JAPAN Beppu, Mt Aso, Kagoshima 25th-27th September

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Beppu is famous for its natural hot springs (onsen) and here we fully indulged in the Japanese tradition. One of the highlights of our trip here was discovering the rotenburos, which are outdoor volcanic springs in the Myouban Onsen area. Beppu has a famous old onsen called Takagawara which was the hotest we experienced.

Next we took a day trip to Mount Aso, one of the largest calderas in the world, which is made up of five peaks. We went to Mount Naka an acitve crater and the pictures tell the story.

Our plan after Beppu was to travel to the tropical island of Yakushima. On our arrival in Kagoshima at the tip of Kyushu we stayed in the excellent Nakzona Ryokan whose helpful owner Shinichi informed us of an impending typhoon. As the weather worsened we decided to high-tail it out of there back up north to Takayama.

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