Adventure in Oita Prefecture - part 4

Time for a bath. A nice muddy bath. We're going to the famous Beppu Onsen "Hoyo Land"

This is the entrance. It doesn't look very impressive from the outside.  This was originally an elementary school and the guest rooms are the old classrooms.  

This is the front desk. Still not very impressive. 

Per the internet: Old-school spa with 25 guestrooms, plus indoor & outdoor bathing in hot springs & mineral mud.

We bought tickets for day-time use only. Now we're headed for the baths! We follow the signs to the baths, the floor looks pretty shabby.

There's a covered walkway to the baths.

It's a long walk...

It seems like this walkway goes on forever.

We're still walking.

At last we arrived in the Muddy Hot Spring Bath Spa! All we have to do is give the man at the counter out ticket and we can go in.

I can't take my camera inside and take pictures but if you click this link you can see what all the excitement is about: Hoyo Land and this link too Hoyo Land Onsen

This is Jon after returning from the muddy hot baths. He's well cooked! And, fully refreshed from soaking in the hot muddy mineral water. I think there's some miracle power in the mud, I'm feeling really great too! The main facility may be a bit run down but this is a great place to visit.

Last day: It's raining.

While waiting for everyone to check out I took some pictures of the street in front of the Inn.

The entrance.

Time for a group picture before we get in the step van and head for the Castle town of Kitsuki.

Welcome to Kitsuki. It's still raining.

This is the Kitsuki website

Because it's raining pretty hard we're just going for a short walk around the town.

It's very scenic.

It's very comfortable too! This is a nice rest area next to a public toilet. 

A rainy morning in a tourist town and we're the only people here!

This is the way back to the parking lot.

The last of the group is heading up the hill.

Wow! One other person is walking around the town. 

After this we returned to the van and drove to the airport for our flight home. This is the end of our fantastic 6 day adventure.  I'm already looking forward to our next trip.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mike

Bonus shots from Miura Beach!

Adventure in Oita Prefecture - part 3

Picking up where I left off. Let's go to Yufuin. Everybody want's to go to Yufuin!

Lake Kinrin is about a 30 minute walk from the Yufuin train station.

It's a very scenic and peaceful place to visit; well worth the walk. 

The rest of Yufuin is pretty much a tourist town. Lots of small shops and restaurants. Plenty of places to spend money.

On our way out of town we stopped at a lookout spot. Nice view!

The green hills are impressive.

I took this picture from the car window as we drove toward Beppu. According to our trip itenerary we're going to Beppu to visit Hell! 😟

Welcome to Hell! 

Apparently Hell ain't such a bad place to be. Hells of Beppu info site

This is the official website for Beppu Hell 

If this is Hell, Heaven must be really amazing!

Hiroko-san is checking her Hell guide book.

This is the muddy hell.

Kitchen stove hell.

Red hell.

Blue hell.

This is supposed to be "White" hell but it turned green.

This is Red Blood hell. 

Been there, done that group picture.

This is Tatsumaki Jigoku geyser. It's designated as a natural monument of Beppu City. 


After we were done with Hell we went to Kannawa Onsen in Beppu where we checked into our Inn for the night. Kannawa Onsen web info.

This was the early morning view from my room. That's steam coming out of those vent pipes.

This is the Inn that we stayed at.

After breakfast we start to gather in front of the Inn. We're going to visit the Monkeys!

Takasakiyama Monkey Park

No cages, walk freely amongst the monkeys. Get as politely close as you want, just don't try and touch them, feed them or make serious eye contact.

This park is amazing!  Check out their website !

The monkeys don't pay any attention to us.

They just go about their day as if we're not there.

The monkeys know that it's almost feeding time. 

This is Yuko-san the Monkey guide. She explained a lot to us. She really seemed to enjoy her job.  

One last look before leaving.

Time to go for a walk around downtown Beppu. This is in front of Beppu train station.

This is Takegawara Onsen. Per the internet:

Takegawara Onsen is a historic hot spring spa that stands among the most famed in the city, with various attractions and adult entertainment. This bath house was constructed and opened in 1879 and was renovated and rebuilt in 1938. It offers regular baths and hot spring sand baths, all surrounded by elegant history that makes you feel as though you’re taking a walk into the past. An open lobby is available for relaxation both before and after the bath.

This is the world famous Beppu Bamboo Fork & Spoon.

Food tastes better when you eat it with this fork and spoon.

When we went to the store where they sell them, along with many other handmade bamboo things they were closed. We were so disappointed. However, Emi knocked on their door and told them that we had traveled from Yokosuka just to shop at their store. They kindly opened up for us to shop for an hour. I was so excited that I forgot to take a picture of the store. I bought two sets of the fork & spoon! 😁 Some internet info on the shop

Walking through one of the covered Beppu shopping streets.

Last shot for part 3: Walking down the main street of Beppu looking for a place to eat lunch... this is serious business!

Part 4 is coming soon. Part 4 should be the last part of this adventure.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mike

Bonus shots!