Randomosity # 1 , Shinbashi-Yurakucho Gastronomic Walking Tour!

For a year and a half, I worked in a luxurious hotel on Tokyo Bay. As the only foreigner out in the lobby, I was often approached by guests from overseas seeking travel advice or recommendations. Each person had unique ideas about what a trip to Tokyo should consist of, and tailoring experiences to our guests' satisfaction was a challenge which I truly enjoyed. Generally, there were two types of guests: those seeking urban elegance with gourmet cuisine, and those hoping to experience the more local, homely side of Tokyo.

In any other city, I think it would be pretty hard to find one place that caters to both types of people. I know in my hometown of Nashville, "rustic" and "glamorous" are clear across town from each other. Tokyo is unique in this regard, as it has one spot that manages to have two worlds in one, a favorite for average workers and their Mercedes-driving bosses alike. The place, or as I like to call it, The Fun Place, is between Shinbashi and Yurakucho stations. (See Map Below)

Forgive my terrible map. I am a blogger, not a Photoshop prodigy.

If you like walking, The Fun Place is for you. It is an exciting yet peaceful stretch of road which runs along the train tracks between the two stations. The space beneath the tracks is chock full o' eateries ranging from traditional Japanese to superficial German, complete with Lederhosen clad waiters. Imagine sitting on plastic crates at an outdoor yakitori restaurant, sipping an Asahi beer and rubbing elbows with local salary men, or enjoying a plate of Korean kalbi with K-Pop crazed office ladies as a train rattles overhead. If a more elegant night is in order, just cross under the tracks for glamorous oyster bars, fancy sushi shops, and the newest Armani collection.

Keep in mind that, though it is the biggest city on earth, there are still many places in Tokyo that do not accept credit cards. Use the ATM machines in either Seven-Eleven shops or the post office to withdraw cash internationally. Depending on where you go, dinner for two can be between 30-100 dollars. Japan is not a cheap country, so be careful if you are on a budget and ask to see the menu if you are worried about how much you are spending. Also, the little pickles or bean sprouts some restaurants put in front of you are not free. They tend to be around 5 dollars and are considered the "table charge". I have tried to argue my way out of paying for it, but it didn't get me anywhere.

Aside from that, the adventure is yours to have! If you are planning a vacation to the Big T, take an evening walk through The Fun Place. You wont regret it.

Hyogo Nishinomiya Yamato No Yu Onsen, Fall 2011

After graduating from university, I was in a sort of purgatory waiting for my future employer to tell me where I was to be assigned. The company had branches all over the country, and I, being on the heels of a messy breakup, was willing to go to any of them. The call came on a Friday. I was to be in Osaka by Monday. With only two days notice, I packed what I could and abandoned the rest of the stuff with my roommate. (Sorry, buddy!)

Osaka lies in the middle of the Japanese archipelago in a region called Kansai. The name is synonymous with loud people and good interesting food. It is dirty by Japanese standards, but it is a truly fun and lively place. People are laid back and very friendly, and the city just feels warmer than Tokyo could ever be. It is a truly fascinating place which I would love to visit, though I don't think I would ever want to live there again.

I found Yamato No Yu thanks to a friend's mother who lived in the area. After hearing about my little obsession, she brought me to a neighborhood onsen in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo prefecture. Yamato No Yu is a chain brand of onsen that has branches throughout Kansai and a few in Kanto. It is a big, fancy, family onsen which can get extremely crowded on weekends. It was my first glimpse at what onsen were like outside of the Beppu bubble, and it was a little overwhelming at first. This Super Walmart of an onsen boasts 14 different types of baths, a massage salon, a barber shop, and a cafeteria among many other amenities. You don't go here just to take a bath, you go for a mini-vacation. It was not the little mom n pop onsen I was used to. In all fairness, this was a very good onsen that did not disappoint. The temperature was a bit on the cool side, so you could soak for a long time without overheating. My favorite were these cute little one person tubs which were shaped like planters for saplings.

They were deep enough to cover your shoulders and wide enough to prop your feet up on the side and recline. At night, you could gaze up at the stars while elevator music played softly from behind a bush. The garden was perfectly manicured and the baths were immaculately clean. Though the 800 yen price tag felt outrageous at first, I understood what I was paying for.

Honestly, life in Kansai isn't for everyone, myself included. I had problems with the food and never could understand what the heck people were saying in their heavy dialect. It never really felt like home in the way Beppu or Tokyo did, but it was a great transition city just as Yamato No Yu was a great transition onsen. I don't miss my life there, but when I recall the memories from that time, I feel glad that I experienced it.

If you happend to be in Nishinomiya, please make it a point to visit this onsen. Should my travels lead me back there, I will definitely be taking a dip :)

A Note

Okay, let's face it. I have not been able to visit as many onsen as I'd like to recently. Because of this, I thought it might be good for me to reflect upon my past onsen experiences in other regions of Japan as well as on other interesting places I have visited. By doing this, I hope to create a blog which I can update on a regular basis rather than once a month. I hope that, in addition to sharing my onsen experience, I can also share more about the places I love to go. Perhaps others will find it interesting and go there, too. I don't really know how much longer I will be in Japan, but I want to share with others the treasures which I have discovered in my six years here so far. If nothing else, I will have my Japan preserved for me as I see it now, on Google blogs, for all eternity!

