Location: Wakayama, Japan
To balance out the hustle of the city, I toured down Shirahama seaside to stay at a Ryokan -a traditional Japanese style B&B. I'm not really a spa girl myself, but having enjoyed the blue lagoon this year I was open to a bit of relaxation and the hotel offered 'round the clock access to it's private onsen spas.
I was escorted to my room where I took off my shoes and opened the sliding doors to the tatami-matted room set up with a low table and tea.
Having done a little bit of research on the onsen etiquette I was quite hesitant to head straight to the spa. I spent the afternoon watching people in the hotel wander around in slippers and yukata, hung out on the balcony to view the panorama, enjoyed a traditional dinner and hydrated in preparation of the hot-spring water.
Finally having stalled as much as I could, I went and changed into the hotel provided yukata and headed to the ladies onsen. The spas are segregated between male and female, mainly due to the reason I'd been avoiding them- you have to bath naked! I left my slippers at the entrance of the spa, chose a basket amongst the shelves in the changing room to place my belongings and then measured up the hotel provided flannel to assess which part of my body to cover. As fast as I could, I stripped down to bare all and raced to the to an open cubicle furthest from any other guests without looking left or right to shower off.
Washed down, I headed to the closest of three pools and into the 40 degree water. Hot hot hot, especially when there's no time to dip in-and-out to acclimatise to the temperature and all you have is a tiny towel behind which to hide.
Realising no one was looking, comfort began to settle in as I relaxed in the water. That was for about two minutes.
I was escorted to my room where I took off my shoes and opened the sliding doors to the tatami-matted room set up with a low table and tea.
Having done a little bit of research on the onsen etiquette I was quite hesitant to head straight to the spa. I spent the afternoon watching people in the hotel wander around in slippers and yukata, hung out on the balcony to view the panorama, enjoyed a traditional dinner and hydrated in preparation of the hot-spring water.
Finally having stalled as much as I could, I went and changed into the hotel provided yukata and headed to the ladies onsen. The spas are segregated between male and female, mainly due to the reason I'd been avoiding them- you have to bath naked! I left my slippers at the entrance of the spa, chose a basket amongst the shelves in the changing room to place my belongings and then measured up the hotel provided flannel to assess which part of my body to cover. As fast as I could, I stripped down to bare all and raced to the to an open cubicle furthest from any other guests without looking left or right to shower off.
Washed down, I headed to the closest of three pools and into the 40 degree water. Hot hot hot, especially when there's no time to dip in-and-out to acclimatise to the temperature and all you have is a tiny towel behind which to hide.
Realising no one was looking, comfort began to settle in as I relaxed in the water. That was for about two minutes.
Then I got bored.
For one, if you're in a communal bath, you don't really want to be sitting close enough to your neighbour for common chit-chat. And the temperature is actually quite high to be sweating in for an extended time, even if you hop between pools.
I called it quits after 15 minutes. My body was revitalised (enough), by the waters and it was back to my room which had been set up with a futon for a good night's rest while I'd been away.
I called it quits after 15 minutes. My body was revitalised (enough), by the waters and it was back to my room which had been set up with a futon for a good night's rest while I'd been away.
Item 99: Ryokan? CHECK!
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