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Japanese Cultural Assignment

A diary entry about a school trip in japan. Written by a 'Gaijin'. Good reflection of an aspect of Japanese culture.

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Richa Ng
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88 views2 pages

Japanese Cultural Assignment

A diary entry about a school trip in japan. Written by a 'Gaijin'. Good reflection of an aspect of Japanese culture.

Uploaded by

Richa Ng
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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REFLECTIONS ON SCHOOL TRIP ()

@BUPPU CITY, OITA PREFECTURE


EXPERIENCES DURING THE TRIP
Today, our class was blessed to visit Japans popular hot spring city, Buppu. The overall
experience was magnificent and unimaginably enjoyable. We first arrived at an old-style hot
spring village after a short bus ride, known as the Kannawa hot spring. Here, I saw some of the
most beautiful sceneries on the Jigoku tour, which were the eruptions of hot mud and spouts of
steams such as the Sea hell and Blood pond hell. They were colourful geological wonders set
in a hot spring resort, nowhere else to be seen in the world. After the tour, we entered a
restaurant on the streets of Kannawa (footbaths and stone saunas were abundant). What it
offered was absolutely amazing. They specialised in the cuisine that uses the steam and vapours
that spout from the earth, this can only be found here in Kannawa. We each enjoyed a plate full
of a variety of seafood caught fresh from the shore of Beppu bay, steamed for around 20
minutes. The taste of the minerals from the Jigoku and the freshness of the ingredients blended
together to create a unique flavour.
After lunch, we headed off to Myoban hot spring, situated on the summit of Mt. Tsurumi, 350m
above sea level. It is known for its rare milky white sulfur springs and mineral mud baths. We
unfortunately did not take baths there, and instead just did a tour on the Yunohana (baths salt
formed by the condensed natural components in the hot springs, then crystalised in huts made
of bamboo and straws known as Yunohana Koya) The chemical reaction triggering the
formation of the crystals is interesting to know and its benefits as a moisturiser tempted me to
scrub the bath salt on my skin (of course, I didnt do so). Afterwards, we arrived at the highlight
of the trip the landmark Takegawara hot spring. It is well known for its Kara hafu style roof,
which is listed as a national modernisation heritage and has become a symbol of Beppu tourism.
Having entered the magnificent architecture, we were thrilled by the fields of sand bath, none of
us ever seen or heard this type of bath before and really found it intriguing (and unexpected).
Through observations, when bathing in sand bath, ones body is covered with sand heated by the
hot spring underneath. As we walked deeper into the hot spring resort, the Beppu recreational
land came into our sight. It was an open and vast mineral mud bath surrounded by mountains
and springs, which was where we finally took our turn to immerse ourselves into Japanese hot
spring for the first time. The sensation was overwhelming as my body slowly submerged into the
bath as I felt strangely light and faint due to the buoyancy and high temperature of the mud in
the water. The afternoon passed quickly as we relaxed ourselves in the comfortable bath,
mediating from the tiring urban lifestyle.
Finally, we took a shuttle bus to the Bungo Strait, the golden place to be at to taste a range of
delicacies. We walked through a lively and crowded walking street that had endless rows of night
market stalls. We first queued at a very busy stall, which offered Seki horse mackerel fish,
caught off the coast with the traditional pole-and-line method. Then some of us tried out
Dangojiru (dumpling soup) at an old s stall, it is a quintessential home dish of the area
and its flavour from seasonal vegetables and flour dumplings stewed in a miso soybean paste
soup still lingers in my mouth. There were also numerous delicate sweets and snacks, too
complicated to have all of them addressed. Overall, everyone loved the food and wish we could
enjoy them even when were back in Australia.
WHAT I HAVE LEARNT DURING THIS TRIP

This school trip renewed my perception on Japanese hot springs and tourism. We used to have
the impression of Japanese hot spring being a geothermal spring water spa, but thats just one
type. After visiting Beppu, we have seen different types of hot springs and baths never witnessed
before so next time mentioning Japanese hot springs, we can astonish those unaware of the
sheer variety of spas. I have also learnt the cultural significance of hot springs for a Japanese as
these resorts have been popular for hundreds of years, indicating the Japaneses appreciation of
it. The cuisine also varies greatly between neighbouring towns and villages, this further reflects
Japanese peoples creativity and ability to make effective use of local resources to produce the
finest treats and produces. Unforgettable.

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