Nyuto Onsen Walking Part II

More photos we took while strolling around Taenoyu Onsen in Nyuto Onsen. See earlier post of Nyuto Onsen Walking, Part I too. Yea, so there are endless photos of this place and plenty that I've yet to share.

And if there is just one more reader who is like me, I bet that reader appreciate the fact there are extensive photos of any place that he/she is looking & researching at. No? Who cares if it's just me anyway. xD

The Sendatsu river. It must be nice to go and take a dip there, but even in mid-September; the weather was already chilly in this part of Japan. I think I'd freeze over if I dare to dip my feet in it!

 The bus stop located right across the street from Taenoyu Onsen.

Some random flowers we saw

In front of Ogama Onsen. Not a soul can be seen early in the morning. It was before breakfast time, after all. What better time to have a quiet couple walk together with the one you love? <3

and there's water, water, water flowing everywhere here. Hot spring water too!

A foot bath at Ogama Onsen, located a few hundred metres from Taenoyu Onsen.

We even saw an old water pump. No, it's not in working condition, I think...

I wish I can take a dip in some hot spring water soon. Never mind. I'll just settle for a dip in the bath tub instead for the time being. ^^

On The Way To Nyuto Onsen...

We took the Akita Shinkansen Komachi from Ueno Station to Tazawako Station for our one night stay at Taenoyu Onsen in Nyuto Onsen. I know I've posted endless post about Tazawako and Nyuto Onsen but hey! Why not post another one lest one stray visitor looking for some info chances upon this blog. ^^

Sorry. I am shameless enough to rehash old stories until it's time for me to make a new one. (3 more months to go, folks! And you bet I'll be blogging real time from Japan)

Anyways, if you want to read more about the area, just click on the either Akita, Tazawako or Nyuto Onsen tags listed at my sidebar. 

At Tazawako Station. This dragon head reminds me that there is the Kakunodate Yama Festival from Sep 7th - 9th. We were supposed to go last year but as we changed our travel date at the last minute and arriving later, no floats crashing were witnessed by us. Just the thought of seeing two floats facing each other and crashing over the right-of-way is downright awesome.

By changing the travel last minute last year, we screwed our hard to get, need 6 months in advance room reservation to spend a night in a room with no electricity and has an irori right smack in the middle of the room at Tsurunoyu Onsen. There were other rooms available but what's the fun in staying in other "normal" room. I want the whole rustic, sleep like samurais experience!

Before making our way to Nyuto Onsen; a quick bento lunch for Raimie. Om nom nom...

Then it was time to board the bus. We got on the bus at bus stop no. 1 and made a stop at Lake Tazawa as planned.

At the rest area by the Lake, are shops and there are free food samples there. Free sampling galore for us. Didn't go out empty-handed; we bought ourselves a postcard bearing the photo of Tatsuko and Raimie got his wish to eat a "goma"/sesame soft ice-cream. ;p

A view of the lovely, pristine Lake Tazawa. You know, I'm all crazy about running nowadays (I'm  gonna run in the Putrajaya Night Marathon next month. Yeay!) so I should just mention here that Lake Tazawa will be holding its 26th Annual Marathon on Sunday, Sep 18th. Maybe I should enter one year, should our travel date to Japan coincide with the marathon. After all, the Tokyo Marathon would be soooooo out of my league if I ever harbour the hope of running races in Japan! ^^!

I wonder if "Barutan Seijin" will be running again this year. Unlike in Ultraman, Barutan Seijin is a nice alien at Tazawako Marathon. He was an escort runner for one visually impaired runner. Salute to both runners! Much respect from me to them.

After sightseeing, it was time to board the bus again and head to Nyuto Onsen. Off we go! We were rewarded with these awesome views along the way:

Breathtaking view of the lake, of the mountains and of course rice fields.

We arrived Taenoyu Onsen just in time for check-in. Why waste getting there late instead of being there right on the dot the exact time you are allowed to check-in? Kakaka

Nyuto Onsen Walking Part I

A night at Taenoyu Onsen, one of eight onsen ryokan located in the mountains of Eastern Akita prefecture is bliss. Surrounded by greenery, we enjoyed crisp, clean air that refreshed and rejuvenate us. After hectic days of sightseeing and rushing everywhere, it's really nice to sit back and chill and let the slow pace of life be the tonic for more hectic days to come. ^^

The front view of Taenoyu Onsen. There's a bus stop located right in front of this ryokan, so if you are taking a bus here, it's just a matter of crossing the road when you arrived. A staff  immediately came out and greeted us even before we stepped in the ryokan. Taking a bus for our return journey was easy too. We just sat at the bench in front of the ryokan until the bus came and stopped for us.

