Kurokawa Onsen – hot or not?

After two trains and one bus, John and I arrived at the Senomoto Youth Hostel a few kilometers down the road of Kurokawa Onsen, definitely one of the best hotspots ( ) in Japan. The Youth Hostel was being supervised by a very energetic and nice lady who probably in a previous life was a sherpa in Nepal. Since we incidently chose to sleep Japanese style we got a room with only tatami mats and one futon each. After grabbing several extra futons from the room next door, I decided that sleeping on tatami mats wouldn`t be that bad after all

That evening we went to visit our very first onsen in Japan, namely Hozantei in nearby Kurokawa Onsen. For only 500￥per person we used the public bath there. Since it was evening and the bath was outdoors we did not only enjoy the steaming hot bath, but also the starry starry night. The surroundings were very romantic with some small waterfalls, a small stream and woods surrounding the onsen. Too bad I was with John and not some pretty Japanese

The next morning we went for a 7 hour hike in the area surrounding the Youth Hostel.　We went up 5 different peaks ranging from 1500 meters to 1800 meters. Aｔ one point we followed a trail which was totally overgrown with plants that were around, and some times over, 1.90 meters. All the time wondering how the hell those tiny Japanese would manage it.

After a good night`s rest we took the bus to Beppu (definitely not our cup of tea) for a quick look-around before leaving the Kyshu region and taking the train to Okayama in the Western Honshu region. In Okayama we will visit one of the three most famous Japanese gardens, namely Korakuen.

More photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_dude_in/sets/72157602416011625/

You can also take a look at John’s blogpost on Kurokawa Onsen, Senomoto and Beppu:
http://www.oldenhuizing.com/2007/10/14/japan-kurokawa-senomoto-beppu/

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