kusatsu onsen-shima onsen

From Kusatsu Onsen it takes about 1 hour by train to Nakanojo.

From Nakanojo, it takes about 30 minutes by bus (and 930 yen!) to get to Shima Onsen.

Again the snow was coming down steadily, but a little "warmer" -3C(26F).

We grabbed some lunch at Sekizenya, a little eating area off to the side of Sekizenkan, a ryokan with over 300 years of history.

Tororo udon for Satoshi and sansai (mountain greens) soba for me.

It was nice to get out of the cold for a bit.

We also got to tour parts of the ryokan.

In the olden days, you would leave your shoes out in the hall...plus, there are no locks on the doors...eep!

After lunch, we called Chuseikan, the ryokan we would be staying at and they "came down" the mountain to pick us up.

With all the snow that had fallen, it sure was a trek back to the ryokan.

After checking in, we took a nap under the kotatsu (heated table).

Here is a short video of the area outside of our window...super peaceful, yeah?!

I loved the tile in the entrance to our room and the beautiful chair in the sitting area (which was too cold to sit in).

Dinner was served in our room and was an assortment of things.

There was also a pork hot pot.

After clearing our dishes, the owner came to take out our futon(s).

I say futons because the rooms weren't centrally heated so we definitely needed two!

He also gave each of us these yutanpo...lifesaver!

There was also a gas stove in the room, which I am not used to...it scared me because when we turned it off before going to bed, the smell of gas was pretty strong!

I was afraid there wouldn't be wi-fi nor television, but there were both.

It was a long day, but I was enjoying the quiet.

Sekizenya
4236 Oaza Shima, Nakanojo-machi
Agatsuma, Gunma
Phone: 0279.64.2101

Chuseikan
4374 Otsu Oaza Shima, Nakanojo-machi
Agatsuma, Gunma
Phone: 0279.64.2336

tokyo-kusatsu onsen

From where we live, it takes about 4 hours and a half to get to Kusatsu Onsen.

The reason why it took us so long was because we were using the Seishun 18-kippu, I've written about using this ticket previously, here.

By the time we reached the onsen, it was time for a late lunch.

There was also a steady fall of snow and the wind was fahreezing...the temps were -6C (27F)

I am usually good about checking the weather before our trips, but was totally unprepared for this weather...gah!

After leaving our bags with our hotel, we went in search of lunch.

Since it was fahreezing, we popped into Souan for some okkirikomi.

Okkirikomi is the local cuisine of the Joshu area (I think Joshu (joe-shoe) is the old name for Gunma).

It is a flat noodle in a broth with lots of veggies, kind of similar to Yamanashi's houtou.

Satoshi went with the standard miso version, while I ordered the tan tan style.

My version had soy milk in the broth, so it toned down the spiciness.

After lunch, we walked back to a fruit stand, Uocho, that I spotted on our walk from the bus station to the center of the town, and bought some "frozen" dried apricots.

To escape the semi-blizzard, we went a couple doors down to Seigetsudo for some coffee, banana dorayaki and chocolate manju.

I don't usually care for banana flavored sweets (most times the flavor is fake), but this was delicious.

The chocolate manju had a white bean filling...and was dipped in a semi-sweet chocolate.

From the cafe, we watched the steady snow fall being interrupted by sudden whips of wind.

In the middle of the onsen area is a huge yubatake (hot spring field) where you can see hot spring water being cooled as it makes it way down several tiers within the "field" (apparently 4000 liters per minute!)

By running the water down several tiers, they can cool the waters without diluting it.

Inside of Netsu no yu, there is also a yumomi (you-moh-mee) show (admission 600 yen for adults, 300 yen for children) where you can see them manually cool down the hot spring water while singing traditional folk songs.

I shot two videos while we viewed the show here, and here.

Dinner was buffet style.

What we noticed about this onsen area was that it was really popular with 20-somethings.

I also bought these senbei and boro (wafer orbs) from Nakayoshidohonpo, unfortunately the one on the left was made in Okayama prefecture!

boo! note to self: read the label better...

The boro (wafer orbs) are bigger than the type I grew up with.

But I love the crunch to them.

It was a long day and despite the freezing temps, we got to see a lot and eat a lot.

Souan
118-1 Kusatsu
Agatsuma, Gunma
Phone: 0279.88.0811

Uocho
82 Kusatsu
Agatsuma, Gunma
Phone: 0279.88.2063

Seigetsudo
25 Kusatsu
Agatsuma, Gunma
Phone: 0279.88.2166

Netsu no yu (Yumomi show)
414 Kusatsu
Agatsuma, Gunma
Phone: 0279.33.3613

Nakayoshidohonpo
118-1 Kusatsu
Agatsuma, Gunma
Phone: 0279.82.1237

Daitokan
126 Kusatsu
Agatsuma, Gunma
Phone: 0279.88.2611

sai-shimokita-aomori-asamushi onsen

In my previous travel post, I forgot to mention a couple of things...at Mount Osore, they have mediums that help you connect with your deceased loved ones (for a fee), they are called "itako" in Japanese.

