Beppu was paying tribute to the upcoming World Cup of Rugby, which was scheduled less than a year after we were there (and is now ongoing, finishing November 2).

Beppu is a veritable hotbed of geothermal activity. On our full day there, we thought we might try a sand bath, but instead opted for the mud baths at Hoyo Land hot springs.

When we put the address into Google Maps, it said that the hot springs were a mere six-point-two kilometres away from our AirBnB. No problem. We only had one day this trip of under ten thousand steps, and that was the previous day, when we spent most of the day on the train. We were both up for a little exercise.

What we didn’t see (and is something we will now be looking for) is the 262-metre change in elevation that our “little walk” entailed. In other words, it was uphill. All the way.

By the time we got to the onsen, the smell of sulphur was everywhere. It wasn’t pungent, but it was evident. All along the way and at the onset, we saw spouts put into rocks to release pressure. Steam rises from dozens of locations on the side of one mountain. Geothermal activity is everywhere.

The onsen had at least six separate baths, ranging from warm to hot. My favourites were the mud baths. The bottom of the pool has a layer of mud that you put on your body and later rinse off.

The mud is supposed to remove toxins from your body. Sure, I thought to myself. I’m always skeptical of such claims.

I didn’t put mud on my face, because Julie had read an article in which someone said he could smell sulphur for a few days after doing so. But from the neck down, I covered myself.

Julie did the same. And the mud had an interesting effect on our bodies. As a general statement, I don’t suffer from body odour. I don’t use deodorant and don’t smell unless I’ve sweated out a few workouts and haven’t showered for two or three days.

However, the next morning, when I picked up the shirt I’d worn the day before, I was surprised by the body odour. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve picked up a piece of clothing of mine that smelled this bad.

The same thing happened for the next three days. And Julie, who has less body odour than me, experienced the same thing. And we had showered every day.

It seems the claim of removing toxins wasn’t as far-fetched as I had thought. I will certainly be a little more open to such claims in the future.

If you’re ever planning a trip to Japan, Beppu is somewhere you should consider putting on your list. It’s somewhere we would definitely visit again. It was an absolutely delightful location.

(If you’re interested in learning more about our trip, you can purchase All Around Japan, which is available from iBooks. It has dozens of stories and hundreds of photos from our five-week visit to the rising sun—ideal for anyone with an iPad!)