Blood Pond Hell

Beppu is the most active seismic area on the island of Kyuushuu. Two major fault lines run along the sides of this city. Downtown, amid spectacular mountains, you can see dozens of large pipes driven deep into the ground venting clouds of steam. The ground here is hot—not stovetop-hot, but very warm hot-water-bottle hot. We visited first a facility which has made natural basalt for 300 years. Unlike regular basalt, this stuff is creamy white. A small amount is sky blue, colored with deposits of dissolved aluminum. The basalt crystals seep up from steamy cracks in the earth, growing about 1 mm per day.

Our second stop was in a place called Blood Pond Hell. A steaming lake is colored brick red by dissolved iron oxide. The gift shop here sells images of the Buddhist demon in charge of hell. I wouldn’t want to mess with him.

As interesting as these sights were, I was much more impressed by the kindness of the residents here. They are accustomed to visitors. Tourism is the major industry here because a large number of newlyweds come here for the thermal baths. Japanese law forbids bathing suits in the baths, so Beppu is the Niagara Falls or Myrtle Beach for Japanese nuptials. The local visitors’ center welcomed us with upbeat recorded music on the pier and a traditional “Lion Dance” performed by its employees. School children sat down to have lunch on the large field adjacent to the pier. Two athletes with baseball gloves played catch on the other side of the field.

Beppu is quiet today. I hope the seismic forces underneath this land will be as kind to the people here as they have been to us. May the ground under Beppu lie quietly for many centuries to come so that these good people can grow and live and love.Read more