Japanese Onsen (Hot Spring!)

When I started chatting with the Japanese waitress who speaks English at my fav nearby cafe, I felt lucky to have met her. Then, the 2nd time I go she mentions that we should hang. Wow, a Japanese friend in the making- I love it! What I didn't have in mind is that in Japan its very appropriate for newly found friends to travel to the mountains together to cleanse their body and soul in natural hot springs, and, well, of course- naked!... welcome to my day yesterday!

Ayano- my waitress friend- is basically the coolest Japanese woman in all of Japan. When she invited me to go to a hot spring with her, I had no idea what this meant, other than the fact that I would be bathing naked with small, flat, tiny Japanese women- clearly I'd fit in so nothing to worry about! Um, right. So, ok, this part turned out to be as expected. BUT, what I didn't know and was happily surprised to find out is that this place was what (I imagine!) a spa to be. We went to Hakone- the mountain region outside of Tokyo, and then took a bus up into the mountains. Everyone leaves their shoes outside, and you enter into this all wood and tsunami matted reception room--- incense burning, sounds of waterfalls, etc. First we hit up the restaurant- which was so Japanese. We sat on mats on the floor and I had my first sushi- salmon, not bad! We ordered shrimp and I nearly shrieked when what is placed in front of us but a plate full of little shrimp faces- with eyes, antennas and all and Ayano just plops the whole thing in her mouth! Me? Um, hell no.


Then we pass through all these corridors and rooms for people to sleep- literally, its just these open areas with mats for people to lay down and rest, and then finally, we get to the hot springs. You step outside and it was BEAUTIFUL. We were up against the bottom of a big, green, luscious mountain of moss, with natural hot water dripping down in little water falls into different pools, all made of natural rock sizing from a jacuzzi size to baby-pool size. People went from one bath to the next, each having their own unique atmosphere- for example one had a cave with crazy amounts of natural steam, since the water was so damn hot. Of course there are also benches around for cool-down breaks, where sadly I spent most of my time as the water was TOO hot! There were families, friends, old, young-- everyone very peaceful and quiet, having their own meditating experience amongst natural beauty, hot water and the naked bodies of strangers! It was really freeing and had a very Zen-esqu feeling, like everyone was one with nature. As if this wasn't enough, we ended the day with massage chairs and Hakone's famous dessert- basically, bean curd balls. Smushed between pancakes I can handle, but solo... I pretended to like it.



The best thing of all was spending time with my new friend. We spent hours cracking up at the random things we think are cool about each other's cultures, that to us seem ordinary. This is all started when I asked her if she has ever eaten outside. She got all excited, like a giddy school girl, "oh oh oh I want to do this so bad, I see in movies, it looks sooo fun" "Well, why don't you," I answer. Her response? "No, no, never... I just can't!" I was laughing for a good 10 minutes. (Reference to my previous entry). I told her about PB and J and mac and cheese, both of which she had never heard of--- I'm planning on making her both. She made a comment about my BIC pen and how there is a shop in Tokyo that sells American things and they sell the pens for 200 yen (2 dollars!) I told her they are cheap nothing pens in the US and she shrieked with shock. I asked her what else they sell and- get this- she says "you know... cute things... like, bathroom spray." I'm sorry but what??? "Yay, I love American bathroom spray, the packaging is so cute, not like Japan bathroom spray." I have no idea what the hell she is talking about.

Also, she took me to this store in Tokyo that is famous for their sweet potato (see pic to believe)- I ordered plain and purple flavored... the sweet potato ice cream they make in Kamakura is made from that purple "sweet potato." Oh, which reminds me, when I was talking to Ayano I did a quotation mark sign with my hands and she goes "I see people do this in the movies, what does it mean?" I couldn't quite explain but then became really, really aware of how often I lift my fingers and make quotation marks with my hands... hello weirdness that I never noticed before! Then she goes, "also, I see in the movies people have cluttered rooms with stuff everywhere! It looks cool to me so I tried it but I couldn't take it, I had to clean it!" Basically, the typical girls room in the US- posters everywhere, clothes on the floor, bottle collections and books piling up everywhere--- is so, so opposite to the Japanese standards of pure order and refinement, so it looks foreign, and therefore cool.

Oh man--- and the best part is that she is going home to her husband explaining equally weird things that I said about her culture. Like, when I told her that sushi is trendy in the US and people use sayonara as an alternative to peace out- she had no clue! And when I excitedly showed her my Japanese bookmark made of traditional paper thinking she would be impressed and she laughed and basically said that she would never buy something like that. So funny. The cafe she works at is owned by her mother and I'm going over on Monday after work because there is a temple ceremony that every Japanese baby experiences when they turn 3. Her niece is having hers on Monday and afterwards they are going to go to the cafe to take pictures of her in her $250 rented kimono and I'm invited!