Ureshino Onsen & Omura Waterfall

Two Saturdays ago we decided to quell our desire to visit an "onsen" or hot spring resort by going to Ureshino.  There, we heard there was an onsen where English speakers would be easily assisted.  

We made it to Ureshino itself, thanks to GoogleMaps' GPS guidance, but finding the onsen itself took a while longer.  Twice in five minutes, we found ourselves needing to turn around, and both times, we used a big dirt truck lot to do so.  We thought nothing of his, until the second time a cross looking Japanese man approached us and said rather sternly, his arms forming an X in front of him, "dame da yo," or "you can't do that."  I apologized, and we went on our way.  At first I was embarrassed and sad, but then, I was irked.  This country is NOT easy to navigate, the majority of the roads are NOT marked clearly or named at all, so really, I can't imagine what else we as lost foreigners were supposed to do.   

In any case, we finally found the onsen with some help from Google, and once we arrived were pleased to discover the pricing was very reasonable.  We were able to get an onsen plus lunch package for only 2,700 yen per adult.

 The food was very tasty, with a leanness and healthiness that made us feel extra alive and revitalized.  Among the offerings was onsen-dofu, which is a special silken tofu that sits in hot spring water and boils, dissolving as it does so.  The resulting soup is a white broth with a soy milky, slightly rice-y taste to it.  I was a fan, though I wouldn't necessarily eat several bowls of it in one sitting.  But I have to admit I felt strangely refreshed and energetic after eating it.

Once done with our food, we headed to the bathing area, where we found out there were separate bathing areas for men and women.  You'd think I would have remembered something like that.  But I had forgotten this detail from my childhood visits to the onsen, especially since some of them are in fact co-ed.  Forced to adapt, we just agreed to meet up in an hour or so.

Once Aria and I were stripped down and rinsed off, we headed outside to the outdoor onsen pool.  It was very chilly outside, but the water was incredibly toasty, so the combination was rather refreshing.  The best part, however, was that the outside bathing pool was filled with hot TEA!  Yes, tea.  I don't know if it was oolong or green or some combination but whatever it was, it felt and smelled so very relaxing.  There were even green tea bags that one could soak in the hot water and then place on one's face to detoxify the skin.  I swear the bags under my eyes were less pronounced for several days afterward.

Hubby's experience was a bit different, as he has tattoos, which are still frowned upon by many people in this country.  He said he got avoided as he moved from bathing pool to bathing pool, until one kind gentleman came and chatted with him and simply explained it was a cultural thing.  Nevertheless Hubby still says he enjoyed the onsen experience itself, and that in the future all we need to do is get a private onsen for a slightly higher price and enjoy the bath in peace, without judgment.

Finished and satisfied with our hot spring adventure, we drove toward Omura, which Hubby claimed was beautiful and worth seeing.  On the way we saw a sign pointing toward a waterfall, so we decided on the short detour.  Turned out to be well worth it, because while it wasn't especially big or grand, the pleasant little waterfall was surrounded by boulders and rocks we could climb and sit on.  So we spent some time enjoying the view, communing with nature, and rescuing Aria's stuffed kitty cat from the water into which it was dropped accidentally.

Here are some pictures.   Please enjoy.

Hubby conquering and reveling in nature.

And here is a picture from Omura where we stopped for dinner.