Monday, June 27, 2005

The Ryokan

We had about an hour and fifteen minute drive to our traditional Japanese inn (ryokan) called Omoide Romankan. The traditional inn is a custom in Japan and the Japanese people love to visit them. They are known for their traditional rooms, feasts, and hot spring baths. One Japanese custom that may seem strange to Americans is the custom of public baths. All over Japan there are bath facilities that are open to the public. They are separated by male and female baths. The procedure is to clean yourself thoroughly at one of the showers and then to enter the bath. The water is usually hot, so you do have to be careful. Westerners sometimes have difficulty with the concept of bathing with others, but to the Japanese it is part of their life. Our ryokan was up in the mountains and was beautiful. The traditional room had reed mats and very low tables and cushions. Slippers were to be worn inside the room. After getting a few minutes to explore our room for the evening, all of us met for our dinner wearing Japanese robes (yucatas). Dinner was a multi-course meal that had many interesting (and some that were gross to me) foods to eat. After dining for several hours, the group broke-up and everyone began to make their way for a bath in the hot springs. It was one of those experiences that probably will not be repeated any time soon for me, but was worth it. The picture I attached was the view from our balcony. Down towards the bottom you can see the hot spring baths.

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