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Published: October 2nd 2008
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We are a little behind on our blog...but...better late then never =)
(plus, you may get a little chuckle out of this one)
After a busy 5 days in Tokyo, we set off on our 1st train ride ever stopping in Nagoya for one night, then off to Kyoto. We bought a Japan Rail Pass to get us around Japan, which now (after our adventures in Japan has come to an end) we can say was worth every penny. We were able to take the bullet trains all over Japan with this pass which was perfect since we wanted to cover alot of ground over our 16 days in Japan.
The bullet train was amazing! Always on time...to the minute. For those who know us well...yes we are amost always late for things...but not in Japan, if you were late, the train would not wait. We do admit though, we did have a couple of close calls where we had to run to our train =).
So, our second stop was Nagoya. We picked this spot as we had read that it was not as travelled and thought it would get us out of the tourist areas
and live like the locals...well...that is EXACTLY what we got! It was a long weekend in Japan, so many people take off for the weekend so the hotel we were at was extremely busy. Our hotel was attached directly to "a spa" which we had 24h access to. We were super excited and after Tokyo we needed some time to relax. We made it to the hotel by dinner time then went off to "the spa". WELL...we called down the front desk and asked if we should wear our swim suits and they said yes so no problem. So off we go in our Kata (kimono like house coat) excited to spend the evening doing nothing and relaxing in
"the spa". As we explore the different countries, we learn many of their customs and traditions. So, when we get to the spa entrance, we take off our slippers and in we go bare foot. When we entered the spa, we were shocked to see everyone in barefoot and outfits that resemble house coats and pjs. It was done up very well...there was a lounge area where you could hang out in a Lazyboy watching movies or TV, there were massage
The Japanese Toilet...
There were a few different types of toilets in Japan. This one had many functions: (1) Heated seat with heat control (2) Play Music (toilet flushing) with volume control (3) Spray with pressure adjustment. Now how\'s that for a toilet! rooms, exercise rooms, a couple places to eat, and much more. So we check out the place, get out towels and off we go to enjoy the hot pools.
We get to out entrances into the hot pools knowing that we would be in separated areas so we planned to meet in 1h. Off we go into the change rooms and all we see is naked bodies. Ok, no problem, this is a change room. On our way to our lockers, we both ended up asking someone (using hand signs...because NOBODY speaks English at this place) if we are to wear a swimsuit. We both basically got a chuckle, so YES, we were to go in the nude. Not knowing anything about the traditional baths in Japan (well, we knew a little), we had no clue what to do, so we had to just go with the flow. So we get a small towel and a very small towel. We both had no clue what we were to do with them and yep...the small one was all you had to take with you to the bath area (but not in the baths). This towel was not even big enough
Aluminum Can Model
This was crazy, the entire thing was made from soda cans. to cover one leg and the other could maybe fit around my chest.
We both felt a little unconfortable being the ONLY foreigner and with no one to talk to. We did get some looks because foreigners are obviously quite rare in this location, but we did it anyways. However...that was the longest hours ever! Aside from being out of our comfort zones, it was very relaxing and was quite amazing to be able to experience the Japanese spa (sento).
Our vision of a relaxing night ended in an very nice Japanese dinner sitting on the floor and then the night broke out into Karaokee. So...of course Trevor sings a couple of songs. It was quite funny becasue all the Japanese people were singing very mellow traditional Japanese songs, the Trevor gets up and sings "Dead or Alive". It ended up just fine and they all seemed to like it through their clapping (I think he got the loudest applause). Anyways, he sang a few more and even sang one with a local that ended up buying us drinks (vodka-sake) and some food. It was quite fun and an amazing experience! We had a late night and slept
in the next morning (almost missing our buffet breakfast).
So, looking back...
A. We should have figured that they probably didnt understand what we were asking when we asked about the swimsuits
B. We should have figured that there was a reason why the men and women were separate
C. We DEFINITELY should have figured it out when everyone was in their birthday suits in the change rooms.
There were many signs...but we carried on in our little bubble. Oh well...I guess we can now say we have experienced a Traditional Japanese public bath. We were ready to hit up more of the many other traditional baths in Japan (which you will hear about in our later blogs).
(PHOTOS TO FOLLOW SOON...this site is a pain in the butt to get them on)
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