We woke up this morning to a truly shocking occurrence – the kids were both still asleep.
Both. Still. Sleeping.
Kyle wants to go try out the public Onsen, and I am more than happy to lay in bed with the kids until they wake up. By the time the three of us are awake/changed/etc. Kyle is back and willing to trade, so my turn to head down and ride the Onsen experience.
And an experience it is. There are many rules to adhere to and a specific procedure to follow so I’ll admit, walking down past the entrance curtain was intimidating. Luckily we had been coached by our interpreter during our drive to the ryokan, plus there was an instruction sheet inside the room “Rulebook” binder (no joke, that’s how it was labeled).
Anyway, I was the only one there since it was so early, which took off some pressure. Or at least, no one to give me a dirty look if I did something wrong (but also, no one to take a cue from if I forgot anything). I’m confident I did everything correctly though: leave towel/robe in the dressing room basket, private towel to the shower room, kneel-don’t-sit on the stool, private towel folded on top of the head while in the bath.
Even with all the ritualization/rules involved, soaking in that steaming natural spring bath water with the cool, gentile rain falling over me was… it is difficult to put into words, how blissful it all ended up being. While putting my robe back on, ready to head back to the room for our longest day of travel, I left feeling more rejuvenated than I’ve ever felt after a multi-day spa stay. And this was just one early morning shower/bath, slightly rushed and with a lingering awareness to not screw anything up. My wife and I will be back; see you again in 10 years or so, Onsen.
After breakfast we return to our room to finish packing and get to the train station for our trip to Kanazawa. Since our wet-ass shoes were confiscated at the door yesterday, we are a bit nervous as to what state they’ll be in when we have to cram them into a small backpack with a bunch of other stuff. I go down to the front door/shoe area and communicate, mostly through gestures, that we need our shoes – no, not those shoes – the other ones someone else took from us yesterday. An understanding nod and some brief instructions to a younger staff member later, our shoes are presented in a ceremonial way totally un-befitting of running shoes. Amazingly, they are the cleanest I’ve seen since they were purchased, with the soles slightly pulled out at the back to indicate full cleanliness/dryness. I am stunned, as I accept them with a bow that I hope honored their efforts (but probably just embarrassed myself) and hurried back to our room.
Packed and ready, we say goodbye to the lovely Siorie Ryokan and stuff ourselves in the van for a final drive through the central mountains of Honshu.
Two days ago, while en-route to the Keiryu-so Shiorie, our translator and driver had both agreed we should leave a half-hour earlier earlier than planned today to catch our train. Boy, were they right about that. We have about 10 mins before the train actually arrives when we get to the platform but, since we only have exactly one minute to board before it continues on, we feel better waiting.
It’s probably equal parts hilarious and painful for other people watching us board/de-board the trains, but we’ve worked out a system. And the system works.
Travels with Larson and Co 