これからもよろしくおねがいします :)

Saitama Hyakkannon Onsen July 2nd, 2013

As circumstances would have it, I have found myself with an abundance of time on my hands. After quitting my job nearly two months ago and without a prospect in sight, my darling boyfriend invited me to tag along on one of his business trips to Saitama prefecture, the largely residential prefecture to Tokyo's north. Saitama gets a bad rap because...well...it isn't the most exciting place to be. I,too, am guilty of making cracks on this poor prefecture, or as I like to call it, The Iowa of Japan. Never in a million years did I expect to discover such an earth-shatteringly awesome onsen there.

Hyakkannon Onsen is located in　Kuki City, a three minute walk from Higashi Washinomiya Station on the JR Utsunomiya line. This onsen seems to be the pride and joy of the city. Garish, yellow, SEE ROCK CITY-esque signs line the roads leading up to it, and it is pretty hard to miss. With a large (free) parking lot and just an hour's worth of driving time between Tokyo and Kuki, I recommend going by car if possible.

First thing you need to know about this place...you'll need at least three 100 yen coins to close your lockers, so make sure you have some with you. After storing your shoes, you exchange your shoe locker key for another key in the changing room. The fee for bathing is 700 yen for three hours and of course there are all the optional Korean beauty treatment packs at various prices. They also have private baths available for 3,150 yen. From what I can tell, in addition to a private bath you also get a 'chill out room' with a TV and green tea. Anyway, we chose to do the regular one for obvious economic reasons. The locker room was spacious and bright. There were plenty of good quality blow dryers in the vanity space as well as nice shampoo, soap, and conditioner available to everyone. There were jet baths, hot baths, cold baths, reclining baths, and outdoor baths surrounded by a beautiful tropical garden. Gardenias perfumed the air and Antique Roadshow violin music played softly. Talk about YOWZA for your yen! The best part? It was nearly empty. We arrived a little before 10 AM and were the only people under 40. The ladies in my bath were polite and friendly. They were also quiet, something I really look for in a good onsen.

This onsen has an unusually high level of minerals diffused in the water. For every 1kg of water, there are 18.3 grams of mineral content. To put that into perspective, most onsen in the Kanto region have 0.5 grams. 18.3 compared with 0.5?!? Amazing. You can taste it in the air and of course in the water. Salt. Pure, natural sodium chloride. You don't just take a bath, you get coated in nature's seasoning. Because of its saltiness, the skin on my face stung a little when I touched it with the water, so be sure to keep your face dry if you have sensitive skin. Other than that, be prepared for relaxation to the max.

I can confidently say that this onsen is the BEST Kanto onsen I have visited. Its serene beauty as well as the genuine kindness of the people there make for an unforgettable experience. It is going to be awhile before I can say that Saitama isn't lame...but this experience opened my eyes and taught me that you really can't say you know a place until you have taken the time to see what's there. This onsen is spectacular in every way, and I very much want to visit again someday.

TIP Be sure to try their dango desserts from the little hut outside. A perfect post-onsen snack!

Shinagawa Togoshiginza Onsen, June 6th, 2013

Ask anyone who lives in Tokyo what they like to do for fun and I think the majority will answer 'exploring'. Tokyo has so many interesting, charming, and funky neighborhoods that you could live here your entire life and not see them all. One of those places is Togoshi Ginza, a small area of Shinagawa ward with which I fell in love. Most Tokyo-ites know it for its famous shopping street, a chaotic yet charming narrow road lined with mom n' pop shops and chains alike. The shopping street is vibrant and busy and there is a shop which sells perhaps the BEST fried chicken I have ever eaten, but to be honest...one can get pretty bored very quickly.

BUT

At the end of the road, like a cosmic oasis from the gods, lies Togoshi Ginza onsen. The simple entrance is just like every other onsen I have visited in Tokyo, a foyer with lockers for your shoes and a vending machine cranking out tickets for your treatment du jour...but I felt that there was something different about this place as I handed my ticket to a smiling receptionist and ascended the steep staircase to the baths. They use some sort of cosmic theme with the two baths (men and women) named 'sun' and 'moon'. I went on a Thursday, and the women were assigned to the sun bath. The onsen is open on weekdays from 3pm until midnight. Thinking that it would be slow right when it opened, I went right at 3:00. It was PACKED. Oh the shock. Oh the disappointment. I came all the way here and there wasn't even a place for me to clean off before I got in the spa. It seemed like people had lined up all day and had their spots staked out from the morning. I had to use a regular shower which I could have done at home.

As soon as I was clean, I hopped into the tub and instantly felt revived. The tub is divided into three different areas: a regular bath with creepy UFO lights illuminating the bottom, a few jet baths, and a 'denki buro', or electric bath where waves of electricity shoot through the water and make your body get all tingly and your muscles contract. It was WEIRD and I honestly don't know whether or not I like it. There was also a small outdoor bath on the third floor, but it was tiny and full of grannies so I didn't try it out.

