Japan Day 3

Sally and I made plans to visit an Onsen (Japanese Bath). We were tired from our long day the previous day, so we didn't get a very early start. She wasn't feeling that well either, sort of had the same problem that I had the day before, which makes me think it might have been a bug.

There was a note in my room that said there was a box waiting for me, so I went down to the pursar's desk and lo and behold there was the missing box. Pretty much everything I thought should be in it was in it. I'm glad it came, I suppose, but I was also thinking I might get out of some work if it didn't.

Sally and I left the ship around 10am and walked into Kobe instead of riding the portliner. Right near the port terminal there were several tents pitched, obviously some sort of homeless area. I've seen several people sleeping on park benches as well. I know there are homeless everywhere, but I was surprised to see it. It's not nearly to the extent one sees it in the U.S., but it is present.

It's about 3/4 mile to downtown Kobe, and we walked and explores some. Sort of aimlessly. The towns in Japan I've seen so far are excellent for this sort of meandering. There's a lot to look at almost everywhere you go. We turned a corner near a gas station and were face to face with a shinto shrine, for example.

About noon we found a Starbucks and sat down to rest and look at the map to Arima Onsen. We walked to the station and only having to ask once, we found our first train. It was 900 Yen one way, kind of expensive, but not terrible. We had to change trains 3 or 4 times, but at the end of the line was the lovely town of Arima Onsen (Arima Bath). It was how you would imagine a rustic Japanese village, winding streets with homes and shops dotting the hillsides. It's a tiny town, maybe the size of Gordonsville, VA or Madrid, NM. It was touristy, but catering more to the Japanese tourist, I'd guess.

We found the onsen, not the one we were originally looking for, but whatever onsen will do in a pinch. This is how it works: You go in and put your shoes in a coin locker, then you pay and get a key for another locker. Then you go into the women's locker room (if you're a woman) and get naked. Then you go into the bath area. About midway up long one wall there are maybe a dozen or more shower heads each in front of an overturned bucket. Before you get in the bath itself you sit down on the bucket and give yourself a good wash, there's shampoo and soap provided for this purpose. The first thing I saw when I walked into the bath area was an old Japanese lady scrubbing her crotch. It's a little bit weird, I have to admit. But the general disregard for modesty made me feel less awkward, I think. After you get yourself nice and clean you get in the bath, which is naturally heated mineral water. It's hotter than any hot tub I've ever been in. You can soak for a little while, then get out and cool down then get back in. You can stay as long as you want but we were both getting hungry so we didn't make a day of it.

After we left the onsen we found a good place for lunch and I had beef and rice with a raw egg on it. (The Japanese eat A LOT of eggs). It was very delicious. After lunch we walked around town a bit more, found a shrine and got lost looking for another one. We headed back to the ship about 6:00pm or so, because we were both signed up for the Hiroshima trip the next day, and it leaves at 6:00am.

They had Japanese television on in our rooms and I watched some Japanese "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." The Japanese Regis Philbin seems just as annoying. Then there were sumo highlights. We just so happen to be in Japan during the few times a year that there are tournaments. This year is somewhat controversial as more than half of the wrestlers are non-Japanese. A lot of Mongolians, I guess.