Japanese Onsen and Buffet Time

04/16/09 THURSDAY

Tita and Uncle took us to Nikko where you can find some of the oldest historical sights of Japan. We drove about 3+ hours to Nikko.  We saw temples, shrines, and the tomb of the first shogun. Then we went to Tobu World Square – an amusement park full of miniature sized world famous landmarks. We saw so much..you’ll have to see the pics on this one.

The hotel was considered low end for Tita, but it was cheap and a reasonable place to stay. The room had a table, tv, fridge, shower, toilet, and chairs. We slept on futons on the tatami mats. We had a nice view of the water fall and river outside.

Onsen – Japanese bathing area – includes several shower heads, buckets to sit on, and a large hot water pool

Onsen rules:

- you must be completely naked to enter, no swimming suits

- no tattoos because the Japanese associate tattoos with the mafia

- you must rinse off first before you go into the pool

- you must dry off before entering the dry area of the locker room

 As Tita taught me – best way to enjoy an onsen and also bathing at home in the tub (Nudity is normal and natural in Japan; Japanese people look at nudity as art)

1.      Rinse off your entire body while sitting on the bucket

2.     Get into pool or hot tub to get warm and open your pores – Enjoy

3.     Go back to the shower, sit on the bucket, and clean yourself from head to toe

4.     Get back into the pool or hot tub to get warm and cleanse your pores - Enjoy

5.     Sit for as long as you like in the pool, but not too long because you might get light headed from the heat

6.     When you’re done relaxing, you must go back to the shower, sit on the bucket, and rinse off one more time

Tita told me that when she goes with her friends to onsen hotels, they’ll go to the onsen 3-5 times a day! Before breakfast – after breakfast – after lunch – after dinner – and then later before bed!!

This is what we had for dinner and breakfast at the hotel.  Nothing fancy, very cafeteria style, and the very typical Japanese food.  Let’s just say we didn’t go nuts and sit for hours to stuff ourselves. Yet, some things were very edible and just ok.

 

Dinner Buffet:

White Rice

Miso Soup

Rice Noodles in dried shrimp and chicken broth

Tempura – lotus root, squid, and eggplant

Seafood Ceviche – squid, tuna, and salmon

3 different types of tofu – fresh, saucy, and deep fried

3-5 more types of pickles – daikon, cucumbers, etc..

Sardines

Vegetable Curry

Mentaigo spaghetti

Coconut soup tapioca

 

Breakfast Buffet:

Bread

Packets of strawberry jam and butter that squeeze out at the same time

White Rice

Miso Soup

Natto – fermented beans

3-5 different types of seaweed toppings – paste, pickled, etc

Umeboshi – pickled plums

Tamago – sweet egg chunk

Sausage

Tofu

Cooked salmon

Canned pineapple

Plain chopped cabbage for salad