Wild Places, Wild Birds

“Beppu is situated between the sea and the mountains. The city was founded on April 1, 1924, and is famous for its onsen (hot springs). It has eight major geothermal hot spots, sometimes referred to as the “eight hells of Beppu“.^[2] Six of these are located in the Kannawa district, and two in the more remote  Shibaseki district. Beppu is also divided into eight major hot spring areas known as Beppu Hattō (別府八湯^?).”

“Beppu is one of the most famous hot spring resorts in Japan. The city is blessed by as many as eight different springs, named Beppu Onsen, Kannawa Onsen, Myoban Onsen, Kankaiji Onsen, Hamawaki Onsen, Kamegawa Onsen, Horita Onsen and Shibaseki Onsen, each featuring public baths and ryokan with bathing facilities. Together they produce more hot spring water than any other onsen resort in the country.

What sets Beppu apart from other onsen resorts is not only its abundance of thermal waters, but also the wide range of bath types that can be enjoyed there. Aside from conventional hot water baths, Beppu offers sand baths where bathers are buried in naturally heated sand, steam baths that are heated by the steam of a hot spring, and mud baths which are basically muddy hot water baths.”

“A ryokan (旅館) is a type of traditional Japanese inn that originated in the Edo period (1603–1868), when such inns served travelers along Japan’s highways. They typically feature tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear yukata and talk with the owner.”

  For our second night in Beppu, Sheree’ and I stayed at Kappo Ryokan Sennari, in downtown Beppu. Neither of us knew what a ryokan was, but it sounded exciting, and it was.  From the “leave your shoes at the door” to the lovely gardens and delicious traditional Japanese breakfast, we would definitely return for more.