Taro's Japan Tour Adventures: Tour of Hell!
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The Highlight of my Southern Japan Tour!
A lot of times, people think my favorite place in Jaapn is somewhere in Kyoto or maybe at an arcade in Akihabara, but the truth is I'm always learning about and falling in love with new places. For example, take the scary sounding Tour of Hell
in Beppu. During a recent Southern Japan tour, we stopped in the hot-spring haven of Beppu to explore the wondrous hot-spring phenomena known as the Tour of Hell.
For those who don't know, Beppu is one of Kyushu's (if not Japan's) most famous hot-spring resort towns. What really sets Beppu apart from other hot-spring towns is the collection of 8 hot-springs, each with unique properties that make them a wonderful site to see. During our tour, there were two Hell's in particular that caught my eye!
The first was the Umijigoku or Sea Hell that really caught my eye. What makes this Hell special is the vibrant cobalt color of the waters. The minerals mixed together with the hot-springs water gives the hell it's bright blue colors and nearby there was a wonderful garden with smaller pools and even a lotus garden! The blue colors reminded me a bit of Biei's Blue Pond, but never-the-less the sight was amazing. I made sure to get close in for a picture too!
It's so Red!!
We also stopped by the fiery red waters of the Chinoike Jigoku or Blood Pond Hell. The mixture of hot-water and red clay gives this pond it's crisp red glow. There's a souvenir shop nearby and to no surprise, a bunch of people were taking their photos with the volcanic waters. While there were other Hells I really wanted to see, like the White Pond Hell & Cooking Pot Hell, I was too busy enjoying the Hell Steamed Pudding a bit too much to venture off. I don't mind though, as some of the Hells *ahem* Monster Mountain Hell filled with crocodiles *ahem*, I still had a great time with the tour guide!
If my adventures look like fun, you can always sign up for a Southern Japan Tour or Grand Tour Package to stop by this hot-spring paradise. You might also see me, Taro the Bear, during your Japan Tour!
Japan Deluxe Tours page on the Tour of Hell
Southern Japan Vacation Packages