mayumi ohyama was recently forced to evacuate from her beloved home town.dn't live anywhere else. and there are some fringe benefits from living in a volcanic zone. south of kagoshima lies ibusuki, a unique hot spring resort. basically i am about to be slow baked in a sand oven of 50 celsius. wow! for therapeutic reasons, i am assured. it's hot. i'm sweating underneath here. and it's — it's a very strange experience, but i think the thing is to just relax into it, i guess. so, at the end of my all—too—brief time injapan, i'm struck by the sheer diversity of the country in terms of culture, landscape and people. yeah, you are smart! you're good! laughs. as soon as i got off the regular tourist trail, i encountered quirky, humorous, adaptable individuals who love to live life to the max. cheering. and ultimately, i am left with a deep sense of serenity and tradition that is, i would venture to say, uniquely japanese. that was... ..unlike anything. hello. if the sky is clear sufficiently in northern scotland, there's a pretty good chance of spotting the northe