I woke up early to catch the ferry from Kagoshima to Ibusuki, only to find out that the ferry doesn’t allow bikes. So I had no choice but to ride to Ibusuki. The ride wasn’t too bad, mostly through towns until it started to rain. I asked for some plastic bags to cover my shoes at a conbini. After heading out of town, the route took me close to the sea. Some parts of the route were narrow and rough, the rain didn’t help either. It wasn’t that great of an experience except for the occasional halts in the rain where the sun would show itself. It seemed like the weather didn’t know what to do, rain, sun, wind, mix of everything…really random.
Eventually I arrived to Ibusuki and found the hostel. The lady was nice and talkative, she suggested the sand baths but the weather was crappy. I patiently waited for a break in the weather and it finally came so I rode my bike down to the sand baths. It is definitely worth trying. The sands are kept hot from geothermal activity underneath the sand. You change into a robe and then go out to the beach and the workers bury you in sand. The feeling you get is quite strange, your whole body just pulsates. After ten minutes, the recommended time, I headed into the onsen. I met a guy from Italy who was taking time off to travel Japan. Once I got out of the onsen, I blacked out and almost fell…luckily there was a wall there for me to hold onto. I came out feeling refreshed and the bad weather had gone away. On the ride home, I passed these canals where the water was steaming but there was fish in it…strange.
I got back to the hostel and ate my conbini dinner. The lady invited me into her kitchen and we talked for a while. She loved cats, and had one that was 20 years old! One thing she said that stuck with me was food tastes best from your home…she grew up in Ibusuki but lived in Tokyo for a while before returning back home. I was the only guest there, she said it used to be busier but now people just take daytrips here and don’t stay overnight. After being served tea and talking with her, I went back upstairs to the freezing room to go to sleep.