Misasa

Friday started with a root canal, so the day could only get better, right? We did a few errands around town and then the three of us headed off to Misasa, a hot spring resort about a 90 minute drive from here. If you've been reading my blog for a while you may remember that we went there last summer - I wrote about it here if you're interested, or just want to see how much K has grown!

We arrived at the hotel at about 4, and then went for a walk before dinner. Last year we only managed a short stroll but this time K walked all the way to the town, bringing his pushchair for the return journey...

This is a view of the main bridge in the town. If you look very carefully (or just click on the photo to see it bigger), you can see what looks like a bird-watching hide under the bridge on the right. It's actually an open-air hot-spring bath, but more on that later...

We walked along the old main street of the town, filled mainly with Japanese-style inns.

Part-way along there was a little steaming bath, where you could sit and soak your feet if you so fancied. K had a little splash - I think he was surprised that it was hot!

By the time we reached the end of the main street and turned back it was getting rather dark and a little snowy too. K admitted defeat and rode in the pushchair, wearing my gloves since we'd left his behind...

On the way back we noticed this little shop which seemed to sell wood carvings. On closer inspection it turned out to be, not a shop, but a room displaying carvings made entirely from blocks of freeze-dried tofu (koyadofu). How bizarre...

... and yet very impressive.

Back to the main bridge, and you can see that little open-air bath again. There's a natural hot spring that bubbles up right at the edge of the river and anyone can just wander down there and take a dip, naked, completely visible from the road. I have been in a few times, but always under the cover of darkness. To take this photo I posed H and K just out of shot and then zoomed in past them, in order to seem slightly less suspicious :-) Click on the photo to see old men washing themselves!

Finally we popped in to a little display on a traditional event held in the town each year. They make 2 huge ropes (each weighing about 2 tonnes) out of wisteria vines, link them together in the middle and have a massive tug-of-war contest. If one side wins (I've forgotten which) it'll be a good harvest that year and if the other side wins it'll be a good year for business. Win win really, I think.

After that it was back to the hotel for dinner. K ate 3 fried shrimp and a piece of fried chicken, a bit of crab, about half of that beefburger, some rice, a bowl of soup (with a spoon. By himself.) and some fruit.

We were seated in a tatami area, meaning no shoes. When it was time to leave K insisted on wearing my shoes (very popular nowadays) so I was left to walk back upstairs in my stockinged feet...

Then it was bath time. Last year K went in with H but this year he joined me in the ladies communal bath. There were hardly any other guests there, so we were able to do all the things you're not supposed to do in hot springs, like swim in the outdoor bath. Obviously I couldn't take pictures there, but have a look at the hotel's website here. It's lovely.

Just like last time, K went to sleep surprisingly well despite having free range of the room and lots of lovely tempting things like phones and vases to play with...

And, just for fun, here he is on the same futon in an identical room last summer. Ah...