Personal Hygiene Day!

Today basically everything I did was related to personal hygiene. So be warned, this might be a Too Much Info post.

Woke up at 8:00 this morning because I had gone to bed so early last night. I did the usual morning routine and gathered my stuff together to go to Kurama for the hot springs, which is located north of Kyōto, about two hours away total, including waiting for buses and such. The ride there was not a whole lot of fun; the train to Kyōto was packed and really hot, and by the time I had transferred to the small Eizan Line train, I was wondering if I should be getting out my little plastic bag for wet things in case I got sick. But my stomach settled and I didn't have any problems. I was really sleepy, though, and I dozed on the way. I feel so Japanese when I fall asleep on the trains.

Right as I arrived at the station, the free shuttle bus from the onsen arrived, so I hopped on that. The driver was really nice and gave me a brochure in English. ^_^ He took us up this crazy narrow residential street winding up the mountain. When we arrived at the resort, I was a bit disappointed. All the literature had made it look like this grand hotel affair, but it wasn't like that at all. It was a little gravel parking lot with some nondescript buildings. But the setting was beautiful: the mountains were so steep, and you could hear the sound of a waterfall nearby. It was really cool.

So I bought my ticket for the outdoor bath for ¥1100 and proceeded to the bath house. You had to walk up this pretty awesome stone staircase under the tallest cedar trees I've ever seen. Right next to the stairway there was a little stream rushing down to meet the big one with the waterfall, with these big ferns along its banks. And the forest smelled wonderful. I hadn't realized how much cleaner the air would seem even just this little bit away from the city. But it was a beautiful clear day, and with the nice fresh cedar smell and musty earth smell it was great.

This onsen was much, much different from the one I went to with Yukari. First, it's small. The outdoor bath is one pool, just the one you see in the pictures. And the shower area was small as well. But this was nice, because it wasn't at all crowded. This is what I had thought an onsen would be like. It was such a nice little rustic place. I mean, it's probably totally contrived as a tourist trap, but I sure fell for it. Beautiful.

The changing room wasn't heated, so I was careful to plan things so I'd spend as little time exposed to the November air as possible. After shoving my things into a little locker, I rushed outside and fumbled with the showers to get the water temperature hot enough. I washed, rinsed, and was totally ready to soak.

I stayed in the water for about 45 minutes, I think. Not 45 minutes straight, of course; it's much too hot for that. But I'd dip into the water for a while, then get out and sit on the side of the pool and just look around. It's peak leaf season here right now, but I was a bit disappointed because the cedar forest around the onsen was quite green. Still, the sun kept coming and going behind the clouds, and the mountains were beautiful. Plus, there was a small garden in the bath area, and the maple tree was a lovely red.

After a while I couldn't stand the heat and steam any more, so I got out and showered again, this time washing my hair. Then I got dressed quickly, used the blow drier, and left the onsen. I felt so refreshed!

I decided to walk back to the station instead of waiting for a bus. The weather was great: I was perfectly comfortable in my jacket and jeans, and sky was really interesting. There were those heavy grey clouds that look like snow, but the sun was also out. This made the fall colors even brighter than they would be normally. The road down the mountain followed the waterfall stream the whole way, so there were all those babbling brook sounds. And so I walked through a little neighborhood down the mountainside, taking lots of pictures of pretty scenery along the way. As I got close to the station, I stopped in some souvenir shops and picked up a few things. At that point it also started to drizzle, so I was glad to have beaten the rain.

On the ride back I stood by the window and watched the scenery. Absolutely gorgeous. It reminded me of the mountains in Kentucky, except that the forests were a mixture of cedars, deciduous trees, bamboo, and palm trees. I half expected to see a Totoro somewhere in those woods. At one point, the sun came out while it was still raining. In Japanese folklore, this means that the kitsune, or fox spirits, are having a wedding. I don't doubt it; Kurama is the kind of place where that could happen.

When I arrived back home smelling all nice from the bath, I did some laundry. Today I also clipped my fingernails, exercised, and did some eyebrow maintenaince, which makes it a Personal Hygiene Day.

And now, to continue the theme, I'm going to brush my teeth before bed. Goodnight.