Mount Unzen has always been a very popular hiking destination. But after the 1990's eruptions, the trails were temporarily shut down for repairs. I mean heck, there was a brand new peak on the mountain now! After finishing some major restruction and repairs, they recently reopened the mountain to the public. Lucky for us!
So that leads us to my adventure with some other ALTs from Kyushu. We drove out to Nagasaki on December 12th, bright and early. To get there from Kumamoto, it takes a fairy ride and lots of driving.
Here's from the ground to Myoken Peak including the beautiful mountain top Myoken Shrine (妙見神社).
As I previously mentioned, the Unzen area is famous for hot springs. The most famous outdoor spring would be the "Hell" hot springs. They smell strongly of the sulfur packed gas escaping from cracks in the earth's crust. Pools of water bubble from the heat and gas as it escapes from underground. Unfortunately it was really dark by the time we got there, so I couldn't get any good pictures. But you can always google it for more information, hehe.