Luxurious Onsen Resort
Trip Start
Dec 01, 2007
1
7
9
Trip End
Dec 14, 2007
Otsu, Japan
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Last night's stay at the Yumotokan was a worthwhile, if not expensive, experience. It is an onsen resort set in the Shiga prefecture near Lake Biwa, meaning it takes the natural hot spring water and pumps it into the baths, while giving us a beautiful view of the mountains to one side, or the lake to the other.
We arrived too early to check in, so after our free pickup from the station we decided to walk around and have some lunch. What we didn't realise is that the entire area appears to be upmarket resorts, strip joints and love hotels down to the lake! I could see that we'd have to cross a large area in order to reach residential zone which is more likely to have food either not from an expensive resort or not with a view of boobs! Instead, we got convenience store food and ate it on a concrete block outside :P My food was pretty nice, but nobody else was happy with theirs. As it turns out, we shouldn't have eaten lunch anyway - but I'll get to that.
After checking in, we were shown to our room in the Gesshintei Building on the 8th floor. The view was really nice, as we were on the lake side of the hotel. We had to take off our shoes, as the flooring was tatami mats which I think have a lovely smell and texture (though Alex doesn't like them for some reason!). Then we were served Japanese tea and Manju (sweet steamed buns) at a beautiful table where we had to sit on the floor. Also provided were Yukata, which are basically casual robes you wear when on holiday - Alex and I missed out, as they didn't get big enough for us. So I just wore it on top of some other casual clothes, after all more layers = more warmth! :P
Before dinner, we decided to visit the open-air public baths. This means getting naked and washing yourself thoroughly in the presence of others of your gender, then slipping into a boiling hot pool of natural spring water! At first Jo and I had some nerves about getting naked, due to our society's silly taboos, but once we were in it was really nice! Everyone is discreet about their bodies, not flaunting and not staring, and it is of course perfectly natural in there. The water was too hot for me, if I got all the way in my heartrate went through the roof and my blood pressure dropped dangerously >.< So I just soaked my legs and enjoyed the view of the lake. The boys enjoyed their bath and sauna elsewhere of course, you can bet I wouldn't be getting into a unisex bath!
Then there was dinner. This was an experience in itself! We had the tsuki meal, which is basically "chef's best'. We got our own little room to ourselves, which looked like a traditional place to eat but luckily had a hole under the table for our legs :D
Our waitress didn't speak any English at all, so we didn't know most of what we were eating. Furthermore, we had no idea how many courses there were! Some of the food to be eaten was already at the table, such as the sashimi and yakiniku, but more courses were brought. And brought, and brought! Even Alex couldn't finish everything, that's how much food we got! It's a pity I didn't take my camera to prove it :P
After a ridiculously large and rich dinner, Jo and I went back to the baths. Matt had been feeling sick since the morning, and Alex had had enough of bathing I think, because they stayed in the room watching bad Japanese television. The bath at night was even prettier, despite the entire 4 stars we could see and the lake out of sight, as the lighting over the rocks was beautiful, and the chilly air contrasted nicely with the steaming pools. While at dinner, the staff had unfolded futons for us and made up the beds, so we could sleep whenever. Due to Matt and I being unwell, we didn't drink and I guess Jo and Alex didn't want to drink without us, so it was a pretty early and relaxing night for everyone. Sleeping didn't come so easily for some, as Princess Alex didn't like the thin futon and the pillow wasn't big and fluffy enough for him :P I guess the authentic Japanese experience wasn't for all of us, good thing it's only one night ;)
We got up early for breakfast at 7:30am in the nice room again, luckily it wasn't a billion courses. Though, being a traditional Japanese breakfast, there wasn't any toast or bacon to chow down, instead fried marinated fish, rice, miso soup, half-cooked egg and pickles were the main fare. I thought it was incredibly tasty :)
Jo and I found another bath after breakfast, as the one had been in got switched to male (it's a daily thing). I found it much better, although it lacked a view the water was a good ten degrees cooler! I was able to fully immerse myself, for about fifteen minutes before getting faint. It was heavenly! They provided a fountain of lukewarm water near the entrance, so when you get too hot you can walk over, splash yourself to cool down, and then get back in. But I couldn't stay as long as I liked, as we had to get our things packed up and ready to checkout. It cost us about $250-$300 each for the entire experience, a very expensive night - but one I thought was worth doing :)
Then it was the Hikari Shinkansen to Tokyo, a 2.5 hour trip halfway across the country. Goodbye Kansai region! We'll miss you! :P
Tokyo was not dissimilar to the areas we'd seen before, just bigger! Our first experience with the trains was a big shock though, as Alex and Matt got on but the doors shut Jo and I out! We weren't sure if the boys knew what stop to go to get to the hotel, so Jo got on the next train and I waited 15 minutes at Tokyo station in case they came back. Luckily they did know where to go, and luckily that train line had a train going every three minutes. No joke, they might as well have had one long continuous chain of carriages; and every one of them was packed! Well, Osaka certainly was more leisurely paced!!
We did eventually find our hotel, after getting some directions from a very nice man at a seven-eleven, and for once we weren't earlier than our check-in time! Poor Matt's stomach ache had gotten worse, and he hadn't eaten all day - so after a nap and a shower, we went out for a nice simple dinner. It didn't help Matt's stomach any, but it sure tasted nice! Not many places were open, but we found a little place run by a nice man who had pictures outside for us to use to order. So it's an early night now for us, and sorry for the late update! Oyasuminasai :)
