When we awoke early in the morning, we were just leaving the port of Takamatsu on the island of Shikoku.
We stayed up on deck watching the Seto Inland Sea scenery floating by and feeling the sea breeze on our faces. From time to time, groups of uniformed school children appeared on deck and seeing us, whispered “Gai-jin” (foreigner) and politely placing a hand over their mouths to cover their giggles. We smiled at them and returned the Peace sign.
harbour tug at Matsuyama, Shikokuharbour tug pushing us out to sea from MatsuyamaPatty on the Promenade decknot a huge luxurious cruise ship but a great way to get from Kansai port to Beppucruising on the Seto Inland Seathis is what tatami class looks like – turns out a lot of schools take this cruise as part of a field trip, so this is a great way to keep the classmates togetherarriving in BeppuSunflower cruise ship from our Queenflower 2 cruise ship in port in BeppuBeppu from our cruise ship in port
Arriving in Beppu just before Noon, we found our accommodation and then wandered down to the waterfront for lunch. Smelling a delicious smell and thinking people were buying fresh hot doughnut balls, we stepped up to the window and ordered one plate each. The first bite told us we had made a mistake. These were not doughnuts, but takoyaki, teeny little octopi with teeny little legs. Ughhhh. We took no photos and disposed of our food. Sigh!
Still hungry, we booked into a Japanese language tour of the nearby geothermal area. Not many foreigners made it down this far in 1985, so no English tours were on tap today.
The hot spring Hells of Beppu (別府の地獄, Beppu no jigoku) are a nationally designated “Place of Scenic Beauty” in the onsen (hot spring) town of Beppu, Ōita, Japan. The “hells” are for viewing, rather than bathing.
(Source: Wikipedia)
We enjoyed seeing all the sights in the Hells and after a couple of stops, our guide realized we could not understand her “time to return to the coach” instructions, so she came to fetch us at the rest of the stops. In Japan, there is always someone who makes sure you are looked after.
Blood pond Hell – due to red colour
palm trees at Waterspout Hell
It was during this tour that we met Fumi, (pronounced Who-me) a teacher and her English class, also visiting Beppu. Seeing us, she made sure she pushed us forward to the best possible viewing point for the geyser eruption. It did seem odd, as we were taller than those around us and we did not want to block anybody else’s view, but Japanese courtesy triumphed. Afterwards, we posed for the photo below. We exchanged many Christmas cards with Fumi over the following years, but sadly, have recently lost touch.
Sea Hellgiant lily pads at Sea HellAllan at Sea Hell
Cooking Stove Hell – we had seen similar pools to this in New Zealand – used to cook eggs and other things
koi (carp) at Onimaya HellPatty at Golden Dragon Hell
giant Buddha at Golden Dragon Hell
little Buddhas at Golden Dragon Hellour cruise ship Queenflower 2 leaves Beppu on its way back to Kansai, Kobe – possibly carrying Fumi and her students back homeAllan back at the waterfront park in Beppu
Time to catch supper and get prepared for another big travel day tomorrow.
Not much to tell. After working for 3 companies over 43+ years (38 years 7 months with my last company), I finally got that promotion I had waited my entire career for……retirement.
I have been exploring this new career for the past 7+ years and while it is not always exciting, the chance to do what I want for myself and my family instead of what my company wants has been very fulfilling. Early on, there was a long list of projects in my “to-do” hopper and I attacked these projects with a vengeance for the first 9 months of retirement. Eventually, my brain told me that this was not what retirement was about, so it took me another 5 months before my industriousness again took over and I attacked another line of projects, this time somewhat shorter and less complicated, as well as many new projects related to the family weddings in 2016. After going hard for 6 weeks and 3 weddings, my body was telling me to relax, then the flu bug hit and as soon as that was done with me, my sciatic acted up. No rest for the wicked. In 2020 and 2021, the Covid 19 pandemic changed the whole retirement gig. I was lucky to not be still working, for sure.
I enjoy photography, gardening, working with my hands, walking, cycling, skiing, travelling, reading and creating special photo and video productions obtained in my first pastime. I may never become wealthy in any of these pursuits, but I already feel I am rich in life experiences far beyond any expectation.
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18 thoughts on “Analogue Adventures – Seto Inland Sea & Beppu 1985 – Day 6”
Thanks Sue. We keep asking ourselves how many trips of a lifetime do we deserve. We were lucky to explore when we did. Thanks for reading. Have a great Wednesday. Allan
E la magia del Giappone continua! E’ bello vedere queste foto con i relativi commenti; sembra un po’ di viaggiare per il Giappone, anche se so che non è la stessa cosa. Ma le foto sono molto belle e rendono benissimo l’idea. Grazie!
