Detour

SOME LIKE IT HOT Two hours' drive east of Nagasaki on the Shimabara peninsula lies a little bit of hell on earth. The hot springs at Jigoku (Japanese for "hades") have been popular with tourists since the 19th century when socialites from Vladivostok, Shanghai and Hong Kong summered and simmered at the resorts located along Mount Unzen's volcanic peaks. With waters as hot as 98 98°C, the pools can poach an egg in just a few minutes. Breakfast is not the only thing that has been cooked. In 1627, the lord of the Shimabara clan boiled 30 Christians alive. Peasants teamed up with local Christians to revolt against the Japanese shogunate, a battle they lost three months and 37,000 lives later. Fearing similar uprisings, Japanese rulers banned Christianity for two centuries.

The springs aren't particularly scenic, but they are easy to find. Follow the stench of sulfur to a mud-encrusted plateau in the southwest corner of Japan's oldest natural park, Unzen. There, boardwalks loop through clouds of steam and around the three springs. A tangle of steel pipes directs the water to hotels and resorts in the nearby towns of Unzen and Obama, the destinations of choice for Japan's honeymooners, the elderly seeking respite from their rheumatism and anyone preferring a soak to a hike.

For a true Japanese experience, stay at a ryokan, a Japanese-style B and B. The Miyazaki Ryokan in Obama has luxurious, outdoor hot tubs overlooking fragrant, pink azaleas. Sleeping quarters are spartan but comfortable, usually little more than a feathery futon laid out on a tatami floor. The $195 a night includes a traditional dinner of sashimi, clear soups and grilled fish. Wherever you stay, pay attention to Japanese etiquette. Shoes should be removed and exchanged for slippers whenever entering a traditional hotel or restaurant. Visits to the restroom require yet another change of footwear; the inevitable lapse will set off a chain reaction of tittering on the part of the staff. Thankfully, they're more forgiving than the lord of the Shimabara clan.