super-typhoon – FAQ Japan

The largest storm on the planetpassed through Beppu last night. The storm had drifted a little south of its predicted trajectory, but we still got hit by the strong winds; theysounded like a Bullet Train as theyrattled the windows and the walls. I read somewhere thatthree months of rainfall will fall over Japan in just two days. This morning I takea walk to the beach to see how high the sea level is. I amsurprised to see so many boats on the fierce waters.nnFurther down the beach, I see houses with their windows boarded up. Thankfully I see very little damage to anything. Beppu has survived the Super Typhoon and everyone is safe. Life goes on as normal here. Across the road, the 24-hour Pachinko parlour is packed full of people and cigarette smoke. The light rain all but stops so I wander back to the hostel tograb a bicycle.nnnnI cyclethe ten minutes to theRakutenchi Cable Railway Station. The train hereonly goes up themountain to Rakutenchi Amusement Park. The park is closed today because of the typhoon. Oddly, the rest of the trains and buses in Beppu carry on as normal, except at Rakutenchi Cable Railway Station. With the park closed, I decide to go back to Kanawa Hells tofinish what I started last week.nnOn my way to theHells, I seearoad sign for Beppu Univercity. I find it unbelievable that major road signs can contain such errors. At the Hells of Beppu the sun is shining; not the weather you would expect the day of a Super Typhoon. The Foreign Tourist Information Office is closed today;I am not sure if this means information about foreign tourists, orsomething else.nShiraike Jigoku, White Pond Hell, is the first Hell I visit. I am pleased to find that it is open. I pay my 400 entry fee and admire the white pond. The water apparently is, Transparent but as time passes it turns a blue-white colour. I have no idea why the sign says this; the pond water is clearlygreen. Also at White Pond Hell, there is a really old aquarium with just three fish.nnOppositeShiraike Jigoku is a closed red door. The sign next to the door says Hinryu Jigoku, Golden Dragon Hell.Inside this Hell is a Dragon statue with steam coming through its mouth that seems to be flying when water spouts out at sunrise. This is actually the 9th Hell of Beppu;Im not sure if its still open to the public as its not on anymap. Anyway,I mention it only because I really enjoy the impressive description on thesign:nnThe next two Hells I plan to visit today are halfway down the mountain and about ten minutes away. I get back on my bicycleand take a very fun bike ride down the winding mountain path, through the manyforests and tunnels carved into the mountainside.nChinoike Jigoku translates to the amusing, Bloody Hell. Here there is a massive pool of red-hot mud estimated to have been here for over 1300 years. This is Japans oldest natural hot spring. It takes its name from the image of hell found in Buddhism. There is also a nice waterfall here. Some colourful Koi Carpfish swim in the pool below.nnCarnival Cutouts are found everywhere in Japan. These wooden life-size cutouts you can put your face through are found at every tourist attraction and randomly placed on the streets for seemingly no reason. I can cycle around Beppu for ten minutes with my camera and willeasily find ten Carnival Cutouts. Everywhere.After Bloody Hell, I head next door toTatsumaki Jigoku. Itis closed today. I see a sign saying Beppu Station 7.5 kilometres and decide to head back to the hostel for my new favourite food, Natt.nBack at the hostel enjoyingmyNatt, a member of staff finds it hilarious that I wrap my fermented soybeans around potato chips. Whatever.After food, I head to Beppu Tower. It is one minute from my hostel and I still havent been. Beppu Tower was probably once a marvel, but now it is used as an advertising billboard for the brewery Asahi. There are eight neon Asahi signs on the Tower; four in Japanese and four in English. The Tower stands at a Herculean 100 meters tall.nnI pay my 200 and ride the silent lift to the seventeenth floor. It is one of those lifts that doesnt display the current floor number and doesnt really feel like it is moving. After about thirty seconds the doors open tothe 17th floor. I am greeted by a Japanese lady at a desk. I hand her my ticket and begin to wander around.nInside the Tower, there are black and white photographs of crowds of people standing not too far from where I am standing right now. There are photographs of Japanese celebrities. There are pictures of the Tower through the ages. It used to look quite nice when it was first constructed in 1957. Today though, far from the bustling crowds, I am the only person here.nnThe view from the Tower is good. A full 360-degree panoramic view. The only problem is that the glass in some of the windows is cracked and broken. Other windows are filthy on the outside and are in desperate need of a clean. Some of the photographs I takejust dontturn out at all; my camera unable topenetrate the thick layers of dirt.nBack at the hostel, I book a 2100 bus ticket to my next stop, Fukuoka. Just when Beppu was starting to grow on me too. Ispeak to a Korean guy (and fellow avid bicycle enthusiast), he tells me about something amazing that he saw today. Its only 6 pm so I decide to check it out before the sunset. As I cycle down the ocean, I quite like the look of the sky.nMy destination is beyond the Monkey Park, some 5.7 kilometreseach way. I finally reach my destination; an old landlocked boat converted into a play park. There are slides, tunnels, ladders, and a climbing frame. There is also a weird rope ladder that leads into thehull below. I am very tempted to go on the slide, butthere is a couple on the shiptoo, seemingly on a romantic date.nnAfter exploring the abandoned ship, I abandon ship and cycle back to the hostel for the last time. At the hostel the excitement in Beppu never ends; Justin (a staff member here) has found a crab in the male Onsen. Everyone is going crazy about this crab. They finally catch it take it back to the ocean, to where it belongs.nRead the next part of my Journey in Japan, where I finally arrive in Fukuoka by clicking here.