mud and pretty pools!!

Well, there you have it! Some of the very cool natural hot springs of Beppu!

Time for bed for me!!

Hello… We’ve travelled a lot since I was last here. We left Kyushu, went to Shikoku and as of yesterday, we are in Nikko… North of Tokyo!! I am seriously going to need to sleep for a week when we get home.

until then… The adventures continue.

So, Rachel trotted off to Hiroshima and Jeff and I went to Beppu, a town renowned for its numerous hot springs!

Dunno who the guy is but… He is outside the station. Speaking of the train station… Cracked me up every time we got to the station. The town is pronounced ‘Be’ (short vowel as in bed) then ‘poo’

but the train platform announcement did it in a hilarious way… The ‘poo’ was done at a much higher pitch. I wish I had a recording.

Anyway, we found our hotel and settled in. (Which in our case means…. Made a big mess of the room)

Before mess.

We booked in to a private bath, popped on our provided yukatas, toddled over the road and scrubbed up!

The first night we had the mosaic bath

There is a spot for your clothes etc

Then there is the spot for you to sit and soap up and wash

Then there you hope in the scalding hot volcano heated waters and relax!!

It flows out of the corner here.

Jeff did well to stay in as long as he did. I cope with the hot water better. But I do jump out and get under the cold shower and go back in again.

The second night we went to the cedar bath tub

Washing spot had two showers…

Nice but seemed hotter than the first one!

Then on the last night I went off down the street with my bath bag…

Posting pic again because I love it…

To the oldest bath house in Beppu

Takegawara Onsen.

and damn that water is HOT!! It was such a fabulous building. But I was pink by the time I got out!!!

Hotel view

Local street view. Er… We might have been in a red light district. There were some… Interesting sights 😂😂

And we found Tengu down one of the arcades!

ok… Better sleep. Hiking plans tomorrow!

xxx

Hostel, Aso Base had the best view!!!

Leaving Nagasaki was a bit rushed and I felt I didn’t give Noz enough hugs before we went through the gates. She was an absolute champion helping us secure our tickets for the next few sections of travel. After a few fancy xxpants Shinkansen trains, we ended up on an Agatha Christie esque train that meandered through the countryside at a bit of an amble.

It gave us time to take snaps and as the train had barely any people, we could all jump from seat to seat to admire the views

Everyday farm and country town scenes

Its was really relaxing

It was exciting to see the mountain ranges appear

Love seeing the rivers

When we got to Aso, we has a few hours to kill before we could check in, so we wandered all over the place.

Thanks to Rachel for this and the following pics. All mine are on the Nikon.

I’d always wanted to visit Mt Aso… Back in my days of living in Japan, I used to collect phone cards… They had lots of cool pictures and designs. One of my favs were the Mt Aso photos.

Basically there is a big ring of mountains and the area is collectively known as Mt Aso

It was pretty easy to take the bus up to the crater on the first day. Amazing seeing the venting steam billowing out.

BTW last eruption was 2021 I think.

Rugged and beautiful scenery!!

We opted out of doing the big climb on the first day… We knew it was going to take time and we’d spent so much time oggling the steam and surrounds, we felt safer to come back on a dedicated climbing mission,

So we found another smaller hike behind the museum and shops to do… And it was lovely… Quiet with gorgeous views

We were super lucky with the weather too

Spectacular!

Time to head back and indulge in the hot springs..

I can’t show you pictures of Rachel And I in the bathhouse… You’re welcome lol… But it was amazing to bathe in water heated by a volcano!

And I have the perfect onsen bag… Kitty in the bath haha

Anyway, I need to bug Rachel for photos of our climb the next day.

we just got into Kochi in Shikoku this afternoon!! We are all done for the day and in bed… Like it’s not even 8pm haha. So sad.

xxx

Our time with Nozomi, Tetsu, Maru and Tsuki went all too fast!

Here is a little final roundup of our lovely relaxed country days.

One day we all set off to walk down the mountain to the village to eat magnificent ramen at Tetsu’s restaurant.

Being a busy Mum and host to multiple international working guests, Nozomi had never walked down to the restaurant like some of her worker would do.

It was the girls first time too.

It was wonderful to walk. You see so much more than whizzing by on a train or in a car.

