Day 10 In Japan : Time To Get Naked!

The highlight of staying in a Japanese Inn is of course for us to have a dip (or a dozen dips) in their onsen or hot spring. Unlike the onsens in Nyuto Onsenkyo which we visited last year, there is no mixed gender baths or private baths here in Uematsuya. Not that we minded, though.

It is said that Bessho onsen is called "Bijin no yu," or hot spring of beauty. It is very good for skin and makes it very smooth. It also heals cuts, abrasions, bruises and neuralgia. You can also drink onsen water, which is said to alleviate a sick feeling. There were scoops in this onsen and elsewhere outside, around Bessho Onsen for you to enjoy the water.

The entrance to the bath area at Uematsuya. We get to try both areas, as the baths will be rotated at 11.00pm daily. Don't confuse and enter the wrong bath!

Indoor bath at both area. Handrails are installed for ease of use for those not so mobile i.e. elderly guests. Before you enter the baths, remember to clean yourself first. Just sit at one of the stools and shower away. Ample toiletries for your use are available.

The open air onsens. It was nice to enjoy the the night view while having a soak. During daytime, you get a sweeping view of the area.

At one of the area, at the open-air bath, there is a tub bath (taru-buro) for guests' use too.

Fit for just one person, this type of bath is rare in Japan. Amongst all other baths at Uematsuya, this one is the least hot of the bunch. So, if you have the chance to visit, maybe try a dip in this bath first before trying a hotter one later.

When I got in this bath, it was drizzling outside so it was really nice to sit in the tub, with my chin propped by tub feeling the rain water dripping beside me. I can only imagine how nice it would be if I come to this are when there are snow around. Must've been quite magical.

There is one beauty of a gender segregated baths as opposed to mixed baths - I managed to have my "me" time without the chatter of my son. Love him I do, but sometimes it's nice to spend sometime alone.

We enjoyed our dips in the onsen so much that we woke up at 4.30am and head to the baths!

And oh! For those not familiar with the etiquette of entering an onsen - one of the requirement is that you have to be completely naked when entering the bath. The only thing you are allowed to bring together to the bath area is this small towel, which is used as a wash cloth. This small towel is not to be immersed or dipped in the onsen water and bathers usually place it by the side of the onsen or on top of their head when they enter the onsen. Coming out from the onsen, you use the towel to wipe yourself before going back in to the changing area where you can use the normal "big" towel.

Well, my explanation might not be all that correct, so for better insights on the intricacies of enjoying an onsen, google them up. I'm too lazy to put any link up. XD

p.s. When I was holding that small towel in the last photo, I had nothing on except the towel in my hand left hand and my camera in my right hand. *^-^*!

Busch Gardens . . . October 2010 photos

The Captain and I have spent quite a bit of time at Busch Gardens this month which means lots of photos.  The following video is more of an overview of the gardens and some of the animals.

More videos are coming on specific Busch Garden themes.

The park in October is one of the most enjoyable months to visit since the weather is starting to get a little cooler, not as humid and for some reason, attendance seems to be lower this time of year.  The only negative is that the park closes early (6:00 pm) since Howl-O-Scream (a night event) runs the entire month of October.  All in all, this is my favorite time of the year to visit Busch Gardens.

Hope you enjoyed the video . . . subscribe to this blog for notifications of new posts!

Day 10 In Japan : Around Bessho Onsen

What can one see when one is in Bessho Onsen, which is considered to be the onsen with the oldest history in Nagano? Plenty - that I can tell you.

A sneak peek of the places we visited, while walking around Bessho Onsen.

Entering Bessho Onsen

Plenty of hot spring, of course. You can drink the water, which is said to be good for the stomach and for beauty too.  The minerals in Bessho’s Onsen water leave your skin feeling soft, hence the nickname “Bijin” (beautiful lady) Water.

The taste? Taste like water used to boil eggs. The smell? Like rotten eggs!  The water here after all have sulfurous properties.

A watermill

Great view

A public bath. Cost 150yen per entry, if I'm not  mistaken.

And plenty of temples and important culural monuments to visit. Bessho Onsen is called the "Kamakura Of Shinshu" for nothing. Shinshu was the old name for Nagano, by the way.

More photos coming up! Do visit often. ;-)

Wordless Wed. - Beautiful Cripple Creek Turquoise Pendants

These turquoise nuggets are from Bad Boy's Mine, Cripple Creek, CO. and hand wrapped with Sterling Silver.

