The Japanese have given us many things. The electronic gadgets which are produced here are mind-blowing in their ingenuity. Yet one of the best things Japan has to offer must surely be the hot spring baths. This past weekend we had the chance to stay overnight at a hot spring hotel. As always in this country, the service is without comparison. We were duly kitted out with our 'yukatas', the light kimonos which are worn during your stay. You wear it to go to the baths, you wear it to go to the restaurant for your evening meal, you sleep in it. The idea is that you leave the outside world behind and just escape for a day. The particular hot spring place where we were staying has baths dating back almost 100 years, though of course they have been renewed and modernised since then. There are larger baths and smaller ones; ones that bubble and ones where you can lie down; there were quite a number which claim to have healing properties for various ailments; and there are outside baths - it wasn't snowing out there, but there was still snow lying on the nearby mountains. You get cleaned at the area set aside for that purpose - and you really are meant to scrub yourself clean. Then you are free to soak in the communal baths (men and women separate of course). It's something that just has to be experienced to be appreciated. You feel soooo good afterwards. Thank you God for making Japan a land which has so many hot springs - and for calling us here so we can enjoy them!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Hot springs
The Japanese have given us many things. The electronic gadgets which are produced here are mind-blowing in their ingenuity. Yet one of the best things Japan has to offer must surely be the hot spring baths. This past weekend we had the chance to stay overnight at a hot spring hotel. As always in this country, the service is without comparison. We were duly kitted out with our 'yukatas', the light kimonos which are worn during your stay. You wear it to go to the baths, you wear it to go to the restaurant for your evening meal, you sleep in it. The idea is that you leave the outside world behind and just escape for a day. The particular hot spring place where we were staying has baths dating back almost 100 years, though of course they have been renewed and modernised since then. There are larger baths and smaller ones; ones that bubble and ones where you can lie down; there were quite a number which claim to have healing properties for various ailments; and there are outside baths - it wasn't snowing out there, but there was still snow lying on the nearby mountains. You get cleaned at the area set aside for that purpose - and you really are meant to scrub yourself clean. Then you are free to soak in the communal baths (men and women separate of course). It's something that just has to be experienced to be appreciated. You feel soooo good afterwards. Thank you God for making Japan a land which has so many hot springs - and for calling us here so we can enjoy them!
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When I was in Aomori in 2006 the trip to the onsen was a regular feature of life, and one I missed when I returned to the UK!
ReplyDeleteJust discovered your blog via John Orme. I'm joining the fmZERO team from August (for a year), so maybe we'll cross paths!