In this Japanese city food cooks itself without fire or electricity

When in Japan if you are told to go to hell don’t get offended because they might be referring to the piping hot city of Beppu. The city holds a secret superpower where raw foods placed on rocks get cooked automatically without a stove, fire, or even electricity. How? Well, thanks to the natural geothermal heat bubbling beneath the surface. Japan being the innovator of the world has embraced this beautiful natural phenomenon, making it a tourist attraction which feels less like a destination and more like stepping into another world.

Inside the city in Japan that has seven hells

From a distance, the city looks somewhat like a mixture of a boiling kettle and a post-apocalyptic scene but as you walk through the lane, each curve is beautifully constructed bringing an ancient Japanese feel with of course steams accompanying you at each step. 

The city is built next to Mt. Tsurumi which is an active volcano. The lava that streams underneath the surface has given birth to several natural hot springs along the way. Sitting at a perfectly convenient position away from the volcano, the city attracts thousands of tourists from around the world.  Beppu is home to seven Jigoku, or hells, which are the unique hot springs for viewing, not bathing as they reach up to 100 degree Celsius! 

Food here is cooked with a twist. As the hell steam climbs to the ground, it becomes the perfect stove for cooking. Ingredients are carefully arranged and placed in a bamboo basket and then lowered into specialized mineral-rich steam vents. The authentic raw flavours burst out as slow cooking takes the higher ground.

Dishes with vegetables, seafood, eggs, and dumplings are cooked in the most traditionally awe-inspiring way. The result is often healthy, oil-free, and tender, savory, or slightly salty summing up to lovely flavours. 

Each hot spring is different from the other with breathtaking features. One sits as the crystal blue hot reservoir extruding a soothing scenic charm while another as the devil’s gateway to hell with blood red water. The colour majorly is due to the difference in the minerals and each one of them beholds its own glamour. 

Being there is an ode to the experience that screams out loud how beautifully enriching our world is.

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