A great little dip

The onsen - definitely one of those how-did-I-not-know-about-this-sooner things in Japan. Literally, it means hot springs, and they are a dime a dozen in these parts. According to my book there are urban onsen, oceanside onsen, riverside onsen, onsen towns, clifftop onsen, hidden onsen, semitropical onsen, onsen with beach, onsen with sand bath, mountain onsen, do-it-yourself onsen, and onsen ski towns. Whew!

For my part, I was only able to bathe in two of these marvels. The first was an urban onsen in Kyoto - essentially a public bathhouse. It was segregated by gender, where you strip down completely, then wash up (onsen are for soaking, not cleaning), and then soak away. The Kyoto bath had many different kinds of pools. Inside, there was a cedar tub, electric tub, mud tub, hot hot tub. Outside, there was a cool tub and a warm tub. Each are fed with natural hot springs.

The second was at a small onsen town outside of Matsue, called Tamatsukuri Onsen. I got off at the little railway hub for this town, then walked for 15 minutes along the river. The walk itself got me in the mood, as their were sakura hanging down everywhere.

Then I got to my onsen. This one was basically in a spa hotel, which is how these onsen were setup (the accommodations were very posh and very Japanese). I paid my day fee of 800 yen and then went into the changing room. Emerging into the onsen, I found two large pools, one indoor and quite hot, the other outdoor and rock-lined, surrounded by a quiet little garden. What a setting! The next hour was pure delight.

These onsen almost merit their own trip to Japan, to explore all the different types on offer.