We decided to treat ourselves to a stay at one of Japan's famous onsens, (also known as a Japanese hot spring or spa) Takaragawa. Relaxing in an Onsen is a popular past time among the Japanese. All hot springs are supposed to have a relaxing effect on your body and mind and after all the running about we'd been doing we were looking forward to slowing down a little!
It was a bit of a trek to reach the onsen as we had to get a bus along twisty, mountainous roads and it cost a whopping £10 each! But once we arrived at Takaragawa we were glad we had made the effort.
We were given our Japanese robes and shown around the place and then taken to our room which was very traditional and big enough to sleep a whole family. I had been getting a little worried about the fact that you are supposed to enter an onsen totally naked! I had read and been told that you could use 'modesty' towels but that they were usually the size of a flannel, which really wasnt going to hide much of me! Luckily, when we were shown the towels at Takaragawa they were large and perfectly capable of hiding a lot, phew!
As it was already late we washed (something you must do before entering an onsen) and then walked down to the outdoor pools. It was quite chilly but the pools were deliciously hot so we spent ages in them. It was quite an odd but good experience being naked, apart from a towel, in a huge outdoor bath! Even odder was the way the Japanese men were perfectly comfortable strutting about the pools in the nuddy. I thought there were supposed to be a shy nation!
After our onsen session we went back up to the room for dinner. We didnt know what to expect so when the lady came into the room to start moving the furniture about to accommodate the food, we knew we were in for a feeding! Take a look at the pictures below to see the extent of our feast!
It was an amazing experience, not only for the onsen but the food - it was so nice to eat something other than sushi from 7,11 for a change!
A very faint picture of Mount Fuji, taken from the train
The heated loo completed with slippers so your feet are cosy too!
Check me out in my Japanese gear!
Wooden bridge we crossed to get to the onsens from our room
It was pretty cold so the pools felt amazing when you first got in
The pools were lined by the Takaraga stream which was raging on either side
This pool was huge, it's supposed to have a capacity of 200 but luckily we were pretty much the only ones in it!
Amazing setting for an onsen
Think Tim has passed out
Cute little rock statue in the middle of the pool
It was awesome being out when the darkness started to creep in and the rain was coming down, very moody and atmospheric
Looking at this now I can't believe we were actually outside, wearing nothing but a towel in this weather!
The entrance to the onsen is filled with strange things, including this giant head with Pinocchio style nose!
Our amazing dinner laid out for us
So much food and so many different tastes
The meal was delicious, but a bit hot as there were hot coals to cook the food on and we hadn't worked out how to turn down the heating in the room!
Tim getting ready to tuck in
We cracked our own eggs into the dish on the left which cooked in the hot 'soup' and cooked our fish and vegetables over the hot coals. It was all quite an effort but fun and very tasty
A tiny man came into the room to lay out these beds, he did it amazingly quickly and efficiently, but what else would you expect in Japan?!
Obviously I hadnt had enough of hot baths for one day!
We woke up bright and early and had a HUGE breakfast. Tim opted for the Japanese breakfast, but I couldnt stomach the idea of fish first thing so had the 'Western' option
The egg had bacon underneath and was devine!
It was a bit of a trek to reach the onsen as we had to get a bus along twisty, mountainous roads and it cost a whopping £10 each! But once we arrived at Takaragawa we were glad we had made the effort.
We were given our Japanese robes and shown around the place and then taken to our room which was very traditional and big enough to sleep a whole family. I had been getting a little worried about the fact that you are supposed to enter an onsen totally naked! I had read and been told that you could use 'modesty' towels but that they were usually the size of a flannel, which really wasnt going to hide much of me! Luckily, when we were shown the towels at Takaragawa they were large and perfectly capable of hiding a lot, phew!
As it was already late we washed (something you must do before entering an onsen) and then walked down to the outdoor pools. It was quite chilly but the pools were deliciously hot so we spent ages in them. It was quite an odd but good experience being naked, apart from a towel, in a huge outdoor bath! Even odder was the way the Japanese men were perfectly comfortable strutting about the pools in the nuddy. I thought there were supposed to be a shy nation!
After our onsen session we went back up to the room for dinner. We didnt know what to expect so when the lady came into the room to start moving the furniture about to accommodate the food, we knew we were in for a feeding! Take a look at the pictures below to see the extent of our feast!
It was an amazing experience, not only for the onsen but the food - it was so nice to eat something other than sushi from 7,11 for a change!
The heated loo completed with slippers so your feet are cosy too!
Wooden bridge we crossed to get to the onsens from our room
It was pretty cold so the pools felt amazing when you first got in
The pools were lined by the Takaraga stream which was raging on either side
This pool was huge, it's supposed to have a capacity of 200 but luckily we were pretty much the only ones in it!
Amazing setting for an onsen
Think Tim has passed out
Cute little rock statue in the middle of the pool
It was awesome being out when the darkness started to creep in and the rain was coming down, very moody and atmospheric
Looking at this now I can't believe we were actually outside, wearing nothing but a towel in this weather!
The entrance to the onsen is filled with strange things, including this giant head with Pinocchio style nose!
Our amazing dinner laid out for us
So much food and so many different tastes
The meal was delicious, but a bit hot as there were hot coals to cook the food on and we hadn't worked out how to turn down the heating in the room!
Tim getting ready to tuck in
We cracked our own eggs into the dish on the left which cooked in the hot 'soup' and cooked our fish and vegetables over the hot coals. It was all quite an effort but fun and very tasty
A tiny man came into the room to lay out these beds, he did it amazingly quickly and efficiently, but what else would you expect in Japan?!
Obviously I hadnt had enough of hot baths for one day!
We woke up bright and early and had a HUGE breakfast. Tim opted for the Japanese breakfast, but I couldnt stomach the idea of fish first thing so had the 'Western' option
The egg had bacon underneath and was devine!
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