To Hell and back (no this is Thursday!)

My first essential for the stop in Beppu was to visit the 8 hells, as they are known.  These are naturally occurring bubbling, steaming , or gushing geysers of one sort or another.  I actually visited 7 but I counted 9 on the map so don't quite understand where the 8 comes into it!  I spent the day amazed at what I was seeing, partly because of the nature of the natural phenomena and partly at how in some senses the area has been spoiled by over commercialism. The first two places were good - and not really damaged by the needs of the tourist - yes there were walls and fences but they would be needed for the protection - health and safety in its place! It wouldn't do to have your tourists falling into boiling hot bubbling mud!  The thing I didn't like was at some of the other 'Hells' there were cartoon type devils and other such things....You will see what I mean by the photos. Although I took more during the day than perhaps on any other day, this was all in the attempt to get that one shot per Hell that depicts the bubbling/gushing nature of the place. There will be one photograph or so per Hell - even though I have possibly got hundreds - the one I pick will just be whichever looks ok - not necessarily the best - I will have to spend ages with a big screen deleting the majority! Thank goodness for high speed multi photo option on the camera!

Setting the scene - steam gushing from the ground in all manner of places!

Oniishibozu-Jigoku - shaved head hell - after the name of the area. Oniishi means shaven head..and because the large and small bubbles of hot gray mud look like the shaven heads of monks!

 Luckily for the two chaps pruning the trees they are not adjacent to any of the bubbling clay!

See what I mean about the demons!

On the way to the next one - this is the entrance bit....

 How is the water lily coming along Lesley? Saw this and immediately thought of you.

Umi-Jigoku ..... gazing out upon the mystically cool cobalt blue of this pond stirs images of a crystal clear sea but in fact the water temperature here is a scalding 98 degrees C. the feature was created 1,200 years ago after the volcanic explosion of Mt. Tsurumi and corresponds to a site labelled Kubri-no-Yu' in the Bungo Topography'.......so it says in the leaflet!



See next post.


 After the visit and return bus trip, I did a quick shop trip then went and had the remainder of my previous night's witches brew, then back to the room to rest and recuperate. I am getting a bit more sleep here than while at Nagoya, so feeling a bit more chilled out!. I do havee a few extra aches and pains - ankle and right wrist twinging, but give thema few days and they will be forgotten. My bash on the head is quite painful to the touch so am leaving ti alone - steering clear when putting on the anti-wrinkle cream. I think it will eventually show a strange colour but at least I haven't got a black eye!