After a lovely breakfast, I set off again. This time, however, just “briefly” to Beppu for a “hells and onsen” tour. I wanted to visit the volcanic springs, the so-called “Seven Hells“, and then relax in an onsen.
The “short” journey by bus took a good hour, over small, narrow mountain roads, in a vehicle that was at best moderately air-conditioned. Kyushu was definitely a few degrees warmer than elsewhere. At the train station in Beppu, I had to get my bearings. But luckily you can always ask someone.
The Seven Hells of Beppu
The “seven hells” are hot volcanic springs, each with something different to offer. Some are rather touristy, and two are in a more remote district. In the end, I visited three of these “gates to the underworld”. You can buy a ticket for all of the springs together, but in my case, it was cheaper to pay for each entry separately.
Umi Jigoku: The “Ocean Hell”
A pond with boiling turquoise water, surrounded by a large garden with smaller colorful springs and a relaxing foot bath (be careful: the water is really hot!). There is a small shrine by the large pond.
Oniishi Bozu Jigoku: Monk heads and demon stones
For me, the most interesting spring: mud bubbles that blubber lazily and look completely alien. Oniishi means something like “demon stone” and Bozu is “monk”, and with a lot of imagination, the bubbles do look like shaved monks’ heads…
Shiraike Jigoku: A hot milk bath
This spring is the furthest into the city. It has milky white water, and there is also a small tropical fish museum which is quite interesting.
On the way to the Onsen
I decided to walk to the onsen I had chosen and get to know the city. Steam is coming out of the ground, manhole covers and pipes just everywhere. On the way, I found another public foot bath that was free to use. I bought a cup of fresh pineapple juice in a small shop and put my feet up for a moment. It was quite a lot of walking.
In the Onsen
Going to the onsen in Japan is not easy if you are a) transgender and b) have several large tattoos. Most baths are segregated by gender, and since I haven’t had surgery yet, I had to go to the “men’s” section. Oh well, maybe I could pick up a nice young man for later 😉 In order not to confuse the staff when I entered the bath (because as a gaijin you are immediately “taken by the hand”) I quickly changed my outfit in a toilet and took off my hair and breast inlays.
But I couldn’t just get rid of the tattoos. So it’s a good idea to do some research in advance to find a tattoo-friendly onsen. Luckily, Kyushu and especially Beppu are less conservative. My choice fell on the Hyotan Onsen. It may not be the most spectacular location, and the “Michelin” rating on the website is a bit exaggerated. But I was interested in seeing a “normal” place, where mainly the Japanese go and not everything is fancy. There’s also a sand bath there, which I also wanted to try out.
Sand bath
Like everything in Japan, the process was perfectly organized – from dropping off any bags to getting towels, yukatas, and flip-flops, to the actual bath. The sand bath was nice, but I found out that it is practically impossible to bury yourself in the sand, and I watched enviously as all the couples piled hot sand on each other. The sand was still super warm even though I was mostly just laying on top. Conclusion: Nice, but not an absolute must-see. Plus, you’ll spend ages washing the sand off afterward.
The Onsen proper
In the actual bath, there is a quaint outdoor pool, a waterfall bath, which looks nicer in the pictures than in reality, two steam baths, which can’t impress a seasoned sauna-goer, and some smaller pools inside. The outside bath is really beautiful, and the waterfalls are very relaxing. The baths inside have different temperatures and are probably partly scented. I found it very pleasant that, unlike in German wellness baths, everything is very neutral, with no strong scents, just a whiff of cedar and lemon.
I made really good use of the time. Together with the rental of yukatas for the sand bath and the necessary towels, the fun cost perhaps ¥2,500, a bargain, especially since there is no time limit.
Dinner
Despite all the relaxation, I still had to get my bus back to Yufuin. The last one left quite early at around 6 pm, so while I didn’t have to rush, I couldn’t stay as long as I wanted. Especially since it was almost a two-kilometer walk to the bus station.
In the restaurant, you can try “Jigoku Steam Kitchen”, dishes that are boiled in the hot steam from the springs. I had a very good fish dish and since the restaurant was almost empty I could take my time. The ordering process was a bit confusing though – an ordering machine, but not really “automatic”. So Google Translate had to help me out again.
I arrived back at the Assi around 7 p.m. and was looking forward to my cozy room. I was very tired, but also incredibly relaxed and chilled. It was almost a shame that I had to leave the next day.