Their unplanned night in Tokyo having drawn to a close, my parents boarded their morning flight out to Nowhere, Japan – aka – Oita. Originally they had been due to arrive in Oita around 8pm Sunday night and with this in mind I had crafted a whirlwind itinerary that kicked off from the following Monday morning. With my parents instead arriving in Oita a day late they had the pleasure of beginning their activity-packed adventure right from the get-go.
My girlfriend and I arrived at the airport about 10 minutes early and began the wait for the two giant Americanos to emerge from the arrival gate… mom made a suitably grand entrance.
We had some coffee and introduced the parents to my darling girlfriend, then caught the bus back towards Beppu.
Now according to the original plan my parents were going to visit Choki-san’s English class on Monday morning from 10 to 11am. Unfortunately, because my parents’ flight arrived at 10:30 and because it takes about 40min to get from Oita airport to Beppu on the bus I was pretty sure we had missed the class. Choki-san called and asked if we would like to be picked up at the bus-stop and taken to our Ryokan (Japanese B&B), I politely declined since it would mean she had to leave her class early. Well, Choki-san is a nice old lady old enough to be my grandmother and exactly the same as my real grandmothers – she does whatever the hell she wants no matter what you say.
So, when we stepped off the bus, there was Choki-san and one of her students waiting with their cars. They didn’t graciously bring their cars to shuttle us to my parents ryokan, however, they graciously brought their cars to shuttle our luggage to the ryokan and my parents immediately on to the class to meet the students. In other words, the moment my parents reached Beppu they were kidnapped by a little old lady with pinkish hair. It wasn’t all bad though, my parents were great sports about it and talked in as simple English as possible with the students for awhile before it was time to go. We made arrangements to have lunch with a few of the more linguistically-able students and then took a nice group picture to commemorate the event (Japanese *love* group pictures…) — Choki-san is sitting to the right of my mother, and the lovely lady standing next to me in the back is my squeeze.
I suppose I might as well go ahead and introduce her now! Ma Li is a Chinese graduate student I’ve been dating since the end of July and will graduate the same time I do in September of 2007.
Back to the story – after lunch we finally got to relax for a bit at the ryokan I had reserved for my parents. They stayed at one of the nicest ones in the city and in the master suite no less. My parents were especially pleased with the rotenburo, or outdoor bath. It featured a cozy little washing area and soaking pool overlooking a serene garden.
Having had some tea, a snack, and the tour of the ryokan we stopped long enough to take a picture of the two bold travelers outside their new lodgings and then headed to campus.
Once there, the rain kindly stopped long enough for us to admire the most excellent view, and some of the other noteworthy architectural aspects of APU.
Despite it being a Monday, the grounds were surprisingly empty… perhaps because classes hadn’t yet resumed?
We even walked down to my old dorm, by the time my parents visited I had already moved out… man was I glad to get out of there.
By the time we finished strolling around campus it was mid-afternoon and my jet-lagged parents were starting to fade so I took them to experience the indisputable highlight of this little backwater town – the hot springs! Knowing it would be best if my parents were able to enjoy their first soak in a hot spring both together and by themselves, I took them to Myoban – a charming little neighborhood of thatched-hut baths.
The weather was slightly cool and they were able to see another famous Beppu attraction – the steam columns gently rising over the city.
In Myoban there are two types of their signature huts – in the first you simply lay on the ground and steam, think of it as a very cozy, natural sauna.
In the other you buy an hour’s use of a hut and relax in a splendid private bath. Make no mistake, even among hot springs this is serious luxury bathing. But if you’re only going to do it once, do it right, right?
In short, my parents enjoyed themselves immensely!
After our hour was up we had a nice stroll through a nearby garden…
and then sampled the local hot spring eggs while waiting for the bus under the watchful gaze of a very large crow.
Boiled as they are in the sulphur-rich waters, they have a very unique and delicious taste!
After the springs it was time for dinner, on the way to which we passed the first of many hundreds of pachinko parlors my parents would see during their trip.
Dinner was yakiniku tabehoudai, or all you can eat grilled meat, at the excellent Yabake Farms restaurant that Satoshi and I frequent.
Lastly, before taking them back to their ryokan for some well-earned rest we strolled through Kannawa, the central hot spring district of Beppu, and enjoyed the copious amounts of steam constantly coming from just about everywhere.
