Day 3: Kurama Onsen, Kyoto Handicrafts, and Oyako-Don

Today we decided to partake in a much anticipated Japanese tradition--Onsen. The word onsen means "hot spring" or "hot bath", and it is much ingrained in the Japanese culture and way of life. Because of the volcanic activity on the island of Japan, many natural onsens arose and gave way to the Japanese ritual of regular bathing. It is also believed that the onsens provide medical benefit, such as healing aches, pains and diseases. Although Keith had his hesitations about sitting in a tub of hot water with other naked men, I encouraged him to have an open mind and to look beyond that. In any case, we certainly were hoping that the onsen would cure our aching legs after our first 2 days of walking all around Kyoto!

Our destination was the northern town of Kurama, which is known for its onsens. It is nestled in the mountains outside of Kyoto, and the train ride there was absolutely beautiful!
There were mountains everywhere and we immediately felt a sense of peace and quiet, as we sat in the train admiring the surroundings and appreciating the traditional wood houses, cemeteries, and shrines that dotted the landscape.

Upon arrival at the town of Kurama, we boarded a little shuttle bus that provided free transit to the onsen (about 5 mins away). When we got to Kurama Onsen, we entered a small 2-story building situated atop a small hill and had to remove our shoes once inside. The reception desk did not speak much English, but they were very courteous as both Keith and I pointed to their menu of services and managed to communicate that we wanted to use the "inside and outside bath" and also eat a "mini kaiseki lunch" after our bathing. They proceeded to give each of us a yukata robe, a towel, a locker key, and a map of the onsen. Then they pointed us to where the men's and women's changing room were. Keith and I deliberated for a few minutes outside of the changing room to agree that we would change into our robes and then meet back in the common area so we could head to the outdoor bath.

As I changed in the locker room, the sweet old reception lady came in and said "no swimsuit," perhaps thinking that as a foreigner I might not know that bathing suits are not allowed in the onsens. Luckily, I was somewhat familiar with onsen culture since I had gone to a few onsens during my studies in Taiwan, and the shock of not being allowed to wear anything was a bit lessened. I hoped Keith would be okay with this--see what he writes below! Once we were both changed into our robes, we walked outside and climbed a flight of stone stairs to reach the outside bathing house.

Since men and women are separated, I proceeded through the women's side of the bath house and we parted our ways for the next hour.
As I entered the women's bathing house, there were some wooden cubbies outside to place your slippers, and then there was another set of lockers inside. I could see the bath outside, steaming, and looking quite inviting. Luckily, there were only 2 other women there so I was happy that it wouldn't be too crowded. The actual bath area was not that large, but it was well designed as half of the bath had a pagoda-like covering to shield the sun or rain. As you can imagine, I wasn't allowed to take any photos, although I thought about it!

Before getting into the onsen, I had to shower and rinse my body first. The Japanese are very clean and everyone is required to do this before entering a public bath. I was already freezing in just my robe but managed to rinse quickly in the shower, thinking I could just hop into the bath right afterwards. Unfortunately I couldn't "hop" too much since the water was very hot!! It was like entering a very hot jacuzzi for the first time--takes awhile to get acclimated. So, I sat on the ledge for a minute with just my legs in the water and then slowly got in, all the while making squirmish expressions with my face.

After getting used to the hot water, I began to enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery and the crisp mountain air. It was very peaceful and I was glad there weren't a lot of other women, although more and more started arriving after I got in. The water was very clear and clean; it had a slight chlorine smell but not as strong as a jacuzzi. I could see that the water was constantly being replaced with fresh water, through some sort of filtering system, so I felt reassured that I wasn't going to catch some bug (you never know at a public bath!). After 20 mins I got really warm and my body was kind of red like a lobster. I got out and walked inside to this sauna area where there was another tub with warm water, which was not as hot. I alternated between the two tubs until it was about time to meet up with Keith for our lunch!
I asked Keith about his experience afterwards and this is what he says about "what it is like to sit in a tub with other naked men": it was hard to relax for the first 2 hours.

Now, onto our much anticipated meal of the day-our kaiseki lunch! Kaiseki meals are considered "haute" Japanese cuisine, and consist of many small plates including sashimi, tempura, clear broth, a steamed dish, a cold pickled dish, a grilled dish, a dessert, and many others. We had heard about kaiseki in the US so we really wanted to try it in Japan. Only fresh seasonal ingredients are used and are prepared in ways that aim to enhance their flavor. They are generally very expensive meals, so we decided that a mini lunch version would be economical while still allowing us to experience kaiseki. Every dish that came out was beautifully arranged and garnished, often with real leaves and flowers, as well as edible garnishes designed to resemble natural plants and animals. The Japanese definitely know how to make food pleasing both to the eye and the palate! We enjoyed every dish, and even took a little video of all the dishes. I think the local Japanese people must have thought we were really weird, taking so many pictures of food! Here are some photos of the dishes we enjoyed. Some of my favorites included the steamed turnip, miso vegetables, and the grilled whole fish.

Another was the tempura--instead of dipping into a liquid tempura sauce, we dipped it into a salty matcha (green tea) powder which added some interesting flavors.

After lunch, we were pretty full and the hostesses told us we could go upstairs to the "relaxation room." Since this onsen is also a ryokan (inn), we noticed that the guestrooms were also upstairs. However, the doors were closed so I wasn't able to see what they looked like. We went into a large room covered with tatami mats that was completely devoid of furniture except for a TV. It was kind of weird to pull some pillows and blankets and lie on the floor. Another older couple came in, lied down, and actually started taking a nap! I think we were too full from lunch to lie down, so we decided to go back downstairs and discussed using the inside bath. Keith preferred the outside bath, but I didn't want to go back outside since it was quite cold, so I chose to check out the inside bath. Although not as beautiful and nature-like, it was still nice. We felt refreshed, rested, and ready to move on with our sight-seeing. We left the onsen and walked downhill to the Kurama train station, passing the Kurama temple on the way down.

We decided to stop by the Kyoto
Handicrafts center in central Kyoto for some shopping. It was much larger than we expected! We found a 7-story building with many shops on each floor, each floor displaying their special craft. For example, there was one floor dedicated to doll-making, one to lacquer products, and one to kimonos. Keith was drawn to some samurai swords and asked to hold one up close. He had to wear little gloves in order to hold the swords. It was fun taking in all the traditional art forms (which is what Kyoto is known for) and purchasing a few gifts.

The craft center called a cab for us and we headed back to our hotel. We wanted to eat an inexpensive meal and were interested in trying out Oyakodon, in which chicken, egg, green onion, and other ingredients are all simmered together in a sauce and then served on top of a large bowl of rice. The name of the dish, parent and child donburi, is a poetic reflection of the fact that both chicken and egg are used in the dish. It's a dish you can get here in the US but we wanted to see what it would be like in Japan! Adjoining our hotel is the Isetan department store, and one floor has tons of food like a food court. The hotel concierge directed us toward a little stall that specializes in Oyakodon. It was slightly different from what I've had in the past, since it had less onion and the egg was still a little runny. It was good, though, very much like a comfort food. Now our day was complete and we were ready to hit the sack!