Bonnie and I had a great day on Sunday. It started by going out to see an artistic display made by one of our Japanese co-workers. She created a sizable display of flowers that she crafted from wire and standard plastic shopping bags. What made the trip to Yamanashi-shi more compelling, however, was that the exhibit was set up at a cafe/sake brewery and for 500 yen, a tour of the brewery could be had, complete with samples (mmmm!) and some snacks.

Following this, we were taken to an onsen (spa) by some Japanese friends -- the parents of two of Bonnie's students, in fact. We went to Isawa (which is a spa resort town) to a place called: "Spaland." Sure, the name doesn't sound like much, but it was quite the place to behold. Most onsens I've seen don't charge much more than 1000 yen to get in, and extras like towels usually get added on top of that. This place charges no less than 2000 yen per person, but includes spa-wear (funky t-shirt and shorts) as well as two towels -- one big one to dry yourself off with, and the other, a small wash towel to cover your naughty bits when walking around completely naked throughout the vast expanse of the spa. I should mention at this juncture that onsens are almost never co-ed, so it's impossible to "sneak a peak" as it were, as the men's' and women's' baths are sectioned off to opposite ends of the facility.

Having been only to one onsen prior, I was simply amazed at the amenities. Not only did the washrooms and showers offer every variety of convenience (shampoo, conditioner, hair tonic, skin tonic, toothbrush, toothpaste, razors, shaving cream, etc...) but the baths themselves were fantastic! There were no less than two saunas, plus one room which I dubbed the "iguana room" where you could prostrate yourself on a warm marble slab and take a nap -- as it wasn't nearly as hot as a sauna. It was comfortable, much like a sunny day at the beach. There were eight different pools if I recall correctly, two of which were outside, and one fairly large swimming pool containing cool water. The remaining pools were on average 38 degrees Celsius, and either had water jets, underwater beds and chairs to relax in, or something in the water to give it some color or smell. The sulfurous pool outside definitely reminded me of Yellowstone Park, but by far my favorite pool was the "wine" pool which was the dark red colour of red wine, and smelled like someone had just poured a cask of Cabernet into it. I was tempted to taste it but the only foreigner in the entire huge place was getting enough stares without having to resort to bizarre, unexplainable behaviour.

Bathtime was then followed by suppertime, where we enjoyed a very traditional meal consisting of fish, tempura, and rice. Having had traditional Japanese fare earlier in the day at the sake brewery, I figured we had the most culturally Japanese day in a long time. Next time I suggested to Bonnie we take along about 20,000 yen, and splurge on some of the other fine things available at Spaland, namely a massage, hot towel shave, and perhaps sampling some of the other food in the place, as there were no less than three restaurants in the complex. Maybe for an anniversary or birthday...