Yesterday was day three, and we slept in till 10:30ish then packed for the onsen. Dain made yummy French toast strips and tea for breakfast then we got on the train and headed toward another train–the romance car!
Vincent is waiting for the bus. This is the stop outside the apartment.
We ate at a bagel sandwich place. Vincent and I got lox, and we all got coffee and these teeny tiny creamers. The bagels were delicious. And like the rest so far, the perfect portion.
The boys tried on my sunglasses. I kind of think the sunglasses look better on them!
Here’s Vincent and I on the train. The ride was an hour-ish so I popped a Dramamine and read a John Wyndham novel Dain let me borrow. Vincent and Dain played a computer game with an adorable little robot.
It was evening when we arrived at the onsen (hot springs). I signed up for a massage and we reserved a private onsen too.
Before dinner we changed into robes and 2-toed socks. Since you are not wearing pants (we kept underwear on) you kind of have to shuffle along in small steps to remain modest. A little more than half the people at dinner were wearing robes. Vincent and Dain wore vests so they would have pockets to carry things like my camera.
These robes are so comfy. Made me sad to put clothes on after spending 24hours in a robe.
We went to the women’s onsen while Dain and Vincent explored the men’s. You get 2 towels when you check in at the front desk, along with your robe. We undressed in a locker room area, tied the key in our hair and then went to the bathing stations to wash. I was pleasantly surprised to find makeup remover! No raccoon eyes here.
After we washed, we took our towels and went into the onsen. The hot water steamed from 4 hot springs soaking areas. A long rectangular onsen had a thatched cover, two looked like jacuzzis, and the other long rectangular one had a view of the open sky, the moon, and the gardens behind us. We went into the covered onsen first. It had little dividers so you couldn’t see the naked bits of the person next to you. Next we went to the open air onsen and sat there until all our muscles relaxed. …
After we dried off and rinsed again, Vincent and I headed to our private onsen. Then I went downstairs for my massage. 40 minutes of bliss later, I floated upstairs, climbed under my fluffy blanket and went to sleep like Ricky and Lucy Ricardo, in separate twin beds.
In the early morning, Dain visited the men’s onsen again while we slept, then we donned our robes again and went for breakfast buffet. We checked out by 10, grabbed sandals and went to explore the gardens. I almost wish we hadn’t gone to the onsen so late, because this would be the perfect place to sit after a long soak.
In the morning everyone was walking around snapping photos.
There are HUGE colorful spiders all over. Dain and Vincent are on a quest to find the biggest one. They stopped a few times to harass the arachnids.
The stairs wind up and down and around. One set dead ends at a wishing well. Sort of. You throw in your coin, ring the bell, and pray for your wish to come true. Hoping my prayer is answered!
That looks ahhhhhmazing.
It was. I think we look the happiest in these pictures if only because we are all so much more relaxed!