Yet another early morning start, with a 7.20am coach from Nagasaki to Beppu. Located in the Oita Prefecture on Japan’s Kyushu island, it’s famous for its hot springs (Onsen) and unique geothermal attractions.

Like all things in Japan, the coach was on time and left at 7.20am on the dot and maintained its stops to the nearest minute. Half way we had a toilet break and this gave us the opportunity to get some photos of the Nagasaki ‘Express’ as we named it.

After 3.5hrs we were on the outskirts of the city, which is surrounded by mountains and lots of greenery. The weather had sadly turned and after thunderstorms overnight, was cooler and wetter than we’d experienced so far to date in Japan.

Leaving the coach, we had a short walk to our beautiful traditional Japanese guesthouse. Arriving at Yamada Bessou, is like being transported back in time everything is so thoughtful and nostalgic. We had a private Onsen, and booked Japanese breakfast, even the check-in was such a lovely experience being greeted and taken to a formal sitting room and offered a plum juice from their gardens.

We then headed out to explore Beppu, first visiting the waterfront and taking in the views of the city and bay.

From there we headed up the hill to Beppu Park, where stalls & a market were selling local food produce as well as promoting activities for all, such as woodworking and cooking. Andy got in on the act and had a go at making a wood coaster (!), whilst Michelle made a little wooden box for storage, sadly due to limited space in our bags we had to leave the box behind.

From there we spent an hour or so drifting from one stall to another checking out the local fish, beef, dairy and snack foods on offer. We felt fortunate to have stumbled over the market and to have seen locals enjoying their weekend.

Sadly the weather had other ideas and as predicted the rain clouds descended and we took ‘shelter’ at a Starbucks, as we waited for the rain to pass.

Mid-afternoon we checked into our traditional Japanese guest house (onsen ryokan) which gave us a real sense of how people used to live in the country. The room and the setting, so beautiful and inviting, we felt fortunate to be able to experience this over the next two nights.

Our Japanese inn featured a tatami-matted room, communal baths, and in the public areas as visitors we wear nemaki’s.

Added to the whole experience was a public and private onsen, sourced from hot springs which we made use of in the afternoon and bathed in the fantastic heat in an outdoor setting.

After enjoying the soothing medicinal waters, we changed and made our way to the restaurant quarter of Beppu for some tempura.

We’d been recommended a place by the ryokan onsen staff called Toyotsune, which turned out to be busy with locals, so we waited our turn before a table became free.

The seafood and chicken tempura proved to be excellent and we had a delicious meal with a couple of Sapporo beers.

Before heading back to the hotel, we went for a look around the restaurant quarter and came across a ‘walking street’ where we saw signs for the Hell Tour (the seven hot spring) which we will be visiting tomorrow morning.

After another ice cream for Andy who has clearly developed an addiction, like many of the Japanese with a sweet tooth, we made our way back for an early night and a much needed lie in tomorrow.

Our plans for Sunday involve hiring electric bikes and visiting the Hell Tour (7 hot springs) before taking another cable car up to Mount Tsurumi to take in the mountain air and views of the surrounding Beppu Bay.