Shiga prefecture part 2
Trip Start
Jul 01, 2010
1
68
78
Trip End
Jun 30, 2011
Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan
Thursday, May 12, 2011
We took the train a bit north, alighted and there we bought a combo bus/onsen (hot springs) ticket (where else but in Japan could you do this?). Of course the bus arrived exactly on time and left exactly on time. It took us through lovely little villages and partly up a mountain to our stop. A shuttle bus was waiting there to take us the final, short 10 minute leg to the onsen and short hiking trails in the mountain. It was a lovely spot but unfortunately not that many sakura left. We went for a nice hike though and then hit the hot springs.
Now for pretty much everybody, visiting an onsen in Japan is a wonderful, relaxing experience. It can seem a bit daunting at first to get all the rules and customs down pat but it's just a matter of being prepared going in (bring a large towel to dry yourself after your shower and a small one that serves a few purposes including covering your privates, kind of, whilst in the onsen), know that men and women are almost always separate in Japanese onsens and people are naked in (save for that small towel), you always wash before going in (there are always really cool shower areas) and NO tattoos!
WTF?! Yep...no tattoos. See in Japan pretty much the only people who have tats are yakuza (Japanese mafia) and they are not welcome anywhere especially onsens where they can make the other non-yakuza patrons...hmmm...shall we say...uncomfortable. I thought that surely they must relax this rule for foreigners where tattoos are much more common and not necessarily the mark of an organized crime member. Chisa said that they can be pretty strict about this rule even for foreigners so I might not be allowed in or at least kicked out once my tats were seen.
So check out the tape job we undertook to try and hide my tats...funny and moderately successful. After over an hour in the steaming waters, churning whirlpool and sauna it was all coming apart and I finally gave up the facade and proudly displayed my ink. No one said a thing and Chisa told me that when she was waiting for me in the common she asked a man there if he had a seen a 'gaijin' (foreigner). He told her he had and felt bad for him because it was obvious I had tats and was trying to cover them up but that no one cared and I didn't have to cover them. Wish he would told me! Anyway, it was a wonderful day and we returned feeling relaxed, refreshed and with a good story in hand.
In Chisa's ongoing quest to show me her beautiful prefecture of Shiga, she planned a day visiting a few small towns along a rural route. Actually it's all one town called Kutsuki but you can drive a few kilometres before coming to another house, it feels more like an area with a few villages within. Anyway, her parents were into it so we were able to take the car rather than the bus which turned out to be a very good thing since there are only 2 buses a day along that route.
The small country road was a lovely, winding affair along a small, pretty river, through forests and mountainsides and once in a while a small town or Shinto shrine. However, the main draw for Chisa as I soon found out, was a lacquer atelier owned by a guy who lived in a wee town on this route. He cut his own wood from the forest around him and even made the lacquer himself. I had to admit the pieces were quite beautiful and Chisa couldn't resist. I had a bit of shock though when I heard the price but no one else seemed surprised so I guess this is the price for high quality lacquer. Chisa's mom was sweet enough to buy 2 bowls and a tray for her...10,000 yen for the tray 7,000 per bowl..... thx Emiko-san!
A few days later Ogoto (the actual town where we are) was having a onsen festival of sorts during Golden Week (a collection of holidays all bunched into a week and a bit when most of the country goes on vacation - a very busy time) and from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm you could visit all the swanky hotel onsens in the area. We had time to visit two of them...very nice!
Well...I best be getting back to work or my boss will have to call me into her office...hmmm...that doesn't sound too bad actually. Thanks to all who “Liked” Chisa's Salt Boutique Facebook page or her website. Means a lot to her and to me. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, please check out Salt-Boutique.com (Japanese only) or https://www.facebook.com/saltboutique (Japanese and English).
Sayonara!
