8. Beppu,

It was a chilly morning when Rob made his way up on deck, determined not to miss our arrival into Beppu. As the ship quietly glided toward port, the sun began to rise, casting a pale golden glow across the water. The coastline slowly revealed itself — a mix of mountains and pockets of heavy industry — not the prettiest first impression, perhaps, but atmospheric in its own way.

After breakfast onboard, we ventured ashore and caught a local bus into the town centre. The streets around the bus station were surprisingly quiet, as if the city was still stretching itself awake. We wandered through the calm morning streets, picking up a few “essential supplies” before making our way to Beppu Tower. From the top, we were rewarded with sweeping views across the city and coastline — a much better perspective of Beppu than we’d had from the sea.

Feeling adventurous, we jumped on another local bus, this time heading for the Beppu Ropeway. The gondola lifted us steadily up the mountainside toward Mount Tsurumi, and for a few hopeful minutes we watched the town shrink beneath us. Then we noticed we were heading straight into cloud.

 By the time we reached the summit, we were completely enveloped in thick mist. It was such a shame — on a clear day, the panoramic views are said to be spectacular. Instead, we had a very authentic “inside a cloud” experience!

Back onboard, we enjoyed a late lunch followed by a restful afternoon — sometimes a little downtime is just what’s needed after mountain adventures.

In the evening, we returned to the Wheelhouse Bar, where a wonderfully talented pianist set the perfect relaxed mood. Later, we headed to the Princess Lounge for Dan Middleditch’s Elvis tribute show. He was undeniably talented, though we couldn’t help feeling he raced through a few of the classics a little too quickly for our liking.

After dinner, it was time to test our musical knowledge in the Explorer’s Lounge with a 50s and 60s music quiz. When the scores were finally added up, we found ourselves sitting comfortably in the “decidedly average” category. Not quite chart-toppers — but we had a lot of fun trying !