April in Japan is just wonderful. Beautiful trees. No air conditioning necessary. Longer days and lukewarm winds. There is no better time for a small weekend outing, especially so when dear family members come to visit. So before the new school year started, we headed towards Oita prefecture in Kyushu. Oita is famous for many things, Beppu hot springs for example. And of course Harmony Land, the Hello Kitty theme park that we visited last year and that our son has talked about returning to ever since.
Our first stop of the day was at Kurokawa Onsen, a village with a lot of hot springs that offer a day pass where you can visit different onsen and enjoy the warm water. Ever since we met my wife has been telling me about this place and when we finally came here I could really understand why it had made such a strong impression on her. Entering the village, half hidden in a ravine with a little river at the bottom, it was like coming to another world where time slowed down, the warm baths were calling, corn was drying under projecting roofs outside buildings and the hot water coming out of the earth was used to boil eggs. We did not have so much time to explore the village but we managed to bathe in three different hot springs before it was time to head towards Harmony Land. I promised myself that we will definitely come back again soon with plenty of time to spare to experience Kurokawa Onsen again.
Arriving at Harmony Land was no disappointment for our son who this time wanted to go for a ride in the large Hello Kitty ferris wheel. We stayed until closing and finished the day by the sea, looking at the setting sun, experiencing the peaceful beauty of this warm spring day. This was a day in the land of harmony, but in the next post I will show you the Hells of Beppu instead. So stay tuned.
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