Saturday, August 29, 2009

Oedo Monogatari Onsen (Hotspring in Japan)


Ok, so I went to Japan during mid-August and one of the places I went to was the Oedo Monogatari Onsen. It's not like any other hot springs out there because the inside of the building is themed like a historical Japan. This is actually a must-visit if you're ever going to Tokyo.

When I stepped inside, the girls in yukatas came rushing to me saying, "No! no! Shoes no!" Then I immediately got the message when I saw everyone's feet, no one was wearing shoes. I guess that was one of the traditions in old-japan, take off your shoes when you enter a house or ryouken.



As you can see in the video, I wore a yukata and so did everyone else. When I paid for my onsen ticket, I have to choose a yukata to wear inside. I thought that was pretty cool since I felt like I've really traveled back in time while walking around with my yukata on. The inside is filled with shops, games, and tons of Japanese restaurants. The first thing I did when I entered was eat. My aunt and I choose a restaurant where you sit on a cushion and cross your legs together. The food was, of course, great!


Ok, after filling our tummies, we decided to get a foot bath first. You know, to get our feet warmed up. The bath was outdoors and it was decorated beautifully. The foot bath actually hurts because of the numerous tiny pebbles at the bottom of the water. It was really suppose to help message your feet, but it felt like walking on needles instead. xD My aunt couldn't take it anymore, so she got off the water and I just continued walking *very slow like a grandma*.

Here comes the BEST part of the hot spring! DR. FISH! :D I love Dr. Fish. When I reached the end of the foot bath, I see a little hut labeled DR. FISH. Inside, you sit around this pool with everyone else and dip your feet into the water and let the Dr. Fish tickle your feet! Dr. Fish helps removes the dead skin cells that you have on your feet so you might feel a little vibration everytime a fish touches you. The feeling of the fishes on my feet was amazing! It tickled so much that it made me laugh like a maniac. I was probably the only one who laughed so much since everyone around me was pretty quite, except for a few people. I couldn't help it though, I have no control trying to resist moving everywhere. xD Here's a video of me making a fool of myself!


And Finally, we visited the hot springs. It was REALLY embarrassing because I had to take off ALL of my clothes (including my bra and undies.) when I go into the baths. It was such a sight when I entered the woman's changing room. There was naked women and girls everywhere!!!!! AHHH!!!!! But after a while, I got use to it since it seems like everyone didn't really care. When I finally stripped off all my clothes, I used a towel to cover my private parts and walked outside. I dipped myself into a milky looking hot spring and it felt so amazingly good! The extreme hotness of the water was so comfortable that I could just sleep in it. But to my surprise, I couldn't take the temperature for more than 5 minutes. LOL. I didn't expect it to feel so hot after a while. It was a good thing they have benches outside. So I sat there and enjoyed the cool breeze. It was just like paradise.... ahh....


Before I know it, it was already 9:00 pm. So we left the onsen. While we were waiting for the bus, I saw something really pretty!

3 comments:

  1. that sounds really, really really fun!!! :D
    nice kimono or yukata or whatever it's called XD and i think that fish thingy is so cool :) it's freakin genius! :) but the stripping-off-thingy sounds uncomfortable. LOL. but the whole thing looks pretty awesome =D

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  2. Uwahhh I'M SO JEALOUSSSSS.
    That looks SO freaking cool. D:
    I want to wear that yukata wow! Japan has the funniest place everrrr.
    LOL! The naked spa part made me laugh. That would be VERY uncomfortable. I think I'd spend most of my time there trying to cover my body since it is embarrassing and I am fat. ):
    But it looks SO fun, I love the picture of the water-area and the first picture. It looks SOSOOOOOO pretty

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  3. You look cool in that get up! Japan seems like a great place to visit. I heard of the fish pond before on Travel Channel.

    Wow, you have to stripe naked? I can't stand looking at naked people much less be myself naked. Luckily there was only women.

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