Fukuoka full-on and Beautiful Beppu

After an amazing weekend touring the historical Kyoto and neighbouring ancient city of Nara, it was time for a shift in gears. Next on the docket was a more relaxing, pleasure visit to the onsen city of Beppu and the capital of Kyushu island, Fukuoka.

Taking a bullet train from Shin-Kobe, I arrive in Fukuoka 2 ½ hours and 600 km later. Fukuoka, the capital city of the southern island Kyushu, is a sprawling sea-side metropolis of around 1.5 million people.

We hop on some local buses and make our way to Fukuoka tower, a beautiful mirrored building standing 234 m tall. The views of Fukuoka and surrounding areas the tower offered were stunning.

Looking up the tower

View from Fukuoka tower

After visiting the tower we head for some local cuisine. Fukuoka, famous for Hakata ramen named after the Hakata district, offered a soup which was a strong, rich tonkotsu (pork bone broth), with pickled ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, pork slices, and soft boiled eggs. It was amazing, and definitely lived up to the hype.

Hakata ramen

Fukuoka, aside from tall towers and delicious soups, is a thriving city full of life. The Hakata district from 6am to 6am is non-stop, with restaurants, bars, clubs, and famously, yatai, Japanese food stalls, rammed with business men and party goers alike.

After another impossibly late night (Japan never seems to sleep), it was time to recover in the hot seaside spa town of Beppu. A small city built between the sea and the lush mountains, Beppu is famous for natural geothermal hot spots known as the ‘eight hells (jigoku) of Beppu’, as well as the natural hot springs used as onsen, Japanese water baths.

We first hit up the Beppu ‘hells’ – Jigoku -  which are natural hot springs, each with a unique feature. Surrounding, and between, each hell were beautiful ponds, gardens, and rolling hillsides which made Beppu an absolutely picturesque location.

The Umi Jigoku - ‘Sea Hell’ - was a boiling pond with a beautiful blue colour and a strong sulphur odour, which locals used to use to boil and flavour eggs.

Oniishibozu Jigoku – ‘Shaved Monks Head Hell’ – was a small hell full of milky calcareous pits, boiling away producing bubbles that looks like the top of a monks head… apparently.

Chinoike Jigoku – ‘Blood Pond Hell’ – was a large pool with a rich red/brown colour, and was probably the most famous and anticipated hells. In honesty, in person the pond wasn’t blood red, but it was still a beautiful natural formation worth visiting.

To cap off our visit of Beppu we went to an outdoor natural spring onsen in the mountains. Of course, as onsens are fully nude baths, no pictures were allowed! Surrounding our onsen however, were onsen of olden day – small thatched huts placed over hot springs to create a sauna-like building. Unfortunately they weren’t for use anymore, but it was interesting seeing the progression to the modern onsen model.

After an hour soak in the natural, hot, milky-green waters, we say farewell to Beppu, after a truly relaxing visit.

Bamboo groves

Next on our Japanese adventure, one of my favourite places in Japan – the stunning island of Miyajima!