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Japan Day 13 - Japanese Onsen Hotel

After leaving Osaka, we travelled through Himeji to an Onsen Hotel in Akaho. This was the first Onsen Hotel of two that we are staying at.

We had planned to go to the famous Himeji Castle during the day, yesterday, on our way to Akaho. But it was raining Japanese cats and dogs, so it wasn't really a viable option. However, the weather cleared up later on to give a lovely sunset on the final part of our drive to the hotel.

The Onsen Hotels really take you away from all of the stresses of life. When you arrive, you immediately give them your shoes and change clothes into a Yukata (it reminded me a lot of my old karate suit, but in a nicer colour). With the sun setting, we hot footed it into the Onsen spa bath. At first, for someone so used to the Western way of doing things, it was quite daunting taking off all of my clothes and revealing all my 'little foibles' (I'll let you make your own funny joke out of that one) to other men. Having said that, the nighttime spa bath was empty. Oh, I should explain something: there are two different spa areas, one for men and one for women and they swap them over during the day, so that people can enjoy both. The night one was a nice, warm temperature.

A little bit about the tradition of the Onsen now: It is the old, traditional method that Japanese people once used for bathing. Due to the fact that Japan is a volcanically active country, Japanese people harnessed the heat in the ground to warm the water for their baths, bathing together in one area. These days, they are more of a tourist attraction. According to Wikipedia, "Japanese often talk of the virtues of 'naked communion' for breaking down barriers and getting to know people in the relaxed homey atmosphere." So, there you go, if you want to break down barriers with someone, go for some naked communion (just try not to stare at their little foibles!).

After our night time dip in the Onsen, we went for dinner and were presented with an amazing looking feast. We ate many courses from crab to salmon, fish eggs, rice, noodles and more. I've never eaten crab brain before. Now, I have. Apparently it helps improve intelligence (there seems to be a bit of a theme going that doing something weird helps your intelligence. I'm wondering whether it just emphasises your gullibility instead!) Photographs 5 and 6 are of us and our food.

After spending the night sleeping on our futons on the floor, we awoke and headed down for breakfast (photograph 7). It was a traditional Japanese breakfast containing fish, soup, rice and vegetables (no crab brain this time). After breakfast, it was back to the spa baths. The second one was a LOT hotter than the first - I felt a bit like I was sitting in the soup that I had been drinking for breakfast.

Overall, it's taken me a little bit out of my comfort zone. But, I've really enjoyed it. On to the next...

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