Japan - Part 2 Nozawa Onsen (Dec. 2016)
The ease and efficiency at which Japan functions was a wonderful change of pace from Bali life. We were super excited to be riding on our first bullet train from Tokyo to Nagano. What a pleasant surprise as the train pulled into the station at exactly the time it stated on the ticket with clearly marked signs. The bus transfer from Nagano to Nozawa Onsen was equally seamless.
Nozawa Onsen is a hot spring and ski resort village. We absolutely fell in love with this magical place! Even though it was a ski resort with many travelers, it still had such a charming village feel that maintained the Japanese culture. The word "onsen" means a Japanese hot spring and bath. More on those later!
Ted was a good sport and strapped on a snowboard so we could enjoy the mountain at a similar pace. After a few passes down the mountain, we were both feeling more confident and seemed to be feeling good about our efforts. We became a bit over confident in our abilities and attempted to take the forest trail back down on our last run and ignored the announcement to take the gondola. Narrow trail, fairly flat, not too much snow and icy conditions proved to be too much for our beginning snowboarding skills. We eventually just took off the boards and walked down the rest of the way with bruised egos, but no major physical ailments! We felt a little better when we saw another couple doing the same thing! After 2 days of snowboarding, my hip was sore and I treated myself to a rest day while Ted enjoyed a day back on the comfort of his skis!
We stayed at a traditional Japanese Inn complete with the bed on the floor. At first glance this seems like quite an uncomfortable bed, but it was actually the most comfortable bed we slept on during our entire trip. Our bodies felt great in the morning!
Now back to the onsen. I was both intrigued and nervous about getting naked with strangers in a public hot spring. So true to form, I researched this topic extensively before traveling to Japan. I read articles and even watched a video on the proper procedure for going to an onsen. And believe me there is a very specific procedure that needs to be followed. The onsens are separated by male and female. The procedure roughly goes as follows:
-bring a little basket of soap and small towel with you to the onsen
-walk in, take off your shoes and slip them into the cubbies
-walk around the corner, undress, bare it all and put your clothes in another cubby
-there are various taps around the perimeter for you to wash yourself first before entering the hot bath
-you may use some of the hot spring water to wash but be sure your dirty soapy water doesn't enter the public bath
-finally slowly dip in and enjoy the natural healing powers of the hot natural spring water
The first time I was super nervous, but it got easier each time. Some Japanese women would stare, but you just kind of have to embrace it and release everyone is naked and exposed with the same vulnerability. The women's side was typically quiet while you could hear the men laughing and talking up a storm. We tried to go to as many different onsen in the village as we could during our stay. They were all a bit different in size, water temperature and smell (some had more sulfur smell than others). All in all it was a great experience and so good for our aching muscles!
Nozawa Onsen is a hot spring and ski resort village. We absolutely fell in love with this magical place! Even though it was a ski resort with many travelers, it still had such a charming village feel that maintained the Japanese culture. The word "onsen" means a Japanese hot spring and bath. More on those later!
We stayed at a traditional Japanese Inn complete with the bed on the floor. At first glance this seems like quite an uncomfortable bed, but it was actually the most comfortable bed we slept on during our entire trip. Our bodies felt great in the morning!
Now back to the onsen. I was both intrigued and nervous about getting naked with strangers in a public hot spring. So true to form, I researched this topic extensively before traveling to Japan. I read articles and even watched a video on the proper procedure for going to an onsen. And believe me there is a very specific procedure that needs to be followed. The onsens are separated by male and female. The procedure roughly goes as follows:
-bring a little basket of soap and small towel with you to the onsen
-walk in, take off your shoes and slip them into the cubbies
-walk around the corner, undress, bare it all and put your clothes in another cubby
-there are various taps around the perimeter for you to wash yourself first before entering the hot bath
-you may use some of the hot spring water to wash but be sure your dirty soapy water doesn't enter the public bath
-finally slowly dip in and enjoy the natural healing powers of the hot natural spring water
The first time I was super nervous, but it got easier each time. Some Japanese women would stare, but you just kind of have to embrace it and release everyone is naked and exposed with the same vulnerability. The women's side was typically quiet while you could hear the men laughing and talking up a storm. We tried to go to as many different onsen in the village as we could during our stay. They were all a bit different in size, water temperature and smell (some had more sulfur smell than others). All in all it was a great experience and so good for our aching muscles!
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