Onsen and interesting things in Japan

Article and photos:Cinnamon

Onsen, read in Chinese as Onsen, "On" means warm, hot, "Tuyen" means spring, so onsen means hot spring. Coming to Japan, almost everywhere, visitors can find a place to bathe in Onsen, however, nowhere has as many hot springs as in Beppu, a city in Oita province, Kyushu region, southern Japan.

Beppu, a hot spring city characterized by towering chimneys and gray houses

Beppu, home to nearly 3,000 Onsen

From afar, on my left was the image of chimneys rising to the sky, interspersed with gray houses at the foot of the mountain. Without keeping the group waiting long, Ms. Fumiko - the Japanese tour guide smiled and said that the secret of today was Beppu, a city famous for nearly 3,000 hot springs flowing day and night and the chimneys coming from the hot springs in the city. Not only from the chimneys placed in certain areas, next to the houses, or on the roadside, if you pay attention, you will see smoke rising from under some drainage pipes on the roadside, so much that you start to get used to the "heat" here.

Contrary to its appearance of towering columns of smoke, Beppu, overlooking the poetic Beppu Bay, is one of the peaceful, pristine tourist cities with a population of only about 127 thousand people. Here it is estimated that tmore2,800 hot springs with 9 different types of hot water, about 36 million gallons of hot water are gushed from the ground every day. That makes Beppu second only to Yellowstone National Park in the United States in terms of hot mineral reserves. 

On this trip, I will visit 2 of the 9 most unique hot springs in Beppu, also known as Jigoku Meguri, known as the hells of the city. The first is Umi Jigoku, a jade-green hot spring, hot enough to boil eggs. In some hidden corners behind the rocks, the hot water boils with white smoke rising. If you stand near the fence, you will clearly feel the heat rising, spreading around, gradually breathing into your skin, very pleasant.

Umi Jigoku, the blue hot spring, also known as "sea hell"

Next door is Chinoike Jigoku, a hot spring known as the Blood Hell because of its blood-red water, created by iron-containing minerals in the water. Among the nine hells, the "Blood Pond Hell" is the only hot spring with a bright color and chemical composition that is completely different from other natural springs. The reason the water in the lake is bright red like blood is because of the large amount of ferrous minerals at the bottom of the lake.

"Blood Pond Hell" - Chinoike Jigoku with bright red color

There is another interesting thing for tourists, although you cannot bathe here, you can completely soak your feet right next to this bloody hell. Here, people have designed a covered resort, for tourists to soak their feet in hot water of nearly 50 degrees Celsius. At the bottom there are also large pebbles for you to stretch, rub your toes, relax after a long day of walking and sightseeing.

After visiting the hells, don't forget to enjoy boiled eggs from the hot mineral springs here.

Relax and unwind with a wonderful Onsen bath

In addition to the famous hellish hot springs for tourists to visit, Beppu also attracts more than 4 million tourists to come here to stay and bathe in hot springs, also known as Onsen mineral baths. Visitors here will stay overnight at a traditional Japanese inn - Beppu Ryokan. Immediately after checking in, you will be prepared with a long Yukata, traditional Ryokan clothing, along with a small cloth bag, used to hold 2 towels, one large, one small, before bathing in Onsen. After bathing, you will enjoy a Ryokan meal served right in the living room, while the room service staff will clear the table, spread out the futon, and prepare the bedding.

In Japan, the way of bathing in hot springs is also an important factor, so there are many types of tubs and pools, depending on the area. Hinoki tubs are made of cypress wood, iwaburo tubs are made of boulders and pebbles, awaburo tubs have water flowing from the bottom of the tub. Rotenburo outdoor baths are often the most popular among tourists because of their closeness to nature. Each bathing area for men and women is separated, with a sign in front of the door and a red curtain for women, and a blue one for men. Although I had prepared myself mentally with Fumiko's guidance, I still felt a little shy because everyone would not wear clothes when bathing together. After bathing, get into the pool slowly so that your body can gradually adapt to the water temperature. In the winter weather of 10 - 15 degrees Celsius, the hot water pool still maintains from 30 to 60 degrees Celsius. The feeling of shyness has really disappeared, replaced by the feeling of excitement when immersing in the warm mineral water.

An Onsen public hot spring bath in Ureshino town, Saga prefecture, attracts many locals and international tourists.

In Japan, many families have hot springs at home but still have the habit of bathing in public baths. That is the reason why many Onsen public baths named Siboruto (Ureshino town, Saga province) were born, and gradually became famous and known to many people from other provinces as well as foreign tourists. Although it is in the morning, there are quite a lot of tourists coming to bathe in mineral springs, most of them are elderly people. According to the owner of the facility, the price for each bath is only 400 JPY (more than 70,000 VND/person), so it attracts many local people to relax and rest here. The mineral springs also have equipment for the disabled, using wheelchairs, with trolleys with pulleys to take people down to the bath. Therefore, in the neighborhood, you will easily see many elderly people coming here to relax and treat diseases. For the elderly, mineral baths like this are a place to relax because of the obvious health benefits and increased community interaction.

More information:

Means of transport:

- From Hanoi to Fukuoka: 4 flights/week by A321 aircraft on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. From Ho Chi Minh City to Fukuoka: 2 flights/week by A321 aircraft on Thursdays and Sundays.

- From Fukuoka airport, travel by bus about 150 km (in 2 hours) to Beppu city, Oita province.

- Means of transportation in the city: taxi, however not many drivers speak English so you need to bring the hotel's business card or remember the address you want to go to.

Money:

Japan mainly uses Yen, so exchange Yen from Vietnam. Reference exchange rate: 1 Yen ~200 VND, 1 USD ~106 Yen.

6 steps in the Onsen mineral bath process in Japan:

- Undress in the changing room. Bring only a towel into the hot spring bath area.

- Before entering the mineral bath (which looks like a large lake or outdoor bathtub), you need to rinse gently by taking water from the tub or shower.

- Step into the hot mineral bath slowly. Once the hot mineral water reaches half your body, wait until your body is warmed up and then continue to let the hot mineral water reach your shoulders. Do not let the towel touch the water, you can wrap the towel around your head for later use.

- Once your body is warm enough, rinse your whole body and hair again if desired and then return to the hot mineral bath to soak.

- When you get out of the hot spring, you can either rinse off the hot spring water or not. Many people believe that not rinsing off will help retain the special Onsen minerals on your skin. When you get out of the hot spring, you must be very careful not to spill the water out of the hot spring, even if you are the only person in the hot spring.

- Use the towels in the changing room to dry your body, then put on a Yukata if the Onsen facility you stay at provides one. Many hot spring baths provide basic skin care products, massage machines, etc., you can use these amenities to help your body relax and become healthier.

Currently, Vietrantour is one of the pioneers in implementing tours to Kyushu, Southern Japan. The 5-day tour product Fukuoka – Aso volcano – Beppu costs from 29.5 million VND/person. From now until March 31, 2015, Vietrantour will give 2 million VND to the first 10 guests of each group registering for the above tour.

The Thanh