We got on the bullet train for about an hour ride north of Tokyo, hopped on a shuttle in a tiny town for an hour ride – and our van died going up the mountain! It was pretty high, with snow still on the mountain tops and about 55-60 degrees when we got there. Another shuttle came to rescue us.
We got there, they took our shoes (!), gave us some horrible slippers and served us some sort of savory hot tea. Then we got to pick out our yukata (a cotton robe with a sash – they had different sizes in a lot of different patterns. The guys tried to choose girl ones at first. The staff, and Sarah and I, were pretty amused by that!), and were escorted up to our rooms. Not much furniture – just a large, low coffee table and four cushions with backs. The floors were tatami, rice straw mats but surprisingly cushy.
We changed and went exploring! There was an inside bath for male and female, as well as three huge outside mixed baths and one female-only, on either side of a roaring river with several falls. There were four bears and some bunnies, as well as several different lodging buildings. There were little paths to stepping stones, water falls, little altars, statues and gazebos everywhere. To go outside, you had to trade your inside slippers for one-size-for each sex, wooden, outdoor only flip flops. The women’s were way too small for me, and the men’s were way too big.
The women had to wear a brown sack-like bathing dress, and the men had to use a hand towel to cover up – and that was it. Entire families, old people and babies were all just sitting around, enjoying the warm waters of the onsen (hot springs).
We had to be in our room by 6:30 for dinner. They came in, took away our big table and brought us each our own TV tray. (Joke!) The was a smaller version of the coffee table with quite a spread on it.
The lady who brought in our food told us how to cook and eat what, but there was so much stuff there we could only retain part of it!
Some of my favorites: A tiny, tiny glass of iced sweet, juice-like sochu (she told us was an appetizer) sashimi (we think river trout and salmon?), baby octopi, mushrooms, a potato shaped like a mushroom (so it would look good, she told us!) and a tiny fish we grilled over our own little charcoal fire pot and noodles with some ham, veg and a little broth that we added an egg to and cooked over a little flame.
My least favorites: A glob of fermented soy bean paste, pieces of seaweed jelly, a big ol squishy square of soba noodle, a giant pickle wrapped in a giant pickled radish, and a rice/potato pudding that had the same slimy texture as my least favorite thing in the entire world <link>.
We also had egg custard soup, vegetable tempura (green plants!), salt, soy sauce and other things for dipping, and cuttlefish.
Twenty minutes later, we were pretty full but she bought us all a bowl of rice and BEAR MISO SOUP. (There are signs to put visitors at ease; we do not eat the bears that are kept on the property. Although apparently they used to bath with visitors in the past.) The bear just tasted like meat in a soup, nothing special.
After dinner, we went back into the onsen while they set up our beds. Futons on the ground were laid out with pillows filled with we think rice husks. It was surprisingly comfortable and John is going to try and find a pillow like that for his bed!
The next morning we woke up early and had a dip, then went to breakfast. We ordered three western breakfasts and one Japanese one the night before. They were basically the same but the western breakfast had toast, a croissant, coffee and minestrone (yup), and the Japanese breakfast had miso soup, rice, some other strange items we couldn’t identify and a strange leaf-packet of beans with a packet of mustard. They both had salads, a raw egg, bacon, fish and cauliflower that needed to be cooked on individual griddle things. After breakfast, we packed up, got our shoes back (!), and headed back to Tokyo.
Meredith R. Allen 