On that day, I first had to take the train from Ueno to Yamagata and then from there, take the bus up to Zao Onsen which is located atop of some mountain 50 min away from Yamagata. The ride from Ueno to Yamagata was by shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train; I was eager to ride one for my first time. While waiting in the station I saw many MAX models, which were totally impressive: their aerodynamic noses do look like bullets and they had 2 floors ! The model I rode was a Tsubasa Shinkansen, slightly less impressive, but still awesome to take. The seats were comfortable, the interior design pretty nice and it rode on the rails very smoothly.
After arriving at Yamagata, I had a vague idea where the bus terminal was from a map I saw online a few weeks ago while making the final arrangements for the trip. So I did not have problem finding the terminal, but I wasn't sure of which line to take. Fortunatly I was able to spot the kanjis for “Onsen” (温泉) and it made me remember how what were the kanjis for “Zao”. There you go, I had found the correct line.
The bus took me away from the city in a much more rural area, which was quite charming. I couldn't help to notice the particular design of mountainous Japanese roads : hairpins ! Although I was in a bus, I was forced to imagine myself doing some downhill on those roads Initial D style.
Once at the top of a mountain where the Onsen village was situated, I planned to walk up to the ryokan, but no; there was a staff member welcoming everyone at the bus station and looking for me ! That was quite the agreeable surprise I must say. As I arrived the ryokan, almost all the staff was at the entrance wishing me welcome and to enjoy my stay. It was my first time I was treated this well and it was just the beginning. As I was waiting for them to complete the check-in information, I was offered some sweets and a cup of green tea as well as those rolled wet towel that seems to be everywhere in Japan. In fact, as I was watching the TV a few days earlier, they said that Japan produce enough of those towel to make a round trip to the moon or something. Anyway, the staff showed me my room... room that was totally wonderful; huge Japanese style room with stylish private toilet, two beds, massage chair, and so on. Soon after the maid showed up in my room to give me a well sized yukata and a cup of tea.
Now all I wanted was to take my very first onsen bath and it's what I did. Took my yukata, the provided towel and made my way to the bath, which was lucky empty ! Actually the ryokan seemed pretty empty during my stay as we are in the low season and Zao gets most of its visitors for its renowned ski resort. I knew pretty well the Onsen etiquette; get undressed in the changing room, go to the benches and rince your body with the provided bowl, hop in the bath, relax, get out and wash your body and rinse all the soap then return in the bath and leave after without rinsing yourself. That's what I did and felt incredibly relaxed after. Took a small walk in the village after bathing. I love the look of a Haori over a Yukata and add to that the challenging (when you're not used to it) wooden sandals; I was looking pretty awesome. AT first walking with the sandals felt worse than high-heels, but I quickly got the hang of it and even made my way to s nearby shrine by walking a pretty big set of stairs. The said shrine was pretty eerie at the time; the sun was almost set and the only source of light was the traditional lanterns nearby; there was a bat flying around the place and I swear I heard a baby crying in the direction of the wood. I left after being slightly creeped out.
The supper was first grade : almost 15 different plates containing tofu, fish, mountain vegetables, soup, rice, and so on. The chef that came to my dining room was extremely kind and insisted on speaking in English although I told him I could understand a bit of Japanese. Returned in the baths after eating and enjoyed the massage chair in my room along with a beer. I actually fell asleep in the chair, so after waking up, I proceeded to the bed that has been arranged by the maid while I was eating.
It was truly a wonderful night.
No comments:
Post a Comment