As we had the whole week off for Obon, the Town Mouse decided to treat
me to an overnight getaway in Kinosaki, a small, onsen town in Hyogo
Prefecture, one of the oldest hot springs in Japan
Kinosaki is
a small, traditional onsen town located in Hyogo, to the east of Kyoto,
and has been the resting spot for many legendary artists, poets and
authors, including Basho Matsuo, the father of the Haiku. It is a
pleasant, three hour train ride from central Kyoto, on a path which
winds through peaceful farmlands and along the Katsuragawa Gorge, part
of the famous river which cuts through Arashiyama’s countryside.
Following the Gozan no Okuribi, the
Town Mouse spirited this Country Mouse to the famous seaside town, one
of the oldest hot spring towns in Japan, where we stayed at the lovely
Yutoya inn, a large traditional Japanese inn centered in the center of
the city’s seven famous bathhouses. When going to this town, inns give
their guests yukata (a summer kimono) to wear to the bath houses, as
well as geta (sandals) and a bath set. An overnight trip will earn the
traveler a ticket to all of these bath houses, which include the very
traditional to the more contemporary. The Gosho-no-Yu was the most
beautiful of the ones these mice were able to visit, and it is highly
recommended any traveler try to go there if they make the trip.
Arriving
in Kinosaki early left us with quite a bit of time to kill, so we
hopped a bus to the coast to check out Kinosaki’s Marine World (not the
theme park, but an aquarium more along the lines of Sea World than
anything else). The coast was stunning, and out on the rocks in the
distance, there was a palace whose only access was via boat.
Marine World was really fun all on its
own. It was the first time I’d ever seen a walrus, so that was really
fun, and they do a theatre show with the animals that is really cute.
When we went, the theme was very close to Harry Potter, in that the
animals were all students at a magic school and had to best “Bad Sensei”
and help “Good Sensei” restore order to the school. The dolphins and
seals were my favorite part of the act.
The rest of the complex was really
nice too. They had lots of dolphins and fish and a very lively octopus,
as well as these awesome sand eels and Japanese Giant Salamander that
had just spilled its eggs all over the tank floor. I’ll try to be
putting up the videos I took there on my Youtube channel in the near future, but for now, you can view the photos in my gallery.
After our time in Marine World, it was time to head back into town and check into our ryokan. Yutoya
is a beautiful little ryokan nestled in the heart of the city, right
along the canal. We stayed in the “Seagull” room, a two tatami room
suite with a gorgeous view of a rock and moss garden on the premises. As
we were only in town for one night, the Town Mouse and I quickly
changed into the yukata they had given us to begin our tour of the
town’s hot springs. Of course, the moment we left the inn, it began
pouring rain, and without an umbrella, we were sufficiently trapped
under an overhang as the monsoon strength rains pelted all around us,
hoping our underwear wouldn’t be visible through the thin white cotton
of our garments (it was).
Nonetheless, when it finally let up a
bit, we were able to enjoy our trip to several of the onsen in the area,
before heading back to the ryokan for an early dinner. We had a couple
of shaved ice cones with some condensed milk syrup prior to eating
(since we didn’t know how big the spread would be), went back to our
room to change, and then were escorted by women in kimono to a private
dining room, where they began setting course after course of food in
front of us.
The
danger of staying at a traditional ryokan is that sometimes, they will
serve you strictly traditional foods, as they did for us. Now, some of
that food was absolutely delicious, like the tofu soup and eel, or the
sweet shrimp and miso. However, sometimes the food is not so delicious,
like the escargo, or whole baked fish topped with cream paste (I’m
talking whole: eyes, bones and guts
included). You aren’t allowed to choose your own menu. It’s
pre-determined.
Having a private dining room and staying in such a
traditional place meant that we had to at least try and eat everything, or worry about offending the cook, so we ate everything we could. That was until
this Country Mosue got to the “liver fish”- I was told to simply bite
into it, but the combination of strange new taste, mushy guts and
hair-width bones caused an immediate “bad reaction” and I had to do my
best to wash it down with tea before my body expelled it permanently.
Other than that though, the dinner was quite delicious- even the
escargo.
After dinner, we got dressed in our
yukata again to go back to the canal, where lovers and families were
gathering on the bridges for the fireworks show. The Town Mouse and I
slipped off to a quiet spot with a few others on the center of one
bridge and watched as the fireworks whizzed into the sky, exploding like
a million tri-colored dahlias. It was really beautiful. We returned to
the ryokan after that to soak in their private hot spring, which was
quite intimate and nice, since no one else was there, and then we went
back to our suite to spend the night comfortably snug on our flush
futons, watching TV.
The next morning we had to check out
early, but before that, we were served yet another meal, this time a
traditional breakfast, this time with more sweet things, like fruits and
custards, as well as a salad and some super fresh sashimi. This was
super tasty and got us charged up for the day. We said goodbye to
everyone at the inn and then made our way through town one more time,
for the obligatory souvenir shopping for friends back in Kyoto and also
to take the ropeway to the top of the mountains, since it looked
interesting.
It was
fun taking the cable car to the top of the mountain and looking around,
but since we had a long trip ahead of us, the Town Mouse and I decided
to head back to Kyoto early, and after we got back down the hill, we
bought a crab bento to eat on the train and bought tickets on the
express. It was so peaceful and relaxing, riding back through the
pastures and rice fields, listening to the tracks chug along beneath the
train as we ate the fresh crab from the sea. In that moment, I felt so
peaceful and happy. Kansai really has started to feel like home to me.
Things that are brand new feel nostalgic as they happen, and it gives me
such a sense of calm that I am utterly content. It was a really
wonderful trip.