Hot Spring... in summer!

It's about a month into summer, and though it seems totally counterintuitive, I went to the hot spring at the edge of my town for a dip. I had originally wanted to go to the one I found on my map within the city centre, but it looked like it was closed when I got there. So I braved the traffic on Route 4 and drove through a fortuitously cool, light drizzle to get to the Hibari Healthland spa.

My impression of hot springs tends to follow those I've seen in anime, namely the natural outdoor set ups surrounded by trees and bamboo fences. So far I must say I've not yet found any that fit my mental image, unfortunately. The Hibari spa, being a largish industrial looking complex built around a natural hot spring right next to a national freeway, is consequently short of natural foliage, however they make up for it with wall sized murals of forests and Japanese gardens. It's a relatively modern complex with lots of private and common use tatami rooms, massage areas, dining and rest facilities.

Faux pas number 1! Walking right up to the reception desk and then being asked politely to get a set of keys from the shoe lockers right at the door. Must remember to keep eyes peeled for lack of footwear anywhere within any kind of spa or hot spring.

Entry to the place was a little pricier than I'd expected at 780 yen, but this was probably due to the 100 yen charge for the towel, something I can save if I bring my own shower implements. I spotted a 500 yen deal for 90 minutes, but that was for weekdays.

There was some kind of party going on in the main tatami hall just outside the spa that day, with women in kimono performing some kind of fan dance, and singers in flouncy, sequinned dresses doing enka on the karaoke machine. I really can't appreciate the overuse of tremolo in this kind of music, so I decided to hurry on to the bath. After all, I only had 2 hours to get washed and relaxed.

The place has no mixed bath facilities, but I'm totally cool with that, even though I'd like to try one sometime. After depositing my stuff in my designated locker, it was off for a thorough shower and scrub down before entering the spring.

Faux pas number 2! Bringing both the small washcloth and large towel into the shower area. I constantly have to remind myself that you leave your modesty at the noren, together with your bath towel when you go to a public bath. I bet the rest of the ladies there picked me out as a complete n00b right there and then.

My preference is for the outdoor bath wherever possible, since the cool circulating air outside makes staying in the bath a more pleasant experience. The water in the spring was cooler that I'd previously experienced at other places, but this meant that I could soak for longer before overheating. The water also felt a little bit dense and soapy, something that I wasn't used to. It was only after squinting at the signage (astigmatism and myopia do not help) that I realized that this spring had lots of different salts in it for therapeutic purposes. There were also signs that said that the water in the spring was also meant to be drunk to relieve certain ailments. I don't know about you, but I have reservations about drinking any kind of bath water, especially if I'm not the only one who's been using it.

Faux pas number 3! Forgetting to bring a hairclip and struggling to wrap long, wet hair in my very small washcloth. Not only is this a futile task with a piece of cloth ill-equipped to do the job, it also uses up the only barrier against complete exposure of your bits to all and sundry.

I reckon it's my gaijin upbringing that results in extreme self consciousness whenever I go to these kinds of places. I thought I caught a few older ladies staring at me from the open air spring while I was cooling off on a nearby deck chair, though with my poor vision I might have been mistaken. I hope this feeling will pass if I go to public baths more often. Maybe then I can truly relax and enjoy the hot water without curling up into a foetal position every time someone walks by.