June 15, 2023

We have been to Kagoshima once before, in 2019. This time we opted to go on the Ibusuki Sand Bath Tour.Our guide was Mayumi and she was probably one of the best guides we have had. The trip to the Sand Baths took 1 hour 20 minutes and she was so informative the whole time. Kagoshima is a port city on the western shore of Kinkowan Bay. It is the southern most major city in Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. The volcano, Mt. Sakurajima, towers 3500 feet over the city and the bay. It is an active volcano and it erupts pretty constantly each day, but not dangerously. The most dangerous eruption was on January 11, 2014. It is the most active volcano in Japan. It was pretty cloud covered all day but here is the best picture I could get.

The city of Kagoshima has a population of 600,000 and is in a beautiful area. Agriculture is the largest occupation and the green tea, sweet potatoes and wagu beef are very popular. Kagoshima is the second largest producer of green tea in Japan. Mayumi said that the pork and beef are both delicious – the pigs are fed sweet potatoes and the steers are fed green tea!

Japan is made up of 14,200 islands. I had no idea! It is the length of Montreal to Jacksonville! There are 124 million people and the cities are quite crowded but you don’t see that in this area.

Mayumi told us many of the Japanese customs including bowing as a greeting. The depth of the bow is lower if the person being greated is of greater stature. It is considered respectful if you greet the person back the way you were greeted.

We reached the Ibusuki Sunamushi Onse Natural Sand bath and spa and got instructions about how it all worked. This is the only hot sand spa in the world so we knew we would be in for something special. We received two towels, a large one and a small one and a summer (cotton) kimono. We had to remove all clothing and shoes and put everything in a locker. We took the small towel with us down to the beach where there were covered sand baths. When the tide is right and the weather is good, the sand bath takes place out on the beach. Mayumi got special permission to take photos of us – it is usually not allowed – and she collected all of our cell phones so that she could walk around and take the pictures. The small towel is wrapped around your head and you lie down in the sand where the workers cover you with the warm sand. The sand underneath you is quite warm too. You only stay for 10 – 15 minutes. The sand is heavy and we both felt our bodies pulsing. The sand is hot from the hot springs. After the sand bath, we came in and showered the sand off, then went into the hot springs pool (women and men separately and naked). It was incredibly well organized as most things in Japan are.here are pictures of what it looks like under cover and out on the beach.

The sand bath hot springs have been used for the past 300 years. Their brochure says that it has been medically proven to have many positive effects on the human body. Research done by professor Tanaka of Kagoshima University Medical Department has demonstrated that sand bathing actively stimulates the heart and increases blood circulation in the body. The literature states that it is effective in relieving the following: neuralgia, rheumatism, lumbago, arthritis, fractures, paralytic effects of stroke, atopy, skin diseases, asthma, diabetes, and sensitivity to cold. It is prohibited for people with high blood pressure over 180, heart disease, irregular pulse, liver disease and fever (although no one asked us!). I am not sure it really relieves all that, but it did feel very relaxing.

Before we left, I found out that you could purchase the cotton kimonos like the ones we wore in the sand. Here is mine! Perfect to use as a robe yet Norm thinks I could wear it to dinner.

On the way back to the ship, Mayumi showed us pictures of how weddings are conducted and the finery worn by brides and grooms – she showed us her own wedding pictures with the 4 changes of outfits! She also explained the reverence for older relatives and how families usually have cemeteries near their homes so that they can visit graves to honor the dead.

Then, we learned how to count in Japanese. She held up cards with each number and the Japanese pronunciation. She quizzed us on some numbers as well. She kept us well informed and entertained the entire trip. I would say she was one of the best guides we had. She gave us samples of Japenese candies and had one of the small towels we used on our heads for each of us – clean ones, that is.

There were some small shops in the terminal and one booth was giving away origami figures. I got this small top that is very beautifully made and it spins.

We got back in time for our lunch and it was the Mexican lunch that we love. Fresh nachos out on the deck. I took my deck walk and while I was out there a huge black smoke came out of a metal pipe and there was loud noise on my whole walk. We were supposed to leave at 3 PM but I am writing this at 5 and we are still in port. Apparently during the weekly test of the back up generator, something was tripped and none of the elevators work. So the ship cannot leave until everything is working. Ned, our chief engineer and friend, was supposed to do a guitar concert at 5:30 but I am guessing that will be postponed. We are schedule in to Hiroshima tomorrow at 10:30 so we will need to see when we can leave and how that will impact tomorrow. Stay tuned!