Recently I met a very nice co-worker at the BOE. We've gone out to dinner a couple times and last Friday he invited me to go to an onsen in Fukushima. Some of my eikaiwa (adult conversation class) students were attending and I decided to jump on the bandwagon.
When I got picked up at 7am, I was already grumpy. For those of you who have had no interaction with me before 10am, I'm not a happy camper in the mornings. I just wanted to go back to sleep. So when we got on the bus and I realized I was the youngest person by at least 25 years, I resigned myself to a long, boring day. Fortunately, that's not quite how the Japanese do bus trips here...
Just as I'm about to fall back into my morning coma, I hear a "tssst", like a pop can opening (or in my mind - beer). And lo and behold, my bus buddy has just broken open a 12 pack of Asahi pounders. Without trying to look too surprised, I look around at my neighboring passengers. There is whiskey, there is beer, there is sake, there is even chu-hi! It was like a bar on a bus! Everyone had a drink and was getting wasted like it was 5 in the afternoon, not 7:30 in the morning! This lasted all morning, with increasing stops for bathroom breaks. I started having Lake Shasta deja vu and politely declined a drink. We stopped at pretty omiyage shops (like souvenir stores) and bought local fruits and ketai charms (for your cellphone). Fukushima Prefecture is known for its peaches, apples, and mikans (mandarin oranges).
We finally arrived at Noji Onsen around 11am. It is located on top of a mountain and the view is stunning! Here was where I got to see my first snowfall in Japan. Sitting in a hot bath, naked, outside in the snow is an exhilarating experience. The water at Noji Onsen is milky white. Even though it smells a little like eggs (sulfur), it felt relaxing and supposedly is good for your skin. The Japanese swear that different onsens are good for different body ailments. Onsen water is believed to have healing powers derived from its mineral content. A good soak in a proper onsen can heal aches, pains and diseases. They often visit onsens to treat illnesses, such as arthralgia, chronic skin diseases, diabetes, constipation, menstrual disorders and so on. Understandably it's very popular with the older Japanese generation. However, watch out if you have tattoos! Most onsens, pools, and even gyms, won't let you use their facilities if you have any.
We had a huge delicious lunch, more alcohol, more bathing, and then headed back to Hirono. I crashed hard on the bus ride home. Thank God they didn't bust out the karaoke.
