Emerald Pool

Emerald Pool
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

Statement: Japan's nature is amazing.

This picture doesn't need much description, it's a pool below one of the waterfalls near lake Biwa. It was really inviting us to jump and swim... although it's difficult to realize from the picture, there were about 7-10 metres to the surface of the water.

If you like hiking, try in Japan!

Trustworthy Japanese

Trustworthy Japanese
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

The fact that Japan is a very safe country is quite well-known, but many people don't know until what extent this is true. In this country, criminality rates are extremely low, compared to other developed countries.

Some facts: I lost my wallet and my cellphone and I got them back completely untouched, policemen are very rarely seen out of their 'police boxes', streets are very dark in the night and nothing happens...

Just take a look at the picture, it was taken when the shop was closed: the white and blue small metallic box is where customers are supposed to insert their coins as payment. Real Self-Service.

Sand Bath

Sand Bath
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

What you can see in the picture is called 'sand bath' and it's a speciality from the hot spring town of Beppu. They're usually located indoors in hot spring resorts or outdoors in the beach.

In short, it consists of putting a yukata on, selecting the sand 'pool' depending on its temperature, digging a hole in it and covering yourself in sand with the help of another person. As a pillow you're provided with a square piece of wood... it's kinda special feeling but I think I won't become a fan of this stuff.

Red Lotus

Red Lotus
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

This is the famous red lotus, a flower that plays an important role in many Asian cultures and religions. Due to its beauty and to the fact that it grows in muddy swampy water, it symbolizes the purity and perfection over the sinful world and, usually, the Buddha himself is represented sitting down on a lotus flower or leaf.

In the picture, both the red-pink flower and the cone-shaped fruit, full of lotus seeds, can be seen. Both are edible and often used in certain dishes, as well as the leaves and stems. If you happen to see one of this plants, try pouring some drops of water on the leaves, I promise some funny behaviour!

Nigetsu-Do

Nigetsu-Do
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

This nice wooden structure, standing on the slopes of Nara Park, is one of the most beautiful sights in town. It is situated slightly off the track (although not difficult to access) if one wants to visit the most famous places like Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji... and, since it's not included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, you won't find it highlighted in almost any tour of Nara.

My opinion is that the atmosphere created at sunset is not easily improved: the wonderfully changing colors, tens of hanging lanterns that are lit, the city that extends below the sinking sun, a few locals who come here just to silently enjoy this moment...

Yukata Style

Yukata Style
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

This is the month of Gion Matsuri in Kyoto. It is one of the most important events in Japan, and the climax of the festivities takes place on the 17th of July, the Day of the Sea (Umi-no-Hi), when there is a huge parade on the streets of Gion, the most traditional town in the ancient capital.

These days, many people wear 'yukata' (japanese style robe, similar to 'kimono' but less complex), 'obi' (the belt) and 'geta' (wooden shoes) and, since we wanted to purchase japanese clothes as a souvenir, this was the perfect occasion to buy and start wearing them immediately!

In the picture, Rebeca, I and Rasa are posing outside the temple 'Sanjusangendo' in Eastern Kyoto, Japan's longest wooden structure and famous for its 1001 statues of the Buddha.

Fuji - Above the clouds

Fuji - Above the clouds
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

Some people would say that we were unlucky and couldn't see the land of Japan from the top of Fuji, which is supposed to be an incredible sight. Actually, Japan is a very cloudy place, and even thoughout the summer there are usually just a few days when visibility is good enough at the top.

However, on the day we climbed, the clouds stayed below 3000 metres, which gave us the opportunity to enjoy this alternative magnific view. The feeling was very very close to fly...

Fuji - Dormant volcano

Fuji - Dormant volcano
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

This is a picture of the huge crater on top of Mt. Fuji. Due to the altitude, it was still partially covered with snow and ice in late June.

According to history, Mt. Fuji's last eruption ocurred in 1707, Japan's Edo Period. The magma didn't come out of this crater, which is significantly older, but from a new secondary peak, which appeared on the south-eastern slopes. Nowadays, that side of the volcano is still covered with recent volcanic gravel, completely black and devoid of vegetation.

Fuji - 3776m

Fuji - 3776m
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

This is the true top of Japan, the highest point of Mt. Fuji: 3776 metres of volcanic rock and ascending zig-zag. We were so close to the summit and the weather was so nice that we almost forgot the exhaustion and the altitude sickness.

Although from a distance Fuji-san has a nearly perfect conical shape, it has a crater on top due to its volcanic origin, and the size of it isn't negligible at all. The trail you can see in the picture actually goes around the border of the crater, whose highest point happened to be on the other side of the spot where we arrived, and it took us about half an hour to reach it.

Blood Hell - Foot Massage

Blood Hell - Foot Massage
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

In the onsen-city of Beppu, one of the main touristic attractions are the so-called 'Hells'. They are natural hot springs, which are too hot to be used for bathing and are visually nice for different reasons.

We visited the Umi-no-Ike Jigoku 'Sea Pond Hell' and the Chi-no-Ike one, 'Blood Pond Hell', which receive their names from the color of the water, blue and red, respectively. It was not unusual that part of the next-to-boiling water was used for a foot massage bath... if you want to have an idea of the water temperature just have a close look at our faces!

Fuji-san?

Fuji-san?
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

The summit looks really close but... wait, those trees look too big and the top of Fuji isn't supposed to be covered with grass!

Of course, this is not the biggest mountain of Japan, but just a beautiful scale version of it created in Kumamoto's Suizenji Koen, 'the park in front of the water'. It's a Japanese-style landscape garden which, apart from Mt. Fuji, reproduces the 53 stations of the Tokaido, the ancient way which links Kyoto and Edo (old name for Tokyo).

Fuji - Happy climbers

Fuji - Happy climbers
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

As I previously mentioned, we didn't find many people on our way to the top of Fuji. However, we weren't alone either and, in this spot, we came across our improvised 'photographer', who was already hiking down the mountain.

At this altitude, the clouds had almost dissappeared from the sky, a rewarding sun was giving us strength and we went on, with the sight of traces of last winter's snow and ice outside our trail...

(to be continued)

Main Crater

Main Crater
Originally uploaded by juanerubio.

This is how the core of an active volcano looks like. It belongs to Aso-san in Kyushu, a place which I have recently talked about here.

The greenish color of the lake was due to the high concentration of sulphur and other elements, which also produce the dangerous fumes that rise above the main cone. It was relatively safe to watch this from the observation platform, since there were plenty of concrete bunkers to take shelter in case of sudden eruption and the local authorities were checking the wind direction constantly to prevent people from inhaling the toxic gases.