One family that was staying at the lodge at the same time we were there, was interested in connecting with their loved one, but at the last minute got cold feet.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that Ooma is the most northern point of Honshu and they even have a monument for it (see photo above).

Okay, now on to today's post...

The next morning, we awoke to drizzles.

Breakfast was an assortment of things, including some seafood like ika (squid).

The nori was thicker and "rougher" than I was used to, I think the owner makes her own.

Since Satoshi said that public transportation ends at Sai, he had originally thought we might take a sightseeing cruise of the area past Sai, and maybe even take a ferry back to Aomori, but since it was raining, we decided we might not be able too many sights from the boat and it probably wouldn't be too nice if the ride turned choppy.

So, we caught the bus from Sai all the way back to Shimokita...2 hours or so.

And another 2 hours or so from Shimokita to Aomori by train.

The temperature had dropped quite a bit with the rain, so we went in search of ramen for lunch.

Miso Curry Milk Ramen from Aji no Sapporo Onishi.

The family that runs this shop is originally from Hokkaido.

I know it sounds weird, maybe even a little too much going on with flavors, but the miso gives the soup a salty component, the curry a spicy component, and the milk balances everything out.

They even top the ramen with a pat of butter, to give it some richness.

I'm not too sure what the base of the soup was.

I liked that the noodles were a bit firm.

The toppings were wakame (seaweed), bean sprouts, menma (bamboo shoots) and char siu (roast pork).

Even at 1-ish in the afternoon, we had to wait for seats, but the line moved quite quickly.

I really liked that Aomori's city streets had apple trees everywhere! Cute tiny crab apples and even regular sized fuji apples too.

I wondered if people that live there were allowed to pick fruit from the trees?

Then we were off to Asamushi Onsen (about 40 minutes by train from Aomori).

At this point it was drizzling quite steadily.

After checking in, we warmed up in the onsen, rested a bit then went down for dinner.

The dinner was a variety of foods.

Starting off with a little assortment of appetizers and raw fish.

There was even matsutake (mushroom--its price is based on quality, availability and origin) dobin mushi (a traditional Japanese seafood broth, steamed and served in a dobin tea pot with lime, and matsutake).

Then you could choose all sorts of things from their buffet.

We enjoyed this type of dining and everything was delicious.

After dinner, everyone was invited to a Tsugaru Shamisen show in the lobby.

It was quite a long day and we hoped the weather would get better for the next part of our adventure.

Aji no Sapporo Onishi
1-15-16 Furukawa
Aomori City, Aomori
Phone: 017.723.1036
Hours: 11:00-21:30

Nambuya Kaisenkaku
31 Hotarudani Asamushi
Aomori City, Aomori
Phone: 017.752.4411

kaga onsen-osaka

On the last day of 2011, we awoke to a beautiful sunny day.

Apparently it had snowed the night before, so there were many slick spots on the sidewalk.

There were several shrines that Satoshi was interested in visiting, so we gingerly made our way.

Along the way, we stopped in for coffee and some sweets at Premiere.

Their popular item is called a Yamashi-roll, a rolled cake made with rice flour and edible charcoal (the texture was a bit gritty), a black sesame cream and some adzuki beans.

The service was spotty (they served us the coffee but forgot our cakes) so the owner added a small cream puff as a peace-offering...everything was delicious...600 yen each for cake and coffee.

Then the hotel shuttle took us back to the station and we ended up waiting several hours for our train back to Osaka.

While we waited, we bought some items for our lunch on the train.

Satoshi bought a grilled saba(mackerel) sushi while I chose these sasazushi (rice and fish pressed together then wrapped in a sasa leaf (young bamboo leaf)).

I thought this was funny....the ladies of Kaga have a campaign to promote their businesses around Kaga, when I saw their posters, I thought of this lady...Lady Gaga.

Hope you enjoyed our little adventure.

Despite some low points, we had a nice time and enjoyed seeing snow.

Premiere
2-8 Yamashiro Onsen Kikyogaoka
Kaga, Ishikawa
Phone: 0761.77.2511

p.s. it's back to the grindstone for Satoshi today...hope your 1st week of 2012 is going well.

kanazawa-kaga onsen

The next day, we awoke to snow, sleet and hail.

Breakfast for me were two doughnuts from Doughnut Plant (carrot cake with cream cheese and their black out (a very chocolatey doughnut).

Both were very moist.

Satoshi had two musubi (rice balls) and we both had coffee.

The nice thing about Kanazawa is that there are many underground walkways, so that if it is raining (or snowing), you can easily get around.

The underground walkways aren't as extensive as Osaka, but still very convenient.

