 |
|
 |
| |
始めの温泉- My First Onsen
 I've been in Japan a fair while now,(almost 10 months) but unfortunately I haven't travelled nor had the opportunity to travel. I work most weekends, my days off are Wednesday and Sunday which makes "going away for the weekend" impossible.
Thankfully this next week and a half is "golden week" it's a series of public holidays which all companies take giving.... <waitforit>.... A WHOLE WEEK OFF WORK !
 It's preposterous I know, the last holiday I had was Christmas which I
mistakenly chose to spend in Japan.It was a pretty lonesome experience
and festivities were minimal for actual Christmas Day (Just another
working day...)
So with Golden week, with my newly acquainted girlfriend was surprised I hadn't travelled and not even been to an Onsen, which was a must. Onsen's
are natural hot springs, as much of Japan lies on earthquake fault lines and volcanic activity is rife, it gives birth to many naturally heated spas with various health giving properties such as Sulphur, Magnesium,Sodium chloride, etc.
Go to any part of the countryside and you will find beautiful picturesque onsen resorts, hotels, inns, etc. For my first visit I was told I "had to" go to Hakone as this is the most atypical onsen resort town. A pleasant 2 hr journey on the bullet train to a bustling touristy town. Our ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) was very much in the "olde worlde" style, the room was hugely spacious, enough for around 6 people, tatami matts, traditional futon bedding, room service and meal brought to you before bathing. We opted for a private bath so we could bathe together, plus I'm a bit wary of getting nude in front of other people, I think we Scottish aren't really comfortable with that idea.
It was really relaxing to just soak in the wooden tub on the rooftop,looking at the stars. Then back down to our rooms, served a traditional Japanese meal and then fell asleep with the sound of the river by the hotel babbling gently away.
Next day we went to a more "fun" resort Yunessun. If you have kids or your a big kid at heart like me and your in Japan, this place is a MUST. Its basically 20 or so themed baths, ranging from Coffee bath, Sake bath, Flower bath, Green tea bath, Strawberry bath,etc,etc. Theres a large pool and outside watersliders, fountains, water play areas,etc.
Of course because its a family oriented place you have to wear a swim suit, the place was very busy but I have to say I absolutely loved it, was great fun and novelty; the complex and resort itself was covered in kitsch cute mascot cartoons and struck me as uniquely Japanese; just the kind of crazy type of resort you would expect and lived well up to my expectations and beyond.
Definitely off to Hakone and Yunessun again sometime !
Here's the site http://www.yunessun.com/
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
Posted by sasqwach
at April 30, 2004 7:45 PM | Permalink
|
|
|