Taenoyu Onsen is located beside the Sendatsu river. This is the view from our room and it was sure nice to sleep with the sound of flowing dream accompanying our slumber. Sleep well, we did!

On a rather cold morning on the second day we were there, after a really refreshing dip in the hot water; I decided to take a walk and enjoy the fresh air. I didn't venture out too far, though. Wouldn't want to get lost, would we? *^-^*

Another view of Sendatsu river, through the trees

Found a small shrine by the foot of the hill/mountain right next to Taenoyu Onsen

What/which God/Goddess is this?

It was already chilly when we were there although it was still the summer months. It was nice to spend the days in colder areas of Akita instead of returning to a hotter Tokyo afterwards!

Then, we decided it might be nice to walk out further and check out the area. Stay tuned for the upcoming photos. :)

In Or Out?

Indoor?

 Give me a bath with a view anytime! You?

One more question. Mixed or segregated onsen for you?  There were mixed onsens at Nyuto Onsen but none at Bessho Onsen. Don't get too excited about the mixed bath though. When we were there, there was nothing for us to see except each other, and the odd shriveled old guy. Hmph!

 Despite the hot weather we are having, it would be nice if I can go soak in the hot water again. Oh well, I have to make do with a western bath tub for now.

Wearing Yukata Is Fun!

Yukata is a casual summer kimono, usually made of cotton. The word yukata comes from the word ‘yu’ (bath) and ‘katabira’ (under clothing). In the Heian era (794-1185), court nobles wore linen yukata which were draped loosely after taking a bath. It was widely worn when public baths became popular in Japan during the Edo period (1600-1868).

Yukata is also widely worn in ‘ryokan’ (traditional Japanese inn) and when checking-in to such hotels, I wore the yukata everywhere, even going out sightseeing in the nearby area.

Yukata is often worn with wooden sandals called geta which is a form of traditional Japanese footwear that resemble both clogs and flip-flops. But you don't wear the tabi (traditional socks) when you put on a yukata.

Wearing a yukata, the left side of the yukata is wrapped over the right side, and secured with an obi when one is attending festivals or some nice functions but for casual or night wear, a wide belt wrapped around the waist would suffice.

A note of advice though. If you wear a yukata, it might not be advisable to sit cross legged otherwise your legs (not to mention certain parts that should be left unseen) can be exposed for all to see!

Day 3 In Japan - Part II Loitering Around Tazawako

One of the reason we go up to Akita was to make a stop at Tazawako and meet up with someone there. For those who has been reading this blog long, you might remember we've been to Tazawako last year and stayed at Taenoyu Onsen in Nyuto Onsen.

Our initial plan to stay at Tsurunyu Onsen this year didn't pan out and we've arranged to stay and enjoy some onsens elsewhere later this week.

Going up to Akita, you get on the Komachi Shinkansen and some of the bullet trains came with Pokemon motifs on the trains' body.

Arriving Tazawako station, we went to the tourism office there to pass something to a friend. We tried to arrange to meet but as luck would have it, she had to go on a business trip the day we were there. I guess, we just have to make a return visit someday.

One thing you can see in this area is how the promotion of a Korean drama IRIS can be seen everywhere even at the hotel we were staying in. Some scenes in the drama were shot there, and it was now being used to promote the area.

Waiting for our bus that will be stopping at the nearby bus stop, we walked around and check out the exhibitions there.

If you plan to make a day trip to this area, do come early. The place went dead early. By 5.30pm,  the nearby lake area is  already deserted.

But we get to enjoy a beautiful sunset there and only left when it was already dark;on the last bus from the area at 6.45pm.

Nyuto Onsen, Here We Come

A return visit to Nyuto Onsenkyo is on the cards for us for this year's trip. Last year we went to Taenoyu Onsen and had a really great time and we are planning to spend a night in Tsurunoyu Onsen, which is the oldest operating ryokan in Nyuto Onsenkyo this year. With the help of S-san, we were informed that the very room we were eyeing is available. No harm in booking a room early, especially when the rooms there are often fully booked.

The name Tsurunoyu means " Crane's Bath Hot Spring" and the name originated from the legend of a local hunter; Kansuke who saw a crane bathing in the spring to heal her wound. A soak in the baths is said to help cure ailments such as cuts, high blood pressure and eye problems.

