Arrived in Beppu - a hot spring resort (apparently to understand Beppu is to understand Japan as a whole, very philosophical Mr Lonely Planet). Its quite a cute little place actually - hot springs EVERYWHERE! Looking out of our hotel window you can actually see steam rising all around the town and into the mountains, its very pretty!
We hit the Hot Springs and Mud Baths on our first day in the city, catching a bus up the mountain. I must say, its very weird to see groups of Japanese men go to spas together....naked! The mud baths were mixed sex, so there were naked people EVERYWHERE (James loved it!!!), I quickly dived into the mud so no one could see me though (honestly, they`re obsessed with boobs over here!). Apparently its quite relaxing, but I wasn`t really getting that feeling, just felt....well dirty!! haha!
James also broke all rules by using soap and shampoo in the hot springs - the old men were looking at him in a rather disapproving way apparently!
We then went to see the famous `Hells` of Beppu - which are basically large hot springs that are supposed to look like hell (?). There was a red one and a very very blue one...which they were cooking eggs in! All a bit too touristy for us, there were seven others to see, but we decided to give those a miss!
A quick bite to eat on the side of the road (literally, we sat on a wall outside a mechanic with a sandwich!) and then decied to walk back down (why do we ALWAYS DO THAT????). Two hours later, and very hot and bothered, we made it back! Had a very nice Japanese BBQ in the evening to round off a lovely day!
