Beppu, Japan

Jigoku (hell) Udon. I love spicy foods, but this was so it hot my eyes were tearing. おいしかったです (it was delicious!). I put a coin next to the soup so you can see how large it is.

In Beppu, there are vents along the streets and in people's yard to vent the geothermal gases.

Jigoku Geyser. It is not as big as Old Faithful, but it erupts more often. It erupts every 30-40 minutes for 5-6 minutes like clockwork.

Jigoku (hell) , Beppu, Japan

Beppu, Japan has the second largest volume of hot water in the world after Yellowstone Park and has the largest number of hot spring sources in Japan. Beppu contains nine major geothermal hot spots, which are sometimes referred to as the "nine hells of Beppu". These are photos I took in Jigoku park (Hell park). Dispite the name, it was quite beautifu. You can see how the sulfur and steam turned the water a light blue/green. In some of the ponds, the steam heated the clay in the dirt and dyed the water dark red.

Kujukushima Oyster festival

Throughout the year, if one goes kayaking around the 99 islands, one will see areas of ocean roped off. These are oyster farms. Once the oysters mature, they are harvested and sold during the Oyster festival in Sasebo- which is famous in Japan. You buy a bag of oysters, charcoal and lemon juice (and beer and shrimp, etc) and sit next to little makeshift brick grills to cook them. The festival is during February, so it can get pretty cold outside, but that doesn't stop people from drinking, eating, and spending the day with friends. It was a great time.

Japanese people cooking oysters in the tent

BBQing the oysters on the grill. Delicious.

Japanese people cooking oysters in the tent

Operation Tomodachi (part 3)

It may not look like it from the pictures, but it's extremely cold. You can see the snow on the deck in this photo.

Operation Tomodachi (part 2)

Operation Tomodachi (part 1)