Travelling across Kyūshū

A stranger I met at a party in Australia claimed to have travelled widely in Japan and advised against travelling to Kyoto via the major cities. We settled on travelling via Shikoku island, which in Japanese terms is not densely populated or so altered by post-war modernisation. Matsuyama, the biggest city, has a population of only 378,000 people.
A travel agent was chosen at random and fortunately he had some knowledge of English. Over three hours he persevered in booking all our accommodation and transport to Osaka, and writing out our directions in the minutest detail. His fee was very small and he even apologised for that.
Although we found very few Japanese could speak English, there were frequently signs written in American slang. Advertisers picked up on an apparent fascination with the language. Also most public signs in the Japanese variaton of Chinese script were duplicated with their Romanji, or latin, equivalent. Thus we had little difficulty in finding and boarding the train to Beppu, first travelling east to the other side of the island and then north through thickly wooded and hilly national parks. The Beppu area is famous for its thermal activity with boiling mud pools and health spas.
A half hour bus ride took us to the outskirts of Beppu, and then we had an equally long climb up what must be the steepest hill in the region to a spacious old hotel with magnificent views of the township and harbour. The traditionally dressed floor manageress guided us to a large, lavishly equipped room. She  pointed to a freshly made pot of tea and Japanese sweets waiting for us on a table by the window, which filled one wall. Donning the customary robe and slippers, we reflected that such accommodation in Australia would have been beyond our budget.
The next morning was notable for our tour of the hot springs, each given a name suggesting an association with hell, and for sighting a European, the first since we arrived in Japan.
Beppu catered for non-Japanese even less than Kagoshima. On our self-guided walking tour of the hot springs we had to keep a constant eye on a woman we'd seen buy the same type of ticket as us. Luckily she wore a distinctive yellow dress. I wonder what she thought whenever she turned and found two foreigners keeping a watchful eye on her.
In the afternoon we filled our time while waiting for the ferry by walking around down town Beppu. Lib squealed in delight at each new pastry shop and I complained as each new purchase added to the weight of our day bag.
After boarding the ferry for Shikoku Island, we were directed to the bowels of the ship where a large open space housed all the economy travelling passangers. Everyone hurried along narrow passageways crowded with discarded shoes to claim a space on the raised floor covered with matting.
Many of our fellow passangers had already obtained blankets and little square foam pillows from somewhere. They then stripped down to their peculiar underwear. For the men this was very similar to long-johns with copious binding around the stomach. By the time the ferry pulled out of Beppu most of them had already drifted off to sleep. This was despite the noise from young men already engaged in all night games of chance, the mechanics of which I was unable to fathom.
I was getting the impression that Japan would be a feminist's nightmare. The men, particularly the young, were often noisy and playfully engaged in boyish games while their womenfolk waited quietly on the sidelines.
Incessant messages played over the loudspeakers. The Japanese appeared to accept these as part of their lives in public, and even private, spaces. I wondered how they would feel if these anonymous voices were ever stilled.
At six feet tall, most construction seemed minature, and an annoying part of daily travel. I even had to bend my head at quite an uncomfortable angle to be able to enjoy the benefits of the ferry urinals. The toilets, as with all public transport, were of the eastern variety, that is they required the user to squat. This novelty became even enjoyable after lots of practice, but presented challenges on a rolling ship in turbulent waters or a rocking train moving at top speed.