Beppu, Japan

We are taking a "day off" today -- the tours on offer all involve going to onsens -- Japanese thermal baths where you must enter naked with only a "towel" the size of a washcloth for company modesty!  The onsens are segregated by sex, but still ... no one wants to see me in all my glory!  Our wonderful guide in Nagano gave us this advice regarding the use of the tiny "towels" provided at onsens:  "The best way to use them is to hold them up in front of your face, so people won't know who you are!"

This is the view from our balcony earlier this morning -- such a serene scene with the lone fisherman drifting in front of those mist-wreathed mountains.

Extra: Some amazingly talented -- and young! -- drummers who entertained us at the pier yesterday afternoon shortly before our departure from Hiroshima.