Probably the most rushed section of our tour around Japan; we had 3 days to explore the two main Southern Islands of Japan, Shikoku and Kyushu!
We decided that a ferry ride across Japans inland sea would be a good way to see some more of the coastline so took the fast ferry across from Hiroshima port to the port of Takahma on Shikoku and then a local train into the city of Matsuyama, which was only a short journey away. The scenery was beautiful as we passed by many small islets, with bridges linking some of the bigger ones together.
Matsuyama is best known among Japanese tourists as the home of Dogo Onsen, one of Japan’s oldest and most famous set of hot spring baths. Located to the north east of the city, they have been visited by Emperors and written about in Japanese literature.
The baths are split into different classes of bathing experience, with the highest level reserved only for the Emperor himself. That evening we went in the equivalent of third class, the most basic, and had the “traditional” experience in naked baths separated for men and for women. It was an interesting experience (the Japanese treated it as somewhere to have a chat – a bit like going to the pub), but we definitely left cleansed and a little more relaxed. On the way out it was dark and a spectacular light show was being projected onto the outside of the building. It looked as thought it was telling a well known story, but unfortunately not well known to either of us!
On our way back to the hotel, we spotted another of the things that the city is known for. One of the little “Bochtan” stream trains, that are used a few times a day on the city tram lines, was sat in a siding outside the tram station. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to ride on one, but it did make a change from the bright orange cars that make up the rest of the tram fleet.
The next day we went up to Matsuyama castle, which was a hilltop large fortification, with loads of different stone walls, tiers, gates and towers and felt much more recognisable as a castle compared to some of the other wooden decorated structures we had seen. It was probably the most spectacular castles that we saw in Japan; more intricate and siege resistant than Osaka castle although maybe not quite as grand. We wished we had longer to explore but needed to catch a train to get to the west side of the island to catch our ferry to Kyushu. We almost had a repeat of our Vancouver Island ferry calamity, but fortunately just made the walk from the station to the ferry in time.
The journey across to Beppu Bay was also nice (but windy), with views of the coastline and a few smaller islands in between. A bus and another train later and we were in Nakatsu, our home for two nights while we watched the rugby.
Dinner that evening was a good adventure, we wandered round the town looking for somewhere to eat and eventually found a Yakiniku restaurant. These are restaurants where you cook your own food over a mini BBQ and you order a selection of different dishes and are given some sauces to go with them. We went slightly overboard on the ordering (blame the language barrier) and ended up with a table full of food. It was very tasty and good fun too – helped by our enthusiastic and cheerful waiter.
Next morning it was rugby day, but before we headed of to see Wales and Fiji battle it out, we decided to go to see some of the “Hells of Beppu”. A group of geothermal features near to the city of Beppu and in between our hotel and the Oita Stadium.
We only had time to see two of the seven hells, but picked the exciting ones. Tatsumaki Jigoku (the ‘spout hell’) was up first featuring a boiling hot geyser, which erupts every 30-40 minutes for about 6-10 minutes and we had got there just in time. A stone plate above the geyser stops it from reaching its full height, but protects passers by from being showered in boiling water.
The other hell we saw was Chinoike Jigoku or the “blood pond hell”, which is exactly that; a pond of hot, red water due to the local red clay sediment that dissolves within the bubbling pool. This one also featured a mini foot spa where we soaked our feet before setting off to warm up for ‘the main event’, in the Oita fanzone where we gorged on fried Chicken (a speciality on Kyushu island) and watched Argentina thrash USA in the first game of the day.
With the blow of the final whistle we were off on a shuttle bus to Oita stadium (with some very excited Welsh fans who tried to get the whole bus singing; only to be disappointed that most of the bus was Japanese) where we were absolutely delighted to find out that we had somehow managed to bag front row seats on the try line!! We spent the next 90 minutes exploring the stadium and watching Wales warm up right in front of us! The atmosphere was electric. The final hell of the day – for Gareth at least – was watching the first ten minutes of the rugby match, as Fiji were on fire and scored two tries (right in front of us). Fortunately Wales rallied and we enjoyed and exciting match with Wales triumphant in the end. Phew!
The game was a great spectacle with great fans from Wales, Fiji and Japan getting really into the game. The volunteers at the stadium are also worth mentioning, as they were enthusiastic, helpful and a splendid example of their country’s hospitality.
Claire and Gareth go travelling! 