Good Sights, Good People and an Onsen

Today was my last day in Beppu. I decided I would go see more hotsprings (because hotsprings are awesome). Yesterday I met a 24 year old named Yun. He was from Korea. He came to Japan because he wanted to practice his Japanese. Yun told me that his initial plan was to simply stay in Tokyo but then a Japanese friend had convinced him to come to Beppu. But his friend was busy today. So I invited Yun to come with me to the hotsprings. It was really funny talking to him. He told me wanted to experience and "American party". I told him he saw too many movies. I did share with him a few college stories to heighten his interest. I'm sure these stories only perpetuated the stereotype of the American party.

We went to a nearby town called Kannawa. We saw one hotspring that shot out water from the ground. It was cool. The water was about 250 degrees and was shooting out of the ground at ridiculous speeds.

Yun and I in front of the hotspring before it erupted.


A distant view of one of the hotsprings.

Next we went to a hotspring that due to it's temperature creates a perfect breeding ground for crocodiles. So we got to see lots of crocodiles. It was cool. They were way less agile then I expected.
A crocodile

We then went to an awesome onsen. It was at the top story of a hotel. The onsen was outdoors and overlooked the entire city of Beppu. In the distance the ocean could be seeing. It was great.

Then when we got back to the hostel there were some people going to dinner so we went with them. I like meeting new people. I especially like learning about their culture and sharing stories about my own culture. I met two guys from Holland. I liked talking with them. The most interesting thing is that as we talked more I realized how much we had in common. They are a western culture. Of course, there are some differences (just like there are differences in the United States) but on larger concepts like individualism our cultures were on the same page. When I meet new people that I enjoy I always give my contact information and tell them if they are ever in California I'll show them around for a few days. They then always extend the invitation to their country. I love this. I think the best way to get to know an area is to experience it with a local. I have met people from Holland, Germany, Israel, Korea, New Zealand, Denmark and many other countries. The more people I meet the smaller the world feels.

Left to right: Alex (from Holland), Me, Tor (from japan), Danny (from Holland), Ayumi (from Japan), and Yun (from Korea) with his eyes closed.
Left to right: Alex, Me, and Tor

Culture, Kids, Geography and a Festival

I arrived in Beppu on Friday July 23rd. This just happened to be around the same time that Beppu has it's annual summer 5 day festival. This festival is filled with daily markets, dancing, singing, fireworks and interesting cultural displays. There are tons of food vendors. It is just like a farmers market. I like it because I get to see some of the food that Beppu has at a farmers market. It is also really interesting walking around and watching people interact.

Here is a little bit of background knowledge to give some context. Japan is made up of 4 main islands (there are many smaller islands). The 4 islands are: Honsho, Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido. The best comparison I could give to the United States is it is kind of like: The west coast, the east coast, the midwest, etc. Except here the islands are very clearly defined. Honshu is the main island where many of the famous cities are located (Tokyo, Nagoya, Hiroshima, etc). Just like in the states (with the west coast, east coast, midwest, etc) each of these islands has its own culture and personality.




Beppu is in Kyushu. I was shocked when I first got to Kyushu because there was actually trash on the ground. Also, in kyushu I have seeing fat Japanese people(Japanese people are very thin). It feels more laid back in Kyushu and a little bit more western. I notice children wearing baggy clothes with their boxers showing. I did not see this in Honshu at all. It is hard for me to understand if the lifestyle in Beppu is like all of Kyushu or simply Beppu. Beppu kind of has a little bit of a Vegas feel to it but less glamorous. There are many Pachinko Slots in Beppu (this is like Japanese gambling slot machines but uses silver balls. I don't quite understand it). There are also many strip clubs in Beppu (I have gone to none!) There seems to be a laid back vibe among the people and culture here.

Back to the original point, the festival has been really cool. Yesterday there was a fireworks display and a huge line of Japanese dancers all dressed in Yukatas (traditional Japanese summer wear that looks like robes). It was really cool. I love watching little children because this provides me with a door to the culture. Kids do as they please, as if no one is watching. I love watching them because they could just as easily be american. I see kids staring at trees and singing to themselves. I see them playing with each other. I see brothers and sisters annoying each other. I see kids getting excited about little things in their environment. It amazes me how similar yet different we all are.

Some of the dancers from the festival

This is rice wrapped in thin beef

f. Some food I got at the festival. I think it was fried chicken...



Tony (a fellow californian that is travelling around the world), Mathew (a hilarious German who has primarily gotten around Japan by hitchhiking) and I went to the farmers market and explored. One of the funny things is that we went to a convenient store. Mathew grabbed beers for all of us. When we got outside Mathew opened his beer up and started drinking. Tony and I looked at each other and said "you can do that?!" Mathew said "do what?" Tony and I quickly said "we got to take a picture of this!" Mathew started laughing. He said in Germany you can have an open container (just like in Japan) in public. To him it was no big deal. To us it was novelty.

Mathew Tony and I showing off our beers in public


Mathew saw these woman and told them "we must take a picture with you because of your beauty"

New Friends, Hot Springs, and Onsens in Beppu

Yesterday while I was in the Lobby I met a guy named Tony Sun. Tony is from Orange county and had recently quit his job to travel the world. Tony has traveled for the past 4 months all around Asia. He has been to Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam and now Japan (I am sure I am forgetting some of the other countries he has been). I asked him how long he plans to travel. He said he thinks it will probably take him about a year and a half to go all the places he wants to go. Tony inspired me because of his story. Tony had a good job back in the states. He has his MBA. He is 31 years old. He told me that he found himself getting a feeling in his gut this year that said "isn't there more out there then just this." He made the decision to quit his job and to travel.

Today Tony and I went to Kanawa (a nearby town of Beppu) and explored their hotsprings. The hotsprings are called "Jigokus". The translation of Jigoku is hell. They are called this because of their heat and color. We saw two hells. They were awesome to look at. One of them was a light sea blue. The other one was a deep red. The cool thing about these is that they are completely natural. The coloring occurs due to different chemical compositions of the ground and the water. Each Jigoku has it's own story. There are 8 different Jigokus but we only had time to see two of them. One of the really fun things was trying to find the Jigokus. They were fairly far apart from each other so we walked around the town quite a bit. This is a very small town and it was really interesting to see the town.

Tony and me in front of a jigoku

Me in front of a jigoku


This is a view of Kannawa

Of course after we went to the Jigokus we went to an Onsen. The onsen had 6 different types of baths. It had indoor onsens and outdoor onsens. The outdoor onsen was awesome. At one point it began to rain a little bit while I was sitting in the outside onsen. I love sitting outside in a warm onsen when it is raining… Yes I'm addicted.

Beppu

I got into Beppu on Friday July 23rd. Beppu is famous for it's Onsens and natural hotsprings. An Onsen is a Japanese bathing house. I would say that a Japanese onsen is like a large American hot tub. Except the water is made up of natural mineral water. To my surprise I have come to love Onsens. I have gone to an Onsen the last 2 days. Below are some pictures that I snuck of an Onsen I went to yesterday. I also took a quick video(bottom of the post).


This is a picture of the onsen


The Onsen I went to was in Kannawa. This is a small town that is near Beppu. The onse was outside and I was the only one there. It also had a very nice tea garden. After I hung out in the onsen for about 30 minutes I explored the tea garden. It was really nice and peaceful. It had some stairways that went up the hill pretty far. After I got pretty sweaty I went back to the onsen and chilled in it for about 45 minutes... I tell you I'm getting addicted. .

This is a picture of in the tea garden.

This is a quick video of the onsen. I'm not supposed to do this because people might be naked...