You get to say hi to the small locals too

Persimmons are ready… Unfortunately lots will go to waste as a lot of properties are intended or abandoned.

Many properties are being slowly reclaimed by nature

This place is visited and tended to reasonably regularly…

But not this one!

One one memorable afternoon, my once City Boy Husband, found himself loading a goat into a tiny truck.

Lucky goat off on a holiday to make little baby goats!

There were the usual performances put on by the girls… Cute little acts so we got to ooo and ahhh, giggle and clap!

Our last night, Tetsu put on a fabulous BBQ… Altho the temps dropped so we all decided eating indoors was best!

Wagyu beef, chicken and squid!!

I helped Nozomi make up some onigiri (rice balls)

Add in some tofu, salad and baked spuds and voila! Good times!

And here is one of the cutest things.

The girls decided that Jeff, with all his white hair was actually Santa San!! Jeff gleefully totally joined in on this and got them to do a Christmas wish for a present.

Haha… It was something a little more expensive, so he’s done the right thing, written them a letter from Santa San and given over some extra yen to parents to make it happen!!

Melted hearts!!

We will miss our friends!!

xxx

Hello! I have a few quiet days ahead so I’ll try to catch up a bit on stories!!

Last week, Nozomi drove us over to Arita so we could try not to buy ceramics.

While over all there were plenty of shops for us to look in, and lots of beautiful pieces to agonise over, it’s almost a ghost town with so many places shut and not many people visiting.

A stark contrast to last year when I was lucky enough to be here for the ceramics festival!!

The amazing wall made of kiln bricks and pottery bits

We popped in to so many shops. If they had all been open there would be no way we would have been able to leave within daylight hours!

I didn’t take pics of the work from the high end stuff… Felt weird. But sometimes even the more mass produced stuff is fun to rummage about in.

Lots of interesting details all over the place if you are prepared to look around.

His and Hers loo signs in ceramics for example.

Random wall parts

Some kind of lantern?

Creative cafe frontage

A closer look at the water trough

Alleyways…

Driveway embellishments

Pavers

A massive 1000 year old Gingko tree!

Still too warm and the leaves are resolutely not turning yellow yet.

ok… Maybe I see a bit of yellow…

Many owls…

Overall, we all had a fun day out together, hanging out, oohing and ahhing over gorgeous ceramics, chatting to locals, eating…

We hope this sleepy little town comes back to life and people discover all its delights!

xxx

(Unexpected manhole cover design)

And… Off to Nagasaki we go…

Actually I am a bit ahead of myself as we did get a flight across before jumping on the ferry. A typhoon was supposed to hit but it skirted the area so we got nothing more than the equivalent of a testy Tasmanian day weather wise.

We do have a 2 week JR rail pass but will not put that into action until we leave Mt Aso. Unfortunately the much increased price of the pass has made it barely better value for the two weeks of intense travel coming up and the math said… Don’t buy an extra week. Flying was cheaper and faster to get ourselves to Nagasaki. We have been staying with Nozomi and family too so we haven’t been near a train since we arrived!

It was so easy taking the bus from Kyoto to the domestic airport in Osaka, booking in, then once arrived we strolled through almost non existent crowds to the ferry terminal. Doing this cut a couple of hours drive out for Nozomi.

Just a little ferry and pretty relaxing

And then up to spend some wonderful relaxing days…

Stunning views

Beautiful home

Nestled in the mountainside, Nozomi and family enjoy a tranquil space.

Nozomi organises their home to host workaway guests who come to help do work on the property. They come from all over the world so the girls are getting fantastic exposure to different languages and cultures.

In the meantime, her husband Tetsu runs a fabulous ramen shop called Ki Tsu Tsu Ki. (Woodpecker) He has built this business up from scratch and it’s really popular! And the dishes taste amazing.

slowly they are working on projects around the house… Creating little garden beds…

And a chook house…

Next is to create a safe run for the chooks

They have some goats on a shared bit of land

Rachel has become instantly popular with the girls!

And Nozomi has been cooking up a storm for us… Occasionally I remember to take photos before eating everything!! Plus we are getting fresh rice as her in-laws own rice fields!

So good!!

Anyway, We’ve been loving the slower paced family life, catching up with friends and seeing a different side of the country!

We only have one more day… so our week has slipped by quite fast despite the less crazy pace!!

We will be making the most of it! Xxx