gwenonikki

I went to Harajuku today to buy a scarf and gloves for Yai’s and my trip. We’re heading to the mountains near Nagano tomorrow to see the snow monkeys. This site gives a glimmer of what we may see, plus its Engrish is very entertaining.

On the weekend, I also got to be in the mountains. Colin and I went to our first hot spring – Takaragawa Onsen, thanks to a friend’s solid recommendation. The four outdoor mineral baths are set in beautiful stone basins, found beside a crisp, churning river. Only the most tenacious, vibrant leaves still held onto some of the dark trees. The patchy, but still pretty canopy was made up of fiery reds and simmering yellows.

We were treated like royalty at our Japanese inn. Our dinner was served in our room after we changed into our robes and put on our two-toe socks. We ate mackerel sashimi, lobster, crab, and then grilled fish and rice just like we had had in Nikko. (A good thing, or we wouldn’t have known to eat the crispy skin too.)

A while after dinner, we were shuttled over to the night entry for the onsen. Night bathing was the best. The golden lights from the stone lanterns made the bath water look ocean-green. Sitting in the bath, I liked looking up at all of the different layers of white. There was the translucent steam of the bath, hovering just below the more opaque night clouds, and then the stars’ biting light.

When we had left for the baths, our beds were in the closet.

They were waiting for us when we got back.

The next day we soaked for a good chunk of the afternoon. The onsen’s etiquette became more obvious in the daylight, with more people. Men go naked, except for a small towel they strategically drape around themselves when moving between the baths. And women tightly wrap much larger towels around themselves, from their armpits to their knees. Those big towels didn’t make any sense to me. Mine needed constant arranging, and it was instantly heavy when it got wet. Wearing a swimsuit would have been much easier.