Yufunogo Saigakukan

This charming village may be a highlight of the trip -　a touch of `old Japan` so elusive in the cities. Found another old ryokan where no one spoke English, but managed to get a room, and head straight to the onsen.

Decided to spend a second night -- in part to rest from ...

... just in the sense that tatamis sprawled throughout the whole house, sliding paper doors opened to a patio that surrounds the circumfrence of the house, and from almost anywhere one is given visual access to the sights of the well tended garden. The lighting fixtures and wood work of the architecture give one enough hints to know this was the residence of someone rich and powerful. (Open year-round 8:30am to 5pm. Entrance 320yen for adults. Info 0972-62-3399)

The final ...

... colorful sky-high portable shrines carried during the Hita Gion Festival and Kangien (a progressive educational institution that produced some of the famous personalities in Japanese history and was run by the ancestors of the current Oita governor).
The hotel itself looks out on to Mikuma River and offers a variety of plans for rest, relaxation, meals, and best of all the yakata-bune which is a traditional river boat with tatami mats and ...

... from Oita City to Nakatsu on the JR Nippo Line , it takes about one-hour, and is a nice ride as you can buy food and drinks from a lady who comes by each car with a cart of snacks. Since there were two of us going round-trip we bought the special discount 4-tickets for 9,800yen total (thats 2450yen or about 25dollars for each ticket) It would certainly be a better deal with the JR passes but I cant get that since I am living in Japan ...

... razon, al crater se le llama el "bol de arroz". Esta totalmente cubierto de cesped y tiene una altura de 954 metros.
El autobus nos dejo en una explanada llena de tiendas de souvenirs, desde donde se podia coger un funicular, pagando 400 yens, hasta la cima de Nakadake. Mi guia decia que se podia subir andando, en unos 20 minutos, asi que optamos por esa opcion, para estirar las piernas y con un poco se suerte fortalecerlas.
En la subida las vistas eran ...

... verde brillante. Precioso.
Espero que manana haga un dia soleado para sacar buenas fotos de los alrededores.
A las 9 de la noche ya estabamos cenadas, duchadas y leyendo un libro (o escribiendo en el portatil).
Oh! Las almohadas tienen dentro lo que parecen al tacto pistachos. Nicola pensaba que eran habas, pero sonaban como pistachos. En el otro hostal en Kawaguchiko, las almohadas tenian dentro algo que parecia arroz. Total, como les sobra....

... fluently but follows unwritten rules within a particular country, but what exactly is meant by this? Throughout the globe there are many national differences that crop up about how a resume should be written and presented, so if you want yours to be taken seriously you need to take on board these unwritten rules. For example in Germany, folding your resume to fit in an envelope is out of the question. Instead you need to use an ...

... Lets go Johno?)

Overall

I ended up really liking Beppu. I relaxed somewhat. Although I did sleep in a lot I was happy with what I did get done. Would definatley return to Beppu again. Found a great Yakitori (chicken kebab) place (which I should say had the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in Japan working there, who was actually Chinese!!). Maybe why I ate there so much haha. There was a
large abundance of hostess bars and ...

... colder and sunnier, however that happens.

Either way, after a quick nap on the train, we were in Beppu, onsen capital and neon playground, though it was pretty dead being a weekday and all. We met a couple of other tourists at the hostel, Kai (German) and Leo (Filipino) and headed right to an onsen, which was totally what the doctor ordered to rest my aching feet and strained legs. We actually ended up at Kitahama spa, a newer spa with outdoor pool and wet ...

... one active volcano in the area - with the idea that we'll walk around its crater before heading back down. Unfortunately - due to volcanic activity - the crater is not the safest place to be that day so we just decide to walk down from the top - about a 3 hour jaunt. Again the views are great and despite the snow storm the previous night, the day is warm and clear. We decided to try and take a short cut through the woods, lost our bearings ...