After breakfast, we went to check out Kenroku-en (Kenroku Garden). This garden is one of Japan's top 3 gardens to see. The other two are Koraku-en in Okayama prefecture and Kairaku-en in Ibaraki prefecture.

But before going to the garden, right across the way from it is Ishikawa-mon (Ishikawa gate), there are turrets and storerooms and it is the only remnants of the Kanazawa castle.

It was my first time to see a moat frozen over.

Although this area has been restored many times, I was surprised to see that they kept the stairways traditionally steep, I still can't believe that samurai, with their long hakama (skirts) and katana (swords) ran up and down these stairs.

I had to hold onto the railings for dear life going up and down.

We then went across to Kenroku-en. A beautifully kept garden which used to be the outer garden of the castle.

I noticed many trees with ropes draping from their tops and figured it is to keep a lot of snow from accumulating on the branches.

From the garden, we walked back into the city and checked out an area with restored samurai homes called Nagamachi.

The streets here are very narrow and winding.

We didn't have any time to check out the insides of these homes, but it was fun to walk around their "neighborhood".

We then caught the train from Kanazawa to Kaga Onsen, which is about 50 minutes away.

The hotel picked us up and we were able to leave our things with them until check-in time.

While waiting to check-in we decided to look for lunch. Since it was after 13:00 and nearing the end of the year, pickings were very slim.

We ended up waiting almost an hour for lunch at Bengara-ya.

The woman running the cafe had run out of the simpler lunches (noodles and rice bowls), so we ended up ordering fancy chazuke (tea with rice) lunches.

In fact, this lady was running the place by herself and kept running back and forth like a chicken without a head and at one point had run across the street to fetch a pot of cooked rice!

I chose the ume (pickled apricot) with chirimen (small anchovy) toppings for my chazuke, while Satoshi chose mentaiko (spicy pollack roe)...1365 yen each.

Our lunches came with some nimono (simmered veggies), miso soup. There were also some toppings for our chazuke like tiny rice crackers, wasabi (Japanese horseradish) and shiso miso (soy bean paste mixed with perilla).

Despite the long wait, everything was delicious.

We then walked to the outskirts of town to see the Kutaniyaki (Kutani ware) kiln and gallery. Kutaniyaki uses a dish to "bake" its pieces in the kiln fueled by pieces of wood.

We were able to see the remnants of this kiln, it was a huge thing covering a hillside.

The volunteer guide (who was 80-something) said that his father used to be one of the artisans at this site and that nowadays pieces are fired off in electric kilns.

The gallery/kiln area was truly amazing to see.

We then went back to the hotel to check-in then quickly went back out to check out the oldest bathhouse in the area.

Ko-so-yu is a restored bathhouse dating back to the Meiji era.

They don't allow you to use soap or shampoo at this bath, just soak.

The area to disrobe is not separate from the bathing area like modern bathhouses are, so they give you a plastic bag to put your clothes in so they don't get wet from the steam.

Even though this was a restored bathhouse, it was a beautiful place with stained glass windows.

Dinner at the hotel was a disappointment, there was crab, but it was very "dry", Satoshi was also very disappointed with the meal which is surprising because he usually enjoys whatever he eats.

Not wanting to end this post on a bad note, I was fascinated with this huge tea pot objet at the JR Kanazawa station...it even had a cover!

Bengara-ya
59 Yamashiro Onsen Road
Kaga, Ishikawa
Phone: 0761.76.4393

Kutaniyaki Kiln and Gallery
19 Yamashiro Onsen 101-9
Kaga, Ishikawa
Phone: 0761.77.0020

anniversary

This year, our anniversary falls on a weekday, so we decided to celebrate a little early and went to a hot spring in our neighborhood called Minoosansou-Kazenomori. This place is a bit pricey so we were saving it for a special occasion.

From the Hankyu Minoo station, there is a shuttle bus that runs every hour and twenty minutes for guests. The first impression as you enter this hotel is the lobby area--its large windows overlook Minoo city and there are many places to sit and just daydream.

After checking in, we went to our room and had some tea and sweets. Every room has a view of Minoo city also, so it is quite a nice place to just sit and chat.

It is said that you should bathe at least three times while at the hot springs....once before dinner, once right before bed and once before breakfast...so that is what we did.

Our dinner started off with o-tsukuri (sashimi in other places--sliced raw fish)

Assorted kobachi (appetizers)

The main dish was "sansou nabe", an original hot pot filled with a miso (soy bean paste) and dashi(stock), beef and lots of veggies. The soup was a bit sweet, but tasty.

And for dessert, fruits.

After the sun sets, you can look at the city lights and sit quietly in the lobby area and chat. This lamp was interesting, woven from wood.

I really enjoyed this place, lots of interesting art and the places to sit were different shapes and sizes and all made from wood.

It was a great, relaxing weekend.

Hope you have a great week.

Minoosansou-Kazenomori
2-14-71 Minoo
Phone: 072.722.2191