In conclusion, Togoshi Ginza Onsen was pretty good albeit FRAKKEN CROWDED. The wonderful 42 degree waters, the denki buro, and the psychedelic, celestial murals on the wall above the bath were things that might entice me to come back, but I will definitely have to rethink the time slot I choose.

Kanagawa Bessho Onsen, May 5th, 2013

I'm the type of person who gets really grumpy when I am not clean. If I go a day without showering, I feel slimy and hairy and...just a complete mess of a human. I was in one of these moods on the way back from a short Golden Week vacation to Komagane, Nagano prefecture, aka Middle Of Nowhere, Japan. We had spent the weekend visiting the log cabin (Yes. A log cabin in Japan.) of some family friends. It was high in the mountains, surrounded by endless greenery, crystal clear rivers, and wild animals galore. Though I had taken a bath the night before, the hours before packing up the car and driving back to civilization were spent being smothered by a hairy and drooling German Shepard and hiking in the mountains. To sum it up, I stank...and I wasn't happy about it.

Bessho Onsen is located in the northern Kanagawa ward of Aiko. According to my research, it is NOT an actual onsen despite the name. The building itself looks like a public rec center and to be honest, I was really REALLY skeptical about it. Upon entering the facility, we were greeted by a deer and some other forest friends who fell victim to the taxidermist. To use the bath, one must first purchase a ticket from a lone vending machine near the reception desk. The base ticket costing 700 yen entitles the bearer three hours usage of the facility, including the bath, relaxation room, and admission to the restaurants.

The bath itself is located on the ground floor. The locker room was spacious and warm, and was equipped with rickety blow dryers and simple furnishings. I was SO ready to be clean at this point that the possibility that this place was not truly an onsen did not even cross my mind. The bath was truly lovely with a dark, natural interior lit by a panoramic window looking out to a vast green forest. There were small but powerful streams of water coming down from the ceiling which were meant to massage achy shoulders and backs, a wide bathtub at a comfortable temperature, and even a small outdoor bath. The typical sauna and 'mizuburo' (cold water bath) which you expect at fancier places were also there, though I did not use them. I washed the Nagano grime and my bad attitude away with the lemony shampoo and conditioner provided in relative peace...until a herd of screaming little girls came splashing in. It was good while it lasted.

I left Bessho Onsen unimpressed, but not disappointed. I was clean, and that was all that mattered. I didn't have the same onsen euphoria I usually get, and I don't think that I would ever go out of my way to visit it again. If you happen to be driving by, it is a nice place to refresh. It is NOT an onsen and it is NOT spectacular, but it is nice and I don't regret trying it once.

Kichijoji Utsukushi No Yu Onsen, November 16th, 2012

To my pleasant surprise, one of my very good friends from university got a job in Tokyo and moved here in the beginning of fall. She moved to an area north of central Tokyo called Kichijoji, a quaint neighborhood famous for its big, beautiful park as well as its abundance of places to shop and eat. On a gorgeous Friday in autumn, my friend invited me to try an onsen called Utsukushi No Yu, or Beautiful Springs. After a pleasant hour-long journey by train to the Kichijoji area, I arrived at Takaido station on the Keio Inokashira line. After meeting up and getting lost for a little while, my friend and I finally found the place we were looking for.

Utsukushi No Yu is located inside a humongous fitness club and seemed to be overrun by sprightly old ladies. After placing your shoes in a special locker and buying a ticket for bathing at a complicated vending machine, you are given another locker in which to place your things and change. The locker room for the onsen and the gym are the same, so it is a pretty busy place. I have to admit that I felt a little overwhelmed when I first stepped inside and had to start dodging people hurrying to get to their Pilates class. Thusfar, it had not been the most tranquil of onsen experiences.

The entrance to the bath is a simple sliding door. Upon opening it, a steam cloud puffs into your face and the sound of bathers chatting happily entices you to come in. The bathing facilities are quite large, and I think that I would have been really uncomfortable had I been alone. There are six or seven different types of baths to choose from, and after washing off with the provided shampoo and soap, you are ready to hop in to any one of them. My friend and I tried the indoor bath first. It was a comfortable temperature and a very spacious tub. The water throughout the baths had a slightly brown hue to it, and the extremely high sodium content makes this one of the saltiest onsens I have ever been to. With low alkaline levels, this onsen is particularly good for physical ailments of the body such as muscle pain or joint stiffness which might explain why my friend and I were the only ones under 50 years old.

Soaking in the hot outdoor bath under a crisp and azure autumn sky while red and yellow leaves float gracefully down from the trees above was such a relaxing feeling.

Utsukushi No Yu is typically the kind of onsen I try to avoid when I am alone. I tend to go to older and stinker springs because of the "local" ambiance that comes with them, but every now and then it is good to get away from what you are used to. This onsen was gorgeous and provided a wonderful atmosphere to catch up while soaking the aches and pains of life away. For 900 yen, you get a wide variety of baths to try, shampoo, soap, and a pretty decent powder room. I wouldn't mind coming here again, provided that someone comes with me!

The friends who bathe together stay together!!!