Driving Down the West Coast: Monterrey Bay and Carmel-by-the-Sea

Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks are definite must-sees in anyone’s lifetime.  But I also got excited about our next stops, what Bill says are quite special places, too: Monterrey Bay through the scenic 17-Mile Drive and the famed town of Carmel-by-the-Sea.  And they were.  It is wine country, too, but the wineries and vineyards were not where we spent our time.  Our days were filled with beautiful scenes.

Monterrey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California, south of San Francisco, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterrey.   The bay features the Monterrey Canyon, one of the largest underwater canyons in the world, which begins off the coast of Moss Landing, exactly in the center of Monterey Bay. Carmel-by-the-Sea, usually called simply Carmel, is a small town of more than 4,000 in Monterey County, California, founded in 1902. 

On the approach to the 17-Mile Drive is the Lover’s Point, an area of rocks reaching out to the sea and a few cypress trees that drape the landscape.  Further on the Drive, which crosses the million-dollar homes of the rich, cypress trees dramatized the sea-drenched coastline.  One particular tree has stood alone on a rock jutting out into the bay waters, hence its monicker, The Lone Cypress.

Harbor seals populate the rocks scattered around the waters while sea otters gaily play in the sparkles. They cavorted with birds and many spots have been designated actual marine life sanctuaries.  A world-class golf course stands proudly beside the quietly rampaging waves, its golfers braving the gusts for the tee of their lives. And homes brave the forces of nature with rocks that make their roofs sturdier.

 

Monterrey Harbor had great shops and Bill and I celebrated our lovely days with a special dinner on a restaurant atop the waters.  But the shopping in Carmel was memorable.  The small town had the most elegant shops and fascinating galleries just after the famous Mt. Carmel Mission.  Luckily, one pretty little group of stores had a quaint courtyard where Bill could relax while I took madly to the shelves. 

  

The Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo was founded in 1770 in the nearby settlement of Monterrey, but was relocated to Carmel by Father Serra a year later and became the new Mission Carmel. The Mission at Carmel has significance beyond the history of Father Serra, who is sometimes called the "Father of California". It also contains the state's first library. The town of Carmel was built around the mission.

Carmel is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history. Early City Councils were dominated by artists and the town has had several mayors who were poets or actors, including actor-director Clint Eastwood, who was mayor for one term, from 1986 to 1988. In 1905, the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club was formed to support and produce artistic works. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake the village was inundated with artists from the bay city. Among those who lived in or frequented the village were: Upton Sinclair, Sinclair Lewis, and John Steinbeck. 

The Monterrey Bay Area is romantic and fascinating.  But the trip through Big Sur was so inviting!

Day 10 In Japan : Checking In At Uematsuya

Remember I mentioned in my earlier post about Day 10 being a day for relaxing?

We checked-in at Uematsuya for the night. Located in Bessho Onsen resort in Nagano Prefecture, Uematsuya is right in centre of the resort area so it is quite convenient to sightsee or visit other public baths surrounding the ryokan.

From Bessho Onsen station, we took a free shuttle ride to the ryokan and upon the arrival of the shuttle van, a staff was already waiting for guests' arrival. Pretty much the same scenario at other places too. Hotel/ryokan staff will be already standing outside when the shuttle van is due to arrive. Good service eh?

The hotel we spent our night in.

That's a persimmon tree outside the ryokan, but they were still unripe for us to even try to nick one! XD

After checking-in formalities done, we were ushered to a seat and served with hot towels (just two in the photo because Raimie had already took his);

along with frothy green tea for us and iced barley tea for Raimie and some sweets too. The green tea is traditionally prepared in single portions, whipped to a frothy green color with a bamboo whisk, by the way.

If you drink alcohol, they will also serve you with a local white and red wine too.

After being amply refreshed by the tea, we were shown to our room. It's really spacious, isn't it? We got a really big room, almost the size of a small apartment! I kid you not!

In the room, the staff explained to us about the ryokan facilities and also arranged for our preferred time for dinner that night and breakfast the next morning. We had our dinner later that night in the comfort of our room.

If you are worried about not understanding Japanese, worry no more. This ryokan provides printed explanations about the facilities and also about the area in English. There are also English speaking front office staff to assist you.

Some of the facilities here look old but they are all in good working condition. Upon seeing this telephone, Raimie asked me how to use it. My son has never seen or used this type of phone before! Actually, staying in this ryokan kinda made me feel like I was being transported back to Meiji era.

A guest book dating way back in the 1990s. There were a stack of guest books in our room and flicking through it, there were plenty of foreign guests writing, but all of them wrote in Japanese!

View from our room. It was nice to open the window and sit at the verandah, looking out and enjoying the scenery.

We didn't stay in our room for long. Next order of business was of course to enjoy a dip in their onsens. We did that and later in the evening, Zaini and I went out to sightsee. That - next. Stay tuned!