I've always wanted to talk about public bathing in Japanese hotsprings
(called 'onsen'), but a few things held me back until now. Being
that there aren't too many in Tokyo, and the ones that are here
are really expensive was the first problem. I wasn't going to pay
2000 yen (about 20 bucks) to sit in boiling hot water for about
15 minutes (any longer than that and I start to halluncinate). The
next problem was taking the actual picture, which meant being naked
while taking pictures of other naked men. Not an area which I specialize
in. The third problem is that it has to be an 'outdoor' onsen or
the picture ends up being one of a lot of steam and nothing else.
Anyway all three of these problems ended up being solved at this
quaint little outdoor spa (called a 'rotenburo') in Nikko, which
is kind of a resort/temple viewing area of Japan. Here I am in a
kind of meditative pose, and as you can see from the trees in the
background I am outside, and I'm also blissfully alone, which is
a rare thing here in Japan. The air temperture up here in the mountains
in December is about 7-8 degrees above zero, but the water temperature
is about 50 degrees. Click here for a short movie of me in the bath. Sorry, no nudity.
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Hakodate - Day 3
Hakodate - Day 2
Hakodate - Day 1
Cherry Picking
Hiking Mt. Kumotori
Matsushima
Nikko - Winter Hike
Kanazawa
New Year's Sunrise 2010
Fuji Five Lakes Winter Hike
Hiking Mt. Jinba
Hiking Oze National Park
The Grapes Shall be Plucked
Sapporo - Down on the Farm
Our Man in Yakushima
Hiking Mt. Kawanori
Nara
Kyoto
Hiking Mt. Oyama
Hiking Mitousan
All Entries
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