Hot springs that don’t stink like rotten eggs are the best kind of relaxation. We spent two nights in Kinosaki-Onsen, a very small town built around seven hot springs. It was delightfully relaxing. The tradition is to wear yukata (summer/light cotton kimono) and clop around town in Japanese wooden shoes. The shoes were not big enough but we did it anyway. We elicited a few giggles, which were as polite as giggles at others can be. An equivalent might be a Japanese tourist walking around Vail with chaps, a cowboy hat, and stirrups (normal but not in 2016). The onsen were beautiful and the water was h-o-t. Meals are served in the hotel room. The tempura vegetables, fried tofu, pickled veggies, salads, soups, and Japanese beer combined to make a delicious meal. We rode a cable car to the top of the mountain where we could see the Sea of Japan, north just over the rolling mountains.
We "met" a robot designed to greet people at the visitor's center. Unorunately it did not speak English but it did dance. Since music and dance are theoretically universal, I decided to dance with it. I can't get the video working right now but here is a photo.
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| Welcoming robot |
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| Sea of Japan in distance |
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| One of seven onsen in town |
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| View of onsen garden obscured by steam |
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