Mark says that a visit to Japan is never complete without a visit to an honest-to-goodness Onsen. In my previous visits, I've never tried going to one. Although during my trip to Kyoto in 2006, I was invited by a group of university students, but didn't go.
On this trip, we planned to go to the Ooedo Onsen Monogatari, and after a few reschedules, we finally pushed through today!
So, we took off our shyness - and clothes - wore our Yukata and went on an Onsen adventure!
The main attraction of any Onsen is the public bath. It's a big room with 6 indoor pools and 3 outdoor ones. Each pool was heated, with temperatures ranging from 39 to 41 degrees. There was also a cold pool where people are supposed to dip after the hot baths. The catch is, everyone inside the public bath had to come in without any piece of clothing on! (Ergo, there are no photos of that part of the Onsen on this post.)
After the public bath, we went to the foot bath. What you're supposed to do is wade through a long pool of hot water. The catch is, the pool was peppered with big and small stones which made it quite painful to walk on. But they said it was therapeutic, so we gave it a shot.
(Ouch!)
After the Public bath and the Foot bath, Mark and I were happy and prune-y. My favorite part of the experience was the cool Yukata they asked us to wear. Too bad they weren't selling this design because I really, really like it.
(P.S. You're not allowed to wear anything under the Yukata.)
Before leaving, we stayed at the Tatami room for an hour to cool down after all that hot water. Their common room was designed like an old Japanese village, which is really cool.
After our 3+ hour stay at the Onsen, I must say that it was a fun experience overall. The brochure said that it was a theme park-styled Onsen, and I couldn't agree with them more. The vibe inside was happy and touristy, and save for the Public bath, it's something I'd do all over again.
Now, I can say that I've completed a visit to Japan.
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