Japan in the Spring - Beppu

I had initially thought there is not much to see in Beppu other than hot springs but was pleasantly surprised to learn that it has a park which is home to some 1500 Japanese wild macaques, a species I have never seen before. TheTakasakiyama Monkey Park is a 15 minute taxi ride from the port so we were able to get there ahead of the feeding time.  It was fun to watch but it was more interesting to watch the monkey dynamics before food comes into the picture -  monkeys at play and the perpetual fur picking that seems to obsess monkeys. As you can see from the photos, the monkey fur looks very clean.

Macaque Monkeys at play

Young one enjoying a quiet moment

A nursing mother & baby

Family portrait

Obsessive fur picking

I found this old guy interesting with his wrinkles - so human-like

            

Our next stop was the "Hells" of Beppu in Kanawa.  The staff at the monkey park were very helpful in interpreting our request to call a taxi and also making sure the taxi driver understands where we had wanted to go.  We made it there just before the long lineups for tickets started. There are seven Hells but we went to only five of them as the other two involves a bit of a hike.  Five was more than enough to satisfy our curiousity and after a while, they all look the same.  

A beautiful pond at the main entrance complete with cherry blossoms

Umi Jigoku: Ocean Hell - a picturesque hell with a green pond and blue pond complete with Tori gate

Tori gates leading to the Hot spring Shrine

Onishibozu Jigoku has these mud bubbles - interesting although not pretty

Cute rock art at the spring

Kamado Jigoku has a blue pond with some beatuiful trees above it and a blood red pond

Demon Mountain Hell has ponds of crocodiles.  Apparently crocodiles have been raised in these 98degree springs for a hundred years

hiraike Jigoku White Pond Hell is surrounded by a lovely garden 

This statue commeorates the monk founder of that "hell"

We were lucky to spot a taxi that had just delivered its load of passengers to the Hells tour so it was a short ride back to the ship.  It was a full day of touring at minimal expense.  We would not have seen as much with an expensive shore excursion from the ship.

Beppu drummers went all out to send the ship off

Next post:  Kyoto

Japan in the Spring - Miyajima (Hiroshima)

After our stop in Busan, Korea, we had to go through re-entry process again with the Japanese Immigration officials who came on board at Hiroshima.  It took all morning before we could get off the ship, one of the most disappointing moments on this trip.  There wasn't enough time to see everything we planned to see so we had to make a choice - Hiroshima Peace Park or Miyajima and its floating Tori gate.  Since Miyajima was one of the main reasons I joined this tour, the choice was obvious.  We had already seen the Nagasaki Peace Park, while the two are not the same, it would have similar vibes.

We missed the noon ferry from the pier close to where the ship was docked so we took a taxi to the regular ferry to Miyajima.  This particular taxi experience was heart-warming. The driver was so enthusiastic it was an impressive display of the Japanese commitment to doing a good job.  He didn't speak any English but he made an extra effort to communicate with us via Google translate on his phone.  He had suggested we should try going to the closer ferry so we can save on the taxi fare. After I explained why we can't, he took us to the regular ferry 10km away all the while pointing out interesting sights along the way to us.  We knew he didn't do this for a tip as there is no tipping in Japan.  When we got off, he gave us each a candy!  What a lovely encounter!

We arrived at Miyajima just before the tide recedes so we were able to catch the Tori gate while it is still more or less surrounded by water "floating" and not swarmed by people.  You can see the difference in the atmosphere between high and low tides.  The shrine itself is beautiful.  

Miyajima is also famous for its oysters.  We were able to get easily into the famous oyster restaurant Kakiya for lunch because by the time we finish at the shrine, it was almost three o'clock and the regularly long lineups to get in have disappeared.  The set menu lunch had oysters made in several different ways - all fresh and delicious! What a treat!

Just before low tide

Low tide

Viewed from the ferry before the tide completely receded

The Itsukushima Shrine

The long corridors

The essential wine barrels - symbolic offerings to deities and representing the connection between the spiritual and human realms

This is a side pavillion at the shrine - love the mural!

A buddhist temple on the island

Getting aggresive

The town

Kakiya Restsaurant - not to be missed!

Oysters grilled in the shell

Steamed, deep fried, smoked...

Jumbo chestnuts!

This is the high speed boat that took us back to the port - not far from where the ship was docked.

The taxi driver made sure we saw the woman sleeping on top of Miyajima

Oyster farms

We didn't see much of Hiroshima other than from the cab.  It could mean another visit.  And perhaps the Tori gate at sunset...

Next post:  Beppu

Japan in the Spring - Busan (Korea)

It's strange to put this under Japan in the Spring when Busan is actually in Korea..  I kept the heading just to keep everything together.  There seems to be some legality that requires a cruise ship to visit at least one international port during a cruise, in this case, it's Busan.  We joined the ship's shore excursion as it was an early port departure and we didn't want to miss the boat.

Busan looked like a busy international port with loads of cranes, bridges and containers visible on the waterfront.  Our first stop was the temple by the sea - the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple.  It is in a beautiful seaside setting north of Busan.  Our Korean guide spent a lot of time talking about Korean social issues but didn't talk much about this Buddhist temple.  Some of the rooms are quite spectacular as is the seaside it faces.

The Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

The lineup of animals representing the zodiac along the entrance

One of several dazzling chambers

Golden buddha 

Many steps lead to the upper levels 

The essential bamboo grove

The seaside in front of the temple

Our next stop is the Nurimaru APEC House on Dongbaekseom Island, an island of camellia trees.  The round building was the site of the 2005 APEC summit and continues to be used as a memorial hall and conference centre.  It was a nice walk by the sea with a great view of the nearby islands and the Busan skyline in the distance. 

The Nurimaru APEC House

The conference room

This waterfront trail leads to the mermaid statue on the rocks, reminiscent of that other famous mermai in Europe

Eurasian Magpie (another lifer for me!) and camellia flowers on the island

The bus took us back to the city where we were taken to the gigantic fish market - a real eye-opener.  We were rained out for the subsequent tour of the shopping street but it was interesting to see some of the shopping alleys - very Asian in character. 

An incredible variety of shellfish!  These are smaller stalls outside the actual fish market

Inside the actual fish market

The impressive building housing the fish market

Roadside stalls just outside the fish market

The shopping streets - this could be anywhere in Asia!

There is even a star walk

Containers galore

Bridges and cranes dot the waterfront skyline near the port

These look like oyster farms in the harbour

The fireboat gave us a cool farewell display

Port of Busan panorama

This short stop in Busan gave me a first glimpse of Korea - the brief insight into Korean society provided by our chatty guide (identifying social and academic pressures) helped me understand a little better where movies like Parasite and Minari originated from.  

Next post: Hiroshima