wanderlust.co.uk September 2019 129Primarycolours
(above)MountYufu
towersoverOita's
prettyonsentown
ofYufuin;(this)Usa
Shrine,builtinthe
8thcenturyOITA
HOT SPRING
HEAVENOita prefecture is the beating
heart of Kyushu’s hot spring
culture, home to the most onsen
in the country. At its core lies the
coastal city of Beppu, which
produces more hot spring water
per minute than anywhere else
in Japan. As I spotted the city
on the horizon, I had to stop my
car: hundreds of long plumes
of white steam swirled into the
sky – like an enormous factory,
only much prettier.“Onsen is our way of life in
Beppu,” a local guide told me.
“Everything we do revolves
around the hot springs. The
locals bathe in it, they drink it,
they even cook food in the
steam.” It wasn't until I strolled
around the city, where white
steam even rises out of vents in
the ground, that I realised quite
how true his statement was.
There are free foot baths and
saunas tucked into side streets,
free steaming ovens for cooking,
plus countless bathhouses. You
can even get buried in piping hot
sand, or visit Kannawa Mushiyu,
where you lie in a tiny woodenroom as herbal-infused steam
engulfs your body – the only place
in Japan you can do this.
But to imply Oita's only lure is
its hot springs is to do the region
a disservice. About an hour north
of Beppu, I found myself in the
Kunisaki Penninsula, where an
8th-century priest is said to have
carved over 60,000 statues of
Buddha. Today, the region is
sprinkled with nearly 40
moss-covered temples and
shrines, including the ruby red
Usa Shrine, considered the most
important of Japan's 40,000
'Hachiman shrines', dedicated to
the Shinto god of war, Hachiman.Alamy; Fukuoka Tourism; Olivia Lee
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
TOP TIP
This autumn , to tie in with
the Rugby World Cup,
Kyushu is hosting
over 50 exciting festivals
from 20 Sept to 3 Nov. Visit
https://matsuri.
welcomekyushu.com
for more.