Ibusuki

Ibusuki's claim to fame is its natural hot sands that people come to be buried in.  So, that's the draw.  The town itself is a little rundown (think Hampton Beach for those of you familiar with New Hampshire).   But there are many ryokans (of the large, modern variety) there that take advantage of the draw for the hot sands and ours - Ibusuki Hakisuikan - was one of them.

As we drove through the town I was a little apprehensive about what our ryokan might be like.  The general feel of the town, I thought, didn't bode well.  Was I pleasantly surprised.  As we drove in, a relatively new building to the left (which houses a collection of pottery and porcelain) was eye catching and set a nice tone for the approach.  Turns out this place was really nice.

Our room was on the third floor and looked out to the water, as seen in the next photo.

It is a really large facility with many modern parts, but some old parts as well.  We called it the Mohonk of Kyushu, as it has a little of that same historical feel.  Meals were served in a very pleasant dining room and we decided that we preferred eating in a dining room to being served our dinner in our room.  The in-room service is a bigger production and takes you through the meal course-by-course.  But it is almost too much of a production.

On Monday in Ibusuki we caught the bus for about a 30 minute ride down to the Flower Park Kagoshima.  The rhododendron were in bloom and we saw some early azaleas as well.  Probably the most fascinating thing about the park was the tropical garden, which had some unbelievably beautiful species, one of which neither of us had ever seen or hear of strongylodon macrobotrys.  The color, as you can see in the picture below, was incredible.  I'll put in another few other pieces of eye candy from the park.

Then back to the hotel. In the afternoon, we got our hot sand bath. You put on a yukata (cotton Japanese bathrobe) and lie down in the hot sand as the attendants rake the sand up over your entire body (other than your head). It is a weird feeling. The sand is hot - probably the temperature of a hot bath. You lie for 15 minutes or so (when the perspiration starts to bead up and it is supposed to have all sorts of therapeutic and beneficial effects. I must say it felt good, but it also felt good to get out and rinse off.

Later in the afternoon each of us got a massage. Then we had a great dinner (maybe the best we have had the entire trip) and relaxing baths in the very elaborate Genroku (which is what they called their grand bath). In the men's bath there were multiple baths of different temperatures both indoor and outdoor. The process is pretty straightforward. There are stalls with wooden stools in front of them with showers and soap, shampoo, etc. That is for washing. After washing thoroughly, and most importantly rinsing off thoroughly, you go into the bath. The bath is for soaking a relaxation. It is a big operation and the bath is one of the focal points for a ryokan. It is very relaxing.

A good way to spend a Monday.