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Anonymous
ANN CARROLL, The Gazette Published: Saturday, May 10
My back and shoulders are roasting, but I won't budge from the scalding Ibusuki sand baths until my Japanese friend caves.
"I'm okay," I insist, squirming to open a small air pocket between my shoulder blades and the sand scorching my back.
Hot-spring-fuelled sand baths draw thousands of stressed Japanese and foreign tourists a year to Ibusuki, a small seaside resort on Kyushu, one of the four main islands in the Japanese archipelago.
The southern island of Kyushu is known for its near-tropical climate, active volcanoes, historic castles and shrines, pottery, and ubiquitous hot springs and natural sand baths.
The Ibusuki Natural Sand Bath Centre on Kinko Bay is about an hour's drive south of Kagoshima City, a pleasant castle town described in tourist brochures as the "southern gateway to Japan."
The centre attracts visitors with promises of improved blood circulation and relief for aching muscles and other maladies. Most people come away feeling refreshed and relaxed; the foolhardy leave with a racing pulse and a lobster-red back.
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/travel/story.html?id=a97eabd1-89ed-47c1-a5d5-0573f3f17aaa
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