one bath, please

esssentially what i said to the hotel clerk last summer during my tour of the kansai area. i was exhausted having spent 2 days trying to see as many of the temples and shrines in nara and kyoto as possible (plus a huge summer fireworks festival in osaka the night before with mit friends) but i couldnt miss this final stop on my to do list. and so i traveled a little more west, got lost looking for onsen in a city called arima onsen (!?!), but the bus driver took pity on me and gave me a personal tour and advice about the best onsen places. and that`s how i wound up in this beautiful hotel on a hill asking for a bath.

what`s onsen? onsen are the natural hot springs that are formed as a result of all the volcanoes in japan. there are different types and they`re supposed to have various medicinal benefits. for the japanese, a vacation just isnt a vacation without staying over at a ryokan (japanese-style inn) for onsen followed by some really amazing japanese cuisine. in fact most people, including me, choose ryokan/hotels based on just the baths. most of the inns have outdoor and indoor baths, single-sex typically (also private family bathing), close to mountains, waterfalls, lakes or japanese gardens or some picturesque scenery. you dont have to spend the night, just pay for the bath ($5-25, sometimes more). i guess i should mention one last detail: this is in the nude, communal bathing.

i was a little disgusted by the idea, and so i passed on my first onsen opportunity (a company volleyball competition followed by onsen and a huge banquet at this hotel up in the mountains...i was not trying to bathe with 15 women and have my brown curves make me stand out even more). but later i thought i cant possibly spend the summer in japan without experiencing onsen; communal bathing is just as japanese as sushi. so i decided to stop at this onsen resort area before i headed back to tsukuba. i shared the very large baths-there were 3 different ones-with 2 others and it was kinda weird at first but wow it was amazing. peaceful, soothing, relaxing...yes i was still exhausted but in a good way like when you stay up to read the ending of a great book and arent at all disappointed.

if you`ve ever seen miyazaki`s spirited away, you know about the old wooden bath houses. it`s essentially the same idea and there really are some very traditional-style baths all over japan similar to the ones featured in the movie, my all-time favorite animated film by the way...his latest movie just came out in japan 2 weeks ago.

anyway just thinking about baths while planning my winter travels.