Onsen on Blogging Like It's the Early Aughts

A Land of Thermal Wonders

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 00:43:57 -0700

Friday morning we left the hotel to make our way to Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, which to be honest, I only knew had a geyser and that was it. Turns out, it was a whole park dedicated to the natural hot pools formed by the volcanic activity prevalent in the area. One of the largest volcanic eruptions in the country was in Taupō, not far from here, and where we would later have lunch.

Underground Boat Rides and the Shire

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:45:57 -0700

Earliest morning of them all, we had to be outside our hotel for pickup at 05:40. We met our Cheeky Kiwi guide, and made our rounds to other nearby hotels to grab the rest of our two-day travel family. It was us, a couple from LA that became our travel friends, four neighbours from Switzerland (originally from Portugal, Brazil, and Italy), one from Hong Kong, and one from the Philippines. So quite the eclectic little group.

Kamiyama to Naka, Day 4 of 8

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 15:52:37 -0700

Today I thought I was going to die. Not literally, and not in a heat stress kind-of-way. I was under tree-cover almost the entire walk which made the temperature somewhat bearable, though no less humid.

No, today I thought my legs would give out on the 900+ meter¹ ascent, which in reality was 450 up one mountain, down the other side, and another 450 up the next mountain. Granted, I will admit that I am not in the best shape of my life, but by the end I was taking baby steps up the mountain, wondering if this would be my new home. Generations of pilgrims would tell tales of the bearded white guy roaming the forest, urging them to turn back lest they succumb to his fate.

Bando to Anraku-ji, Day 2 of 8

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 14:43:28 -0700

N.B. I was in a mood when I wrote this, so it will differ from the rest of my posts somewhat. Additionally, some of the more interesting photos would have been within the temple grounds. But as those are active places of worship, it is rude to take photos. So I’ve tried to make due with what interesting sights I could outside of the temples themselves.

First day of the pilgrimage and it’s already too hot out as I leave. Thankfully the first temple is conveniently located next door. I’ve read up on the proper etiquette in temples, but first need my pilgrim’s gear, the most important of which (to me at least) is the nokyo-cho book wherein, after having prayed to/paid your respects to that temple’s main deity and then to a separate hall dedicated to the Great Teacher or Kōbō Daishi,¹ pilgrims can obtain a unique nokyo shuin² at each temple. And if there’s one thing I love, it’s a passport stamp (literally and figuratively). Whilst here I also purchase a kongo-zue³ and a nenju.⁴