Detour

SOME LIKE IT HOT Two hours' drive east of Nagasaki on the Shimabara peninsula lies a little bit of hell on earth. The hot springs at Jigoku (Japanese for "hades") have been popular with tourists since the 19th century when socialites from Vladivostok, Shanghai and Hong Kong summered and simmered at the resorts located along Mount Unzen's volcanic peaks. With waters as hot as 98 98C, the pools can poach an egg in just a few minutes. Breakfast is not the only thing that has been cooked. In 1627, the lord of the Shimabara clan boiled 30 Christians alive. Peasants teamed...