Feb 17 – Nagaoka

Today the entire family went to Nagaoka (or somewhere in that general area). Tamaki, Umi, Father, Mother, and I all crammed into the Jeep and headed off at 10 in the morning. It took about an hour and a half to get there. I had no idea what to expect. Hirai sensei said that we were going to visit the Japan sea (again) and the fish market place too. Those were only a little bit of the trip though. The majority of our time was spent at an onsen (hot springs) right by the ocean. It was only my 2nd time to go to an onsen before, the first being on my summer trip 2 years ago. I had a little bit of an idea of what to expect, but this place exceeded my expectations in every way.

The place had all sorts of things besides just the hot springs, ranging from facial care to massages. I did not partake in any of them, but I am sure you could easily spend an entire weekend just relaxing within the comforts of this one building. They also provided rooms for overnight stays. We found a large tatami mat room on the 2nd floor with tables and cushions for lounging. This was the mainstay for our trip. We sat right next to the window and had a great view of the Japan Sea and the nearest television. First up was food which was more of an afterthought than anything. There was a restaurant on the first floor, and a snack bar on the second. I picked out various snacks for everyone (yaki-soba, fried chicken balls, makizushi, frankforts, etc.) It was quite a feast.

Tamaki left for the onsen first with father and I followed close behind. Hirai sensei was left alone with poor little Umi. I hope they got along all right! The onsen was similar to the previous one I went to, but much much nicer. There are lockers to put your clothes, a bathroom like area to fix up yourself after the onsen, and the onsen itself. Just watch out for all the naked guys around (or girls in the other case). The onsen consisted of 3 different rooms: indoor, outdoor, and steam room. The outdoor onsen was pretty crowded and small, but you could gaze out at the Japan Sea from there. I did not get in it, but it looked nice. The indoor onsen was filled with steam. It was rather hard to see where you were going at first. There were the typical Japanese wash stations, a place to soak your feet, hot water, super hot water, water from the sea, bubbly water, and water jet pools. I was very impressed with the amount of space and selection.

Let’s just say the onsen was fantastic. I spent at least an hour in there relaxing with my host father. Upon returning to our spot on the second floor, I was instantly elected babysitter until Tamaki’s return. Once again I got a lot of weird stares and blank faces as I played with Umi, muttering things in Japanese to him. Aside from getting into all of the food, he was surprisingly well behaved. Upon Tamaki’s arrival, she, Hirai, and Umi went to the onsen, leaving Papa and I all by ourselves. I took this opportunity to get a little shut eye…

After the onsen we went to the fish market and bought food for dinner and such. On the way home I stared out the window the entire trip thinking about my experiences thus far in Japan.