Onsen experience

May 19

Today we went to the world-famous Electric Town, which is packed with stores selling the latest in electronics and related items. Then we met Yuki at the Shunjuku station, the busiest station in the world, and if you go anytime, but especially at rush hour, it will absolutely the busiest and overwhelming station you have ever seen, with packs of people heading into different directions, signs pointing in all directions, different maps of all kinds. I believe there are at least three major kinds of train systems – metro, JR and commuter - and this is one of the main intersection points. We finally found one another even though we were standing near to one another for ages and trying to reach each other by cell phone and text messaging.

From Shunjuku we were heading to a place that represents the opposite of what we were experiencing at the station - beautiful, calm, peaceful, comforting. We were heading to Hakone, about a 1.5 hour train ride from Tokyo, famous for its beautiful countryside and onsen or hot springs. Leaving Tokyo and entering the countryside, you could feel the craziness and stress of the city leaving our bodies. And, when we arrived in the town, it was quaint, beautiful and rustic, what you would imagine of a town that has been attracting guests to its onsens since the 9th century for its healthful and restful properties.

We first went to a restaurant called Shika-Jaya, specializing in homemade tofu and yamaimo, a special potato that the Japanese believe have numerous healthful qualities. The restaurant was an absolutely beautiful setting and we enjoyed dish after dish of tofu and/or yamaimo prepared in different delicate ways. We were stuffed by the end, but worked this quickly off as we headed up a steep mountain to the top to Yuki’s favourite onsen called Tenzan Biyori. There are numerous onsens in the area, but she loves this one and comes here on a regular basis and I know why now.

It is so incredibly beautiful and peaceful in so many ways. You enter this old very large traditional Japanese wooden building, and feel like you go back in time and space, as you take off your shoes and walk to the areas for changing for men and women. The space is not only beautiful but immaculately clean. The first station before the baths is the wash area where people take a lot of time to really clean and purify themselves thoroughly as the bath is used purely for relaxation and meditation.

Then you head into a wonderful area set in a beautiful Japanese mountainside garden setting with several natural baths of different temperatures, some with small coves with springs and falls and statues of gods. There is also a cool bathing area, to cool off, and a very cold tub if you wish, and a sauna area.

The bathing area is very quiet and meditative with only the sounds of quiet whispers and trickles of the falls or springs. If this all sounds idealistic, well it is and I was in heaven! And, if you can believe this, the cost for using the baths is only about $12 per person. So, again this follows my observation that some things are very expensive and some things quiet inexpensive in Japan, and it's a place full of contrasts and things that are always around the corner to shock, amaze and intrigue you.

Then to top off our onsen experience, we all had shiatsu massages in a communal area, which is usually the case, and they were superb even with very little communication between the therapists and ourselves as we thoroughly enjoyed the unwinding of our bodies and knots. Yeah!

We headed back to the city, warm, relaxed and with wonderful memories I will take back home with me. I will definitely return!