Visiting Beppu, June 7

I decided to visit Beppu on my own as opposed to taking a tour. It was a 2.5-mile walk to where I wanted to go, and I felt that would be interesting on its own. What I didn't know yet was that 2 of the 2.5 miles were going to be uphill!

As I walked through the city, I was on a main road that leads to the "Hells" of Beppu. These are called Hells because they are geothermal pools of boiling hot water, energized by volcanic thermals. On the road up the hill, I passed by every car dealership - Mazda, Isuzu, Toyota, BMW, Chinese brands, everything. Not a single US brand was on offer. Maybe Trump is right - Japan sells all their brands in the US, but they don't sell US brands in Japan. Later in the day, I did see one US-made vehicle. A 1945 Jeep.

After about an hour of walking up the hillside, I came to the Onsens, or hot pools. The crowds of people were large, and getting tickets was about a fifteen-minute wait in line. Once inside, I was enthralled with the beauty. Japan has a knack for the visually stunning. Everywhere you look, there is something beautiful to see. Every garden, tree, and rock is meticulously placed, sculpted, and maintained for the best aesthetic value.

Everywhere the eye landed showed steam rising from the ground and streams and pools. Each of the pools (or hells) had a different color. Blue, red, white - all from the minerals of the rocks the pools were made of. There was no smell of sulfur that I expected. Instead, roses are in bloom, and the odor is very pleasant.

I got the opportunity to take a footbath, which was very welcome after the hike! The water in the footbath is collected from the underground stream and is routed through a series of bamboo pipes in order to cool it somewhat before entering the footbath. Even so, the water temp was from 110-130 degrees. I was able to tolerate up to about 120 before it was just TOO HOT. My calves and feet felt good after about a 15-minute soak.

My next stop was at another of the Hells. This one is unique in that there are crocodiles that have made their home in the hot waters. At temps near boiling, these crocs just lay around waiting for some unsuspecting deer to come for a drink. Seems to have worked for them. The history shows that they have been there for over 900 years.

Now it's time to go back. The walk that took a little over an hour up the hill took me 45 minutes on the way down. I stopped for an ice cream on my way. When I got to the bottom of the hill, I stopped in a Ramen bar for a late lunch. This was an experience all on its own.

Japanese Ramen is not like the instant soup in a cup stuff. It has a broth that is cooked for days to develop deep umami flavors. My favorite is Tonkotsu. It's a pork broth. This Ramen shop has a guy making and pulling the noodles fresh. The noodles go in the bowl first. Then they pour the broth over. A soy and rice vinegar marinated soft-boiled egg is then added. Some sliced pork belly, seaweed (Nori), and bean sprouts top it off. You add soy sauce, bean paste, and pepper sauce to the desired taste. YUMMY.

To buy, I had to use a vending-type machine. A picture of each type of soup was next to the price. Good thing they had pics, I don't read Japanese! You put in the money, press the button next to the picture you want, and out pops a ticket. Give it to the cook and go sit. In a few minutes, they bring you the soup. Efficient and kinda fun.

The soup was the best ever. I wish they could replicate this in the US. After eating, I made my way back to the ship. It was a really good day. I liked Beppu.