Sightseeing Unzen pt. 3

The second morning in Unzen was misty and surreal. I spent the early morning looking out the window, listening to the birds sing, drinking hot green tea and knitting. Needless to say, it was a wonderful way to greet the day.

After breakfast (which was a lot of fish and other things I couldn't identify) we were given a small amount of free time. 

We went exploring and saw a fantastic Japanese shrine with incredible gates and statues. After that was the source of the onsen hot water, the hot springs themselves. The very ground around us was boiling and smelled like sulfur. Towards the end of our walk we found a stand selling eggs that were hard boiled by the steam, I had two and they were the best hard boiled eggs I've ever had.

This sign says: "Do not enter Hell, it's dangerous"

Egg Steamers

Food and Fun Unzen pt. 2

Besides the onsen and the hotel there were a lot of other things to see and do on our field trip. The first day, before we ever made it to Unzen, we stopped at a place that sells the best fried potatoes on a stick. It is called Jyaga-chan (Jyaga is the Japanese word for potatoe and -chan is a suffix that you put on the end of someones name, usually someone cute or young) There was even a theme song at the booth that was singing about the potatoes. Certainly a unique experience.

After we arrived at the hotel and put all our things away in our rooms, we piled back onto the bus and headed up towards the top of the mountain. Unfortunately that weekend a storm was brewing and the wind was too strong to go hiking or ride the rope-way. So we stood for a very funny, windy group photo and then wandered around for a few minutes before we returned to the hotel again.

Before dinner we went for a walk in the rain to a fantastic retro toy store down the road. It was full of vintage style toys and candy reminiscent of the 1950's and up until now. My favorite purchase so far has been the Kiki's Delivery Service playing cards which have a different movie scene on each card.

Japanese Onsen Unzen pt. 1

This past weekend we went to a place called Unzen which is high on a mountain East of Nagasaki city. This was my first hot springs 'onsen' experience and it gave me an interesting look at Japanese culture.

The hotel was a Japanese style, similar to my home stay apartment but a lot nicer. It was one main room, a toilet room, washroom and bathing room (all separate) and a lovely area with a table and chairs where you can look out the window at a Japanese style garden.

I shared the room with two other American women which I haven't done since high school. But both ladies were mellow and ended up being good roommates. In the room was a cotton Yukata (summer kimono) and a beautiful purple jacket for colder weather. It was like playing dress up to wear these down to the hot springs and while we were socializing.

The hot-spring baths were a bit of a shock as they are communal and you must be completely naked. It was really difficult for most of us to get past our Western inhibitions, but since everyone felt the same way we all focused on ourselves and didn't pay attention to each other. First you have to wash yourself off because the baths are only fore bathing, not for washing. Then you soak in the bath, there were two in the woman's section (which switched to men in the morning) a large hot indoor pool and a cooler outer pool surrounded by a garden and small waterfall. The water smelled like sulfur but felt wonderful and was so murky that we couldn't see anyone below the surface.

In the evening we had a very traditional meal on low tables with floor cushions and were served by women in lovely kimonos. After that was games and Karaoke which were a blast.