We are really enjoying being back in Beppu. It is one of Japan’s special places. In Beppu there are over 3000 Onsens…hot spring baths, in this small area. Locals visit their favourite Onsen daily as part of their daily routine. Lucky them, as we would love to have that opportunity in our daily life. Not only do you enjoy an amazing level of cleanliness, but your body feels restored with aches and pains diminished.
Crocodiles love the heat and thrive in this area of hot springs. What better place for them to live long and healthy lives than Beppu.
Steamed food is delicious and lightly flavoured from the hot springs. On a previous trip while visiting Beppu, the owner of our guest house left freshly steamed eggs, every morning, at our door to give us a good start to the day. A cob of corn is a first for us. It was cooked perfectly and uniquely flavourful.
Patrons at the restaurant that steams your food participate in the process. Opening hours varied and we were a bit frustrated that we couldn’t find one open when we went out to eat.
We love visiting the foot-baths for a bit of TLC. They are free and feel so good. Our feet take a beating as we ride long days and walk places. So when we see one, we make sure to take advantage of it.
This is called a bamboo Onsen water cooler. It is a high wooden rack loaded with bamboo twigs. The hundred Celsius degree spring water flows over the twigs to cool it down to about 40 degrees Celsius. This goes straight down a pipe to the Onsen. This is the purest form of Onsen bathing as no cold water is used to cool it down. This is an important feature as locals who understand the therapeutic properties of an Onsen avoid those that use cool water if they can.
Even the strongest hot spring pipes made of special metal alloys, cannot withstand the corrosive effect of the minerals. Everything built here, including electrical appliances, vehicles left parked for a period of time, TV’s, etc. develop a life of their own. TV’s are a good example of this. People report TV’s suddenly changing channels or turning on unexpectedly. Parking your car for a long period could result in a vehicle that needs to be towed away and sent to the dump. We mostly see residents in this area walking, using transit and bicycles. On the other hand, the steam is excellent for cooking, healing aches and pains and restoring sore joints.
This statue of Ippen Shonin is in front of the Kannewa Mushiyu Steam Bath. You are invited to pour hot water over the statue where you feel pain in your own body. It is said to give relief…so Barry gave it a try. The monk Shonin arrived in 1276 and turned Kannewa followed by the whole of Beppu from a volcanic wasteland into a thriving hot spring town. Precious to this, it was a very dangerous place. He sank stones into the ground to stabilize it, channeled the flow of hot water and put it to use. Despite the commercialism of modern day, we can imagine he would be proud of the success of his work centuries later.
We are trying a different form of foot bath. This foot bath has no water to soak your feet…instead hot steam arises from below and engulfs your feet in steam. The wooden box seals your feet from outside air. It is super effective.
Cats are a frequent sight in Beppu. Many are cherished pets but there are also many wild cats who benefit from the kindness of locals who feed them. This lovely cat is beautiful…well groomed and a bit chubby.
This poor guy looks a bit worse for the wear. He is patiently waiting by an Onsen with the hope of a kind soul providing some food. We contribute when we see a jar or an appeal for helping street cats. This cat is comfortable with people but a bit wary.
The last time we were in Beppu we stayed in this small Japanese inn. The owner allowed us to use her own hot spring bath. Every morning there was a basket of eggs cooked using hot spring left at our room
We have done our best to ride through as many of the streets of Kannawa as we can. It has been so interesting and rewarding. Imagine this area which is dotted with so many Onsens
This is our final stop of the day. We are planning to visit this Onsen which is a steam bath. The two small sections at the front are separate areas for men and women. Only 3 people can fit in the area at a time and you are restricted to 10 minutes max.
You are provided with a Yukata (robe) to wear during your steam bath. There is a staff member who ushers you in and shows you where to lie down. The ground is covered in acorus gramineus (Japanese sweet flag) and you will be notified at 8 min with an option to continue for 2 more minutes. You become hot immediately and feel a profound effect from the experience.
This is the entry to the room where you will lie on the floor. The door is 1 metre square and the roof of the room is quite low. Basically you crawl in and lie down. The floor is heated with thermal steam.
After the steam bath, you return to the change room where you remove your Yukata and enter the hot spring pool (the hottest we have experienced). What an experience this has been.
People have been using this unique hot spring steam bath for decades
When we finished the steam bath and Onsen, Barry and I both felt the need to rest and spend some time in the lounge with a cold drink. This was an experience unlike any we have had before.
As we were preparing to get on our trikes, we met this lovely couple who are here for a few days. They also found the experience at the steam bath to be quite extraordinary.
We got back to our hotel and were relaxing in the lounge. This woman (on the left) is quite a character and decided to chat with us. Thankfully a hotel employee came along to translate. Lots of laughs. She was so excited that we were from Canada that she went to the gift shop and bought us ice cream treats. A fun ending to an incredible day.