You are so kind Elena. I never know what will resonate with my readers, but these analogue adventure series seem to punch way above their weight. So glad you are enjoying. Hope your day is going well. Allan
Great photos, Allan. You had such an interesting day. I feel quite fortunate to have travelled so much throughout the 80s and 90s (including living in other countries) as so much has changed and in most cases not for the better. (Or is that me just getting old?) Cheers.
We agreed when we got married that we would travel and see the world and like you we are glad we did so much when we were younger. Getting older is certainly a part of today’s attitude. Thanks for reading Lynette. Allan
Geothermal features are so interesting! Mike and I would love to see these in person. In fact, your posts are moving Japan up my wish list. I am enjoying your photos and writing so much!
Japan is full of geothermal activity and very volcanic. We are next heading to a city next to an active volcano. Glad you are enjoying these posts as much as I am enjoying sharing them. Thanks for reading and commenting Kellye. Allan
Oh gosh, the tatami class does not look enjoyable! The geothermal area looks like a fun place to explore with all the colourful hot springs and geysers.
Imagine how it must have seemed to the school kids leaving home for a school trip. Away from Mom & Dad, on a boat, with their chums. Just like a giant pajama party, only more polite. Glad we were in one of the few cabins. We got the gist of the tour, even if it was in Japanese. Good way to immerse ourselves in the local culture. Thanks for reading Linda. Happy Thursday Allan
I agree. There is a great sense of beauty and order in Japanese gardens. Goldfish and koi are funny fish. The bigger the body of water they are in, the bigger they grow. Some folks up here were letting their goldfish loose in storm ponds and they were huge and a real predator problem if they got into the rivers. I am sure feeding them also helps. A lot of places do sell fish food to the tourists. Allan
PHOTO DROP 
What a wonderful adventure, Allan! You have been very fortunate to see such interesting sights. Thank you for sharing them.
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Thanks Sue. We keep asking ourselves how many trips of a lifetime do we deserve. We were lucky to explore when we did. Thanks for reading. Have a great Wednesday. Allan
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Fab photos. The vapors from the pond look fascinating!
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Thanks Luisa. That was such a great tour, even though it was in Japanese. We loved Beppu area. Thanks for reading. Allan
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Thank you for your kind reply, dear Allan 🙏
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E la magia del Giappone continua! E’ bello vedere queste foto con i relativi commenti; sembra un po’ di viaggiare per il Giappone, anche se so che non è la stessa cosa. Ma le foto sono molto belle e rendono benissimo l’idea. Grazie!
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You are so kind Elena. I never know what will resonate with my readers, but these analogue adventure series seem to punch way above their weight. So glad you are enjoying. Hope your day is going well. Allan
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Qui tutto ok, Allan, grazie. E’ ora di andare a nanna, fra un po’. Grazie ancora per le belle immagini. 🙂
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Great photos, Allan. You had such an interesting day. I feel quite fortunate to have travelled so much throughout the 80s and 90s (including living in other countries) as so much has changed and in most cases not for the better. (Or is that me just getting old?) Cheers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We agreed when we got married that we would travel and see the world and like you we are glad we did so much when we were younger. Getting older is certainly a part of today’s attitude. Thanks for reading Lynette. Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person
Geothermal features are so interesting! Mike and I would love to see these in person. In fact, your posts are moving Japan up my wish list. I am enjoying your photos and writing so much!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Japan is full of geothermal activity and very volcanic. We are next heading to a city next to an active volcano. Glad you are enjoying these posts as much as I am enjoying sharing them. Thanks for reading and commenting Kellye. Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh gosh, the tatami class does not look enjoyable! The geothermal area looks like a fun place to explore with all the colourful hot springs and geysers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Imagine how it must have seemed to the school kids leaving home for a school trip. Away from Mom & Dad, on a boat, with their chums. Just like a giant pajama party, only more polite. Glad we were in one of the few cabins. We got the gist of the tour, even if it was in Japanese. Good way to immerse ourselves in the local culture. Thanks for reading Linda. Happy Thursday Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person
Japanese gardens are my favourite! I have noticed koi in the West are huge because people keep feeding them. Is that the case in Japan?
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I agree. There is a great sense of beauty and order in Japanese gardens. Goldfish and koi are funny fish. The bigger the body of water they are in, the bigger they grow. Some folks up here were letting their goldfish loose in storm ponds and they were huge and a real predator problem if they got into the rivers. I am sure feeding them also helps. A lot of places do sell fish food to the tourists. Allan
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I didn’t know koi grow to fit the body of water they’re in, just like goldfish. Interesting. People need to be more considerate of nature
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