The JR Sanin Honsen line - Tawarayama Onsen

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Section 3

Later that day we continued our trip south via the JR Sanin Honsen line via Masuda where we changed trains to Nagato and finally said goodbye to the JR Sanin Honsen line that had brought us all the way from Kyoto. The scenery from the train was still very dramatic when the train passed close by the sea.

From Nagato we took the bus to finally arrive in Tawarayama Onsen which had been the main target for us. It is virtually unknown onsen town, a backwater literally, with great baths and nice ryokan. I had the feeling that not many foreigners had preceded me here as people would stop to look and an old man almost fell off the roof trying to catch a glimpse of us. This had also a drawback as they were about to refuse me access to the town's public bath and only my wife's explication that I understand Japanese and know the Japanese onsen habits thoroughly made them change their minds. The famous Kawa-no-yu was closed the day we visited much to our chagrin. The next day we went to the new bath which featured a spa for dogs which was just too cute. The temperature of the baths was much lower than I was used to but I had a great time chatting with two men who had driven up from Kyushu to visit the onsen of southern Yamaguchi. Often the male baths can be awfully quiet, almost grim, with everybody enjoying the hot water silently with only occasionally some people whispering while the female baths often are much noisier. I always sort of envy the women as it sounds like they are having much more fun. This time, with only the three of us in the bath, they could not contain their curiosity and it was very enjoyable chatting and answering their questions.

Apart from the onsen, Tawarayama is also famous for the tiny Marakannon temple dedicated to the phallus which is a short walk from the town and is a great place to buy some interesting souvenirs. From there is a small walk along the river which featured vibrant autumn colours and lots of orange kaki (persimmon) fruit. If you want children but have not been successful yet, this is the place to worship.

The local specialities include fugu which was served in the ryokan.

The next day we took the bus to Nagatoyumoto station on the JR Minesen line which took us to Asa where there is a Sanyo shinkansen station to bring us back to Tokyo.

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Photos

Tawarayama Onsen
Town centre

Comments

[Indie]

thanks
My husband and I will be heading here during our trip around Japan... I am mostly interested in the fertility shrine =)