Thursday, September 18, 2008

Oniyama Jigoku (Devil's Mountain Hell)

Oni! Awesomeness. At this hell they breed crocodiles because the warm water is good for that. I have never seen so many crocodiles in my life!

This is where the hot water comes from they use in the crocodile breeding pools. Of course this pool itself is too hot for the crocodiles.


Here they are. Scary close, but there was electric fence around the pool.

There were SO MANY of them!



A view of the breeding ground for afar.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Yama Jigoku (Mountain Hell)

Okay, first off I only went here because it was included in the ticket price. Basically my guide book was correct about this place. It is animals basically living in their own personal hell. It depressed me. I thought I'd share my pictures anyway because there were some positive things.
Here is the actual hell there.


This is by far the closest I've ever got to a hippo. He sits there and eats potatoes all day. I did and didn't feel sorry for him at the same time.



I felt the worst for the baboons and the elephant. The small cage and crappy quarters made me really sad. I didn't linger long.

I wouldn't recommend this one. If you love animals it's quite depressing.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Umi Jigoku (Sea Hell)

This hell is the one I had seen in pictures before we visited the hell park. Above is a lily pond.
You can see the steam rising up from the pool although the pool itself is not yet in sight. Below another lily pond. There aren't so many lily's because it's winter and cold outside. During the winter they raise many inside a greenhouse.

Me in front of the steaming sea blue hell. It was really steaming so that's about all you can see in the this picture. Markian is pictured below.

Here you can see why they call is the "sea hell" Isn't the color beautiful?
They are cooking eggs in the water. There is a basket on a string in the water that is attached to that bamboo pole.
This was a small shrine at the hell.


Look at all the steam!


There were many beautiful lily pads growing inside the greenhouse. I can only imagine in the spring what they all look like outside.





A small reddish hell in the complex I think. Honestly I don't remember it. But according to the order of my pictures that's where it places it.

haha I understood what the sign meant, but it still made me laugh, "hot spring of a leg."
Above: Me putting on a fake smile as the water is scalding, but nice. It had Yuzu (big citrus fruit that grow in the area) floating in it. It made the water smell really nice and fruity.

Below: Me making faces that show the feeling of the scalding hot water, while Mark watches and laughs at me, since he wouldn't get in. And yes I had bought a towel by this point, so I could enjoy my foot bath.

Oniishibozu Jigoku (Monk's Hell)

Above is the path of the hell tour. We were walking to Oniishibozu Jigoku, or "monk's hell".
This hell is full of many mudpots. The thick mud puddles are bubbling in the ground. You can see and hear them. Below is a strange shot Markian took of me.

Above: All the steam coming up out of the rocks. Guess there were some vents under there.
Above: A Japanese style bridge in the middle of the mud pool.

Okay, so this is why it's called "monk's hell" The bubbly mud puddles look like the shaven heads of monks. That's what they say anyway...

A footbath is next to the bench, but yeah I still didn't have a towel at this point so I had to pass.