ESCAPE FROM SNAKE ISLAND - PART 6

ON THE TRAIN TO IBUSUKI, XING WAS HAVING US LOOK OUT THE WINDOW FOR ALL SORTS OF STUFF THAT WASN’T THERE. GREAT FUN. BY THE TIME XING SAID, “LOOK, A SPACE SHUTTLE!”, WE WERE ALREADY WISE TO HER TRICKS. HOWEVER, I LOOKED UP AND ADDED, “OH YEAH… A SPACE SHUTTLE.” FOR INDEED THERE WAS ONE THERE PERCHED ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN. I CAN’T EXPLAIN IT, SO I SHAN’T.

ON THE RIDE BACK, I WAS DETERMINED TO CAPTURE A PHOTO OF THE INEXPLICABLY POSITIONED SPACE VEHICLE. UNFORTUNATELY, I ONLY GOT A SHOT OF BLURRY TREE BRANCHES GETTING IN MY WAY. SO, I HAVE NO PROOF TO HELP IN UN-BESMIRCHING XING’S HONEST REPUTATION. INSTEAD, I HAVE A PHOTO OF A FARMER POKING AT SOME ASH WITH A STICK.
PLEASE ENJOY.





THERE’S ONLY ONE WAY TO END A MORNING OF TRAVELING FAR DISTANCES BY TRAIN TO ENJOY A JAPANESE ONSEN (HOT SPRING). AND THAT IS: TO BEGIN AN EVENING OF TRAVELING FAR DISTANCES BY BOAT TO ENJOY ANOTHER ONSEN. THIS NEXT ONE IS CALLED FURUSATO ONSEN, AND SITS ALONG THE COAST OF A SMALL ISLAND.

WELL, IT’S NOT REALLY AN ISLAND AS MUCH AS IT IS A GIANT VOLCANO STICKING OUT OF THE WATER. A LIVE VOLCANO, MIND YOU. THUS, THE PRESENCE OF HOT WATER.


HERE ARE MY FRIENDS TEXTING EACH OTHER ABOUT TONIGHT’S PLANS. KEITAIS (CELL PHONES) AREN’T SIMPLY AN APPLIANCE IN JAPAN. THEY’RE A LIFESTYLE.



MOST HOT SPRINGS ARE SPLIT BY GENDER, SINCE EVERYONE’S SITTING AROUND ALL NEKKID AND STUFF WITH THEIR NAUGHTY BITS FLOATING TO AND FRO. FURUSATO ONSEN, HOWEVER, IS RARE IN THAT IT ALLOWS EVERYONE TO WEAR AN (INTENTIONALLY?) MICRO-THIN ROBE INTO THE WATER, SO THAT BOTH SEXES CAN “HANG OUT” TOGETHER. I SUGGESTED THAT WE DISCARD THE ROBES ANYWAY, Y’KNOW, FOR THE SAKE OF TRADITION – AND THIS SUGGESTION IN NO WAY HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH ME BEING THE ONLY MALE IN THE GROUP. REGARDLESS, IT DIDN’T FLY.

GOTTA SAY, I QUITE ENJOYED MY FIRST ONSEN EXPERIENCE, DESPITE ALL THE OLD DUDES’ WRINKLY FRONT AND BACK PARTS I HAD TO SEE IN THOSE LOCKER ROOMS. ANYWAY, HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS I’M STEALING FROM MY FRIEND, SINCE I VALUE PROTECTING MY CAMERA FROM SAND AND WATER FAR MORE THAN I VALUE YOUR POTENTIAL ENJOYMENT OF MY PHOTOS. THANKS RACHELLE.

ESCAPE FROM SNAKE ISLAND - PART 5

MYSELF, AND MY ENGLISH TEACHING FRIENDS TOOK A TRAIN TO IBUSUKI FOR THEIR FAMOUS HOT SAND-BATH SAUNAS. THERE ARE NATURAL HOT SPRINGS RUNNING BENEATH THE BEACHES THERE, AND FOR THE LOW PRICE OF JUST 1,000 YEN (ROUGHLY $10 U.S.) YOU CAN HIRE SOME LOCAL DUDES WITH SHOVELS TO BURY YOU IN A SHALLOW GRAVE.

THE BEACH IS ESSENTIALLY A FIELD OF DISEMBODIED TOURIST HEADS EMERGING FROM THE GROUND IN TWO NEAT LITTLE ROWS. POSSIBLY ONE OF THE MOST BIZARRE IMAGES YOU MIGHT EVER SEE ON THIS SITE… EXCEPT THAT I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO SHOW. I DIDN’T THINK MY CAMERA WOULD TAKE KINDLY TO BEING BURIED UNDER THE (SIGNIFICANT) WEIGHT OF BURNING HOT, WET, BLACK SAND.

INSTEAD, I PRESENT TO YOU… THATCHED SAUNA ROOFS. PLEASE ENJOY THESE PICTURES AS YOU IMAGINE THE INTERESTING SCENE BENEATH THAT I DID NOT TROUBLE MYSELF TO CAPTURE FOR YOU.





ABOVE IS A FINE WORK OF ART ADORNING THE WALLS OF THE SAUNA ENTRANCE. I BELIEVE THE OUTRAGEOUSLY INFLATED BREASTS OF THE BUS-SIZED SALAMANDER IN SLUMBER REPRESENTS THE PRECARIOUS CONDITION OF JAPAN’S ECONOMIC BUBBLE OF THE 90’S, WHILE THE FISHERMAN TWEAKING THE BULBOUS NIPPLE SIGNIFIES THE STRUGGLE OF THE JAPANESE MAN COMING TO TERMS WITH THE INHERENT UNCERTAINTIES OF A RAPIDLY EVOLVING CULTURE BUBBLING BENEATH AN OTHERWISE CALM AND SERENE SURFACE.

EITHER THAT, OR SOME CARTOONIST JUST REALLY GETS OFF ON THE IDEA OF MOLESTING AN AMPHIBIAN WITH CANS AS LARGE AS A VOLKSWAGEN.

THIS SIGN BELOW IS FUNNY TO ME FOR TWO REASONS. BOTH REASONS WOULD ONLY APPEAL TO THE SENSIBILITIES OF A TEN YEAR OLD LOOKING FOR GIGGLES, SO I WON’T ELABORATE ON EITHER.