This room does looks nice, doesn't it? Imagine sleeping in a 350 years old samurai guard quarters with no electricity. We will be spending a night like Japanese of yesteryears. It would be fun eating dinner around the irori too.  Tsurunoyu Onsen is a slice of old Japan with its traditional wooden buildings, indoor and outdoor baths, tatami rooms and delectable Japanese dinners. We can't wait to stay there!

If you are a fan of Korean drama, IRIS; Tsurunoyu Onsen is one of the location site where some of the scenes in the drama were filmed in Akita Prefecture. To know more about the location site, head to Oh Tazawako, Where Art Thou? blog. If you want to have more information on Tazawako, you can find it at the blog too. A wealth of information on Tazawako to be found there.

Seems like the Akita Prefecture Tourism Agency spent quite a lot of effort promoting the area connecting it to the Korean Drama. I was informed that the number of Korean tourists went up threefold after the drama was aired, which is good news for the area.

Zaini even found a Japanese language travel guide book at Kinokuniya highlighting the location site of IRIS.

You can see the main character Kim Hyun Joon (played by Lee Byeong Heon) and Choi Seung Hee (Kim Tae Hui) at Tsurunoyu Onsen and in the last photo in front of Tatsuko Statue.

Hmm... should I get Raimie to take photo of his Mom and Dad posing the same way too? :D

Into The Hot Water At Taenoyu Onsen

Read my previous posts on Taenoyu onsen here and here.

After settling down in our room, we decided to check out the hot spring baths Taenoyu has to offer. We took turns with Zaini and Raimie going to the baths first while I sat and relaxed in our room. After Zaini and Raimie came back, it was my turn to enjoy them. There's only one set of key so if one of us (the one holding the key) wasn't finished bathing yet, the others have to wait outside if we didn't take turns.

Although rooms at the ryokan were fully booked (there weren't that many rooms at the ryokan to begin with anyway), the baths were pretty quiet. When I went in, there were just a mother and her daughter enjoying the indoor bath. After I came out from the shower, they were gone and I got to enjoy the bath all to myself.

I guess we were pretty lucky to get the baths to ourselves most of the time because we can take photos of the baths uninterrupted. We wouldn't have dreamt trying to take any photos if there were people around!

The communal changing area. One in each side for each gender. Like the baths, the communal changing area of female and male are switched at 8.00am and 8.00pm daily. That means, guests can enjoy all the baths that Taenoyu has to offer. Mixed bath included. There are four baths that were gender segregated, two mixed and one private bath available here.

At the changing area, you put your slippers in the slippers cupboard, walk inside, take off all your clothes and place them in one of the baskets available there. There were towels available there for wiping your body dry afterwards.
Shower area. There were face cleanser, body wash, shampoo and conditioner available. Take a shower before you hit the bath. There were four shower stalls in each area with a cubicle so you do have a bit of privacy while washing up. Not that it matters as you'll soon be walking naked to get to the baths.

Rock style outdoor bath with a view of the mountain slope. I absolutely love this bath so much so that I took a dip there more than twice! This bath can be clearly seen from the corridor inside as it had a clear glass door instead of screens.

An indoor bath located on the upper floor with pebbles at the bottom of the bath. Both of these two baths are located in one section. The rock bath located on the lower level and the indoor bath on the upper level.

An indoor bath at the other section. At this section of the baths, you immediately enter towards the bath after changing out of your clothes to walk to the shower area. Might be a little bit intimidating for first timers if there were people around at the bath.

An outdoor bath where you can lie down and rest your head on one of the head rest and enjoy your bath in tranquility. These two baths were in the other section. I got to enjoy these two baths first before being able to enjoy the other two mentioned above later at night.

View from the private bath. The private bath can be reserved for an hour by staying guests. We chose to enjoy this facility after dinner at 8.00pm.

The mixed baths (two of them) were located next to the private bath. Both the private baths and the mixed baths were located in the middle between the segregated bath area. Ladies were allowed to wear a towel when enjoying the mixed bath while men can't.

A shrine located just outside the bath area.

After enjoying our bath after dinner, we slept like a baby. It was that good. Both Zaini and I woke up at 5.00am and excitedly went to the baths again. At 5.00am, there was only one male guest using the bath. It wasn't a total darkness because by 5.00am, the sun was already up in Japan. I went into the rock bath first before heading to the bath on the higher floor. By 6.00am, the mother & daughter guests that I saw the day before went in to enjoy their bath and I finished mine by 6.30am. Totally refreshed and looking forward to our breakfast at 7.30am.

A hot bath in the morning sure opens up my appetite! But you have to wait for post on our Japanese breakfast.