Every year, my English school is closed for twelve days during summer vacation. My wife and I look forward to this time off as much as the students, I think. More than a month in advance, we began carefully considering our vacation options. The easiest and yet most relaxing option seemed to be three day camping trip to Kirishima. There we could enjoy the peace and quiet and escape the oppressive summer heat. My son also wanted to walk in the woods and look for deer. And we all hoped to take a little time and visit one of the famous hot springs for a little extra relaxation.
Yes, it was a plan to please everyone. But alas, it was not to be. We soon discovered that every possible sight was booked for the summer. There wasn’t a cabin, cottage, or bungalow to be had anywhere. So, I offer a word to the wise. Make your reservations as early as you can. Yet we didn’t give up. We just changed locales. After all, Kagoshima is full of great places where one can get away from it all. If we couldn’t go to the mountains of Kirishima, then we’d head to the shores of Ibusuki. We would still be able to relax at a hot spring and the shores would be nearly as cool as the mountains. Also, my son had never been there before and my last visit had certainly been too short. So, to Ibusuki we would go! But were we to stay? There are plenty of well known hotels and spas. There are also the famed hot sand springs, but in the heat of summer they are not quite ideal. My wife suggested that rather than stay at a big resort, we might enjoy something a little smaller, quieter, and more private. She had come across a place called “Inaka-ya”. Inaka-ya is one of a new breed of hot spring resorts. Unlike a large hotel, it and others of its kind are family owned and operated. Smaller, quieter, and more intimate they are also easier on the wallet. A typical large resort can easily cost 10,000 yen (approx. $80) or more per night per person (including breakfast and usually dinner). And at these large resorts there are designated hours in which you can use the hot spring bath. However, at Inaka-ya you get a four bed bungalow with 24 hour use of the spring bath for 10,000 per bungalow, not per person. Though the room doesn’t include meals, each room is equipped with a kitchenette area with dining table and full use of the BBQ pit. Each bungalow also includes a private restroom, vanity with sink, and two air conditioners. There is no private bath in the room of course, because that’s what the hot spring bath is for. For those of you who don’t understand, you wash yourself clean (and rinse thoroughly) with the soap and shampoo supplied to you BEFORE entering the hot spring. YOU MUST NEVER ENTER THE HOT SPRING BATH BEFORE WASHING, NOR EVER BRING SOAP ETC. INTO THE BATH. Any violation of this tradition would be highly insulting and even barbaric. Well, I can tell you that a stay in the Ibusuki countryside and a dip in a hot spring was just what I needed to melt away the working woes. It seemed so desirable that my mother-in-law and sister-in-law decided to come along and rent an adjacent bungalow. We all piled into the family car and headed off for Ibusuki early that weekend. The drive out was nice and trouble-free. We left early enough to miss the traffic and we reached our first pit stop at the edge of Ibusuki-city by mid-morning. After a brief stretch of the legs and a belly full of loquat ice cream we continued our journey. We had made good time and we couldn’t check in to the spa for several hours, so we decided to visit some well known and some not so well known places in
the Ibusuki area. The first stop was Ikeda Lake. This large, deep, lake lies in the shadow of Mount Kaimon. It’s a good place to stop and rest and perhaps snack or pick up some souvenirs. There are also viewing tanks of the native giant eels and some cement statues of Ishii the lake monster said to inhabit the lake. The lake itself is quite choppy and for some reason, no matter the weather elsewhere, it is often drizzly and even a little eerie.I took my son around and got plenty of pictures.
I also like some of the shops across the road. They have good snacks, including roasted sweet potatoes and fresh bontan fruit (something like a large grapefruit). As the drizzle turned to rain we jumped back in the car and headed out for a nice lunch. My mother-in-law knows of an excellent soba noodle restaurant at the foot of Mount Kaimon. She guided us along the winding road which wraps around the lower part of the mountain. I also wanted to visit the local shrine and then see if we could find one of Ibusuki hidden treasures, the Hanaze Philippine Memorial Park. From there it would onto the spa and into the hot spring. So, please join me again as we’ll continue through my summer vacation in Ibusuki.
