The last two days I’ve been
pretty exhausted, so I didn’t really go anywhere. Mainly, I studied and
watched TV, but with the recent change from a mostly-organic diet and
clean air to fast food and city pollution, I just needed a few days to
recuperate. I’m pretty sure my asthma has actually flared up again~ oh
no!
Anyway, today was a day devoted to
baths. After class, I took part in a cultural program put on by some
Japanese Women’s University students. We learned all about o-furo, the
Japanese style of bath. The program itself was okay; the part I enjoyed
most was playing fruits-basket beforehand as a way to get to know
everybody. I met a lot of nice people- I’ve been giving my contact info
to a lot of people, so hopefully I’ll be making some friends soon!
After the program, I went back to
Sugamo to save Nicky from being trapped in my room [she spent the night
over here so that we could have fun together after my class], and when I
got back, she showed me some reviews for places to go in Odaiba,
Tokyo’s ‘future city’ that was built during their last economic bubble.
In particular, she showed me the page for O-Edo Onsen Monogatari. I
asked her when she wanted to go, and she said “Tonight.” so.... off we
went! We invited Erin along, and decided to make it a girl’s night out.
To start off, though the trip to Odaiba is expensive from Sugamo, it is gorgeous,
especially the ride on the rail from Shinbashi to Odaiba. Shinbashi is
seated right along the bay, and today was a particularly clear day for
Tokyo, so the blue was reflected on all of the windows, and the sheen of
the sun made everything sparkle. Odaiba has lots of beautiful
architecture, so the skyline is really fun to gaze at as you go to your
destination.
Another nice thing about Odaiba is
that it is really easy to find everything. Once we got off the train, it
only took five minutes to find the O-Edo Onsen. The best thing about
the onsen is that it’s a theme park (pretty much) that is really cheap!
It is mostly an indoor “playground” modeled after Edo Period, so as you
explore the little shops and game arenas, you are protected from
mosquitos and the humidity is kept under control. The only place where
this is not the case is the foot bath area, where everything is
outdoors.
The foot bath area was our first stop
in O-Edo Onsen, and while we tried to walk the foot bath, the pebbles
under foot were simply too much for our poor feet, so we gave up. Nicky
suggested we go try the ダークタフィシ (Doctor Fish), so we went over to the
Turkish fish bath house to explore. Pretty much, the moment you stick
your foot into the water, sixty to seventy small, black fish descend
upon you to gobble up all the old skin on your toes, ankles and
elsewhere. Naturally, this is extremely ticklish for the first few
minutes, though afterwards the feeling is quite pleasant. Our feet were
so smooth afterwards, and for the next three hours they felt so relaxed!
Next up in our adventure was the hot
sand baths. This was also pretty awesome. The sand was kept at 45ºC,
which is 113ºF, so it didn’t even take five minutes before we were
sweating profusely. It was a really nice feeling though. Our skin was so
smooth and clean after we showered the sand off. I felt like I’d just
gotten an entire spa treatment and we hadn’t even gone to the onsens
yet!
The onsens, however, are the very best
part of O-edo Onsen. All of them are free after you pay admission, and
the women’s side sports nearly twenty baths of all shapes, sizes,
temperatures and types. Nicky and I tried out the barrel baths, the
outside stone and hot baths, and then we went inside to sample the
single jet baths and matcha onsen. It was so much fun! I definitely want
to go back again, maybe with a larger group.
Fully refreshed by the fish, sand and
hot water, Nicky and I decided to treat ourselves one more time to a
fancy Japanese meal. The dinners were Edo themed, with Nicky getting a
bento full of old style foods that we weren’t familiar with. All I know
is that I’m pretty sure I ate a sea slug. My own plate was mostly
sashimi, and we both had a seafood pudding as well. Lots of interesting
and new textures and tastes- I just wish I knew what we ate!
Following dinner, we met up with Erin
again and went outside to hang out in the ninja cafe, where we proceeded
to giggle over Erin’s shyness. We only stayed at the cafe for twenty
minutes or so though, as the service wasn’t exceptional (all the ninja
were flirting with these two girls, so we were ignored...) After we
finished our soda, I passed out some small surprise gifts I’d gotten at
the store inside, as momentos of the fantastic night. I think everyone
liked them ^_^ All in all, a wonderful night~ one I will remember for a
long time to come!