Coming down the mountain and back onto the road, there are three onsen in sequence, all getting their water from the Jinba source but using it in various ways. Evidently the nicest-looking one is too good for the likes of us, not accepting day-trippers. It’s a mystery to me who would want to stay out […]
onsen
Gaga Onsen, Zao (峩々温泉,蔵王,宮城)
Snow, snow, snow. I don’t ski. I don’t snowbo. I don’t skate (on anything). Snowshoeing, icefishing, no. Truth is, I don’t like being cold. (Or hungry, as you may have noticed.) But I love seeing snow through a clear window from the comfort of a warm room. And as I learned many years ago, an […]
Matsuno Onsen, (松の温泉 水香園)
As I said below, today was hiking day. The mountains that ring Tokyo are nowhere near as high as the ones that you get a little farther out (they don’t call those ‘Alps’ for nothing), but there’s still some good autumn color and soothing vistas (as long as you don’t look toward Tokyo, where the […]
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Nishikiyu, Kyoto (錦湯)
There’s one problem with Kyoto – the transportation system is more like that of a a medium-sized Japanese city (which it is) than that of a world-class tourist destination (which it is). That means you can get into weird situations where despite just going from one temple to another, you’re kinda far from anything and it’s […]
Musashi Koyama Onsen, Musashi Koyama (武蔵小山温泉 清水湯)
Wait, what? Why did I never publish this post? It’s from a humid Sunday in July when Woody and I first encountered Honoka. As is often the case with him, he wanted to moisten his bird before wetting his whistle. That came out wrong, I mean he likes to go to hot springs before going […]
Akatsuki, Jogasaki (暁、城ヶ崎海岸、静岡県)
Let me start off by saying that I don’t particularly want you to go here – we got a really weird last-minute deal (65% off? What were they thinking?) that made it worthwhile. If you paid full price, you’d be disappointed despite the excellent location just north of Izu Kogen, within walking distance of the […]
Sennenyu, Kawasaki （千年湯、）
“I am Ariel, of the woodland folk.” “Shut up baby, I blasted my biceps at the gym and I need to recover.” “Screw you, I’ll text my boyfriend.” Ahhh, riding the train. It’s a good thing it’s so easy to get signed release forms. The Woodsman wanted to take me to one of his favorite […]
Tokiwayu Spa, Morishita (ときわ湯、森下？常盤？)
After an extraordinarily productive day, I dithered a lot but eventually went for a late dip to round things off and encourage a good night’s sleep. Mixed experience at this place. It’s on the edge of really great, but I was a touch let down – in ways that are somewhat my fault. If you […]
Katou Spa, Nakano (香藤湯)
Well, after enjoying my dip at one of Fukagawa’s local furoyasan, I was a bit hooked. And I’ve never gotten out of my head the pictures that I saw years ago in a documentary about one of the last bathhouse painters – the guys who used to paint the traditional murals on the walls of […]
Dai-ichi Benten Yu, Toyocho (第一弁天湯)
Really, I don’t look for more crap to write about. And I don’t miss 2009 on those lugubrious days when I revisit a place for lunch and don’t have to write about it. But I felt like I should post this off-topic bit since it’s a nice slice of downtown Tokyo, which I hope you’ve […]