Baths in Beppu

Friday, May 16, 2008--Beppu (Continued)

After leaving the International Center where I typed into my blog, I caught the bus to my ryokan. It is in an area up on the side of the mountain about 4 km (2 1/2 miles) away, so pulling the suitcase up there didn`t seem to be a good idea. On the bus, there was another westerner, and we visited. He was a young man from The Netherlands, an IT specialist here for vacation on his own. He was on his way up to go to the mud baths. We visited the whole way up. He was a nice guy and visiting with someone was enjoyable for a change.

I had no problem finding my place. It is the nicest place I have stayed so far. It is completely remodeled inside. There are many Japanese details that make it special. For instance, I have a round window covered in rice paper that goes from my room to the hallway. There is a detailed wooden scene that is like a sculpture as a part of the window. There are fresh flowers in the hallways and in the rooms. There are 3 baths--one outdoor and two indoors for bathing in hot spring waters. My room has a mini-fridge, a telephone, a TV, A/C, etc. The owner came to the room with me and sat at the table and made green tea for me and gave me a cookie to go with it as a welcoming ceremony. She also gave me a gift--a set of socks that are like mittens with separate places for the big toe from the rest of the toes so that they can be worn with thong sandals.

I went to the nearby Hyotan Onsen (bathhouse) around 18:00 and spent almost 3 hours there. It is a huge complex that has an indoor rock pool, an outdoor rock pool, a pebble pool, 2 hot baths, a hot steam room, a hotter steam room, a hot sand room, and a water spout massage pool. I met Matthew there. He is half New Zealander and half Japanese. He went to the American school in Tokyo (Tokyo International School) and speaks English with an American accent. We sat and visited about 45 minutes while resting our legs in one of the hot pools. He works for Yamaha Motorcycles and is their regional sales manager for western Africa.

Saturday, May 16, 2008--Beppu

I weighed this morning in the bath at my ryokan. I have lost 6 kg (13 lbs.) in the two weeks I have traveled. I want to lose 8-13 more kg (18-28 lbs) before getting home. Then I will develop a plan to keep my weight down while I am there.

I will not miss the Japanese pillows when I leave here. They are filled with hallow pellets of some kind. It is like sleeping on a bag filled with beans.

This whole area of town smells slightly of sulphur. And all around, there are clouds of steam rising--even out of the sidewalk vents. This afternoon, I am off for a mud bath!!