All things Japanese: Bullet Train, Origami & Onsens

I pretty much skipped breakfast again today, turns out that although all my life I believed food to be my one true love, turns out I prefer an extra fifteen to thirty minutes in bed over breakfast. The group is all packed round a few small tables that Rachel has placed reserved cards on for our group with all our bags all around us or scattered by reception. Straight after breakfast we are heading for Nagano. It is our first group trip in country and arguably the most inconvenient – in Japan hostels do this awesome thing where they forward your luggage onto your next spot, but unfortunately that isn’t possible to Nagano, so all our luggage is coming with us. It is a fairly easy trip to be honest, the trains in Japan are not only punctual but clean and fast, like real fast! That’s right I’m on a bullet train, motha flippers – from Tokyo to Kanazawa, stopping at our destination, Nagano. With speeds up to 300km, the Shinkansen trains are a smooth, comfortable ride. The stations confuse me but luckily the rest of the group and I just have to follow Rachel, so easy enough! On the ride I am sat next to one of the two Sarahs on our trip, this one isn’t the one that had to suffer me knocking on our room door when I forgot my key and towel though! We have a really nice chat about travels, movies and life in general which makes the ride go really fast. Sarah is English but is moving to Seattle soon so we talk about my time in America as well.

Before we can indulge in any of these, the group has an origami class to go to. A traditional family business we are taught by people who have learnt the trade from their parents who, in turn, learnt from theirs. It is a great class we are split into three different tables, each with our own teacher, but only one interpreter between us all, so we are heavily relying on the supportive noises and nods from our teacher. I was on a table with Ashley, Jas, Sarah and Marley and we all get through the first of our two assignments with relative ease, completing our swans fairly quickly. However, our second project is a little more complex and I think that at least one point each of us had a moment of ‘oh well I am completely lost now’, but nevertheless we made it through. At the end the teachers very kindly gave everyone a gift of a small origami piece they had made earlier and one person had a special one, a winning one, shown by a green mark on the back of the piece of card in your gifts bag. I instantly notice that Ashley sitting next to me has the green, she is champion again, not only at sushi but at origami as well.

Once we arrive at the station it is a short bus ride to the hostel in Shibu Onsen, a historic hot spring town in Yamanouchi, on the outskirts of Nagano. Me being me, I get intrigued by the fact that this bus has seats that fold out of the arm of the main seat into the middle walkway like a tray table. I am unsurprisingly the only person who is weirdly excited by this and sits in one. Shibu Onsen is lovely with the Yokoyu river flowing through and rocks all around. It is a small, traditional town; the sort of place where you feel life just goes a little slower in, at its own pace. This is confirmed when Rachel tells us on the bus ride that the shops, bars and restaurants in this area open as and when they please. After a short walk from the bus (our hostel is on a narrow road the bus can’t take us down) we arrive at our hostel. The rooms are a more classical in design as we are staying in a Ryokan – a traditional Japanese Inn. I am sharing with Rebecca and Natalie, travelling companions from the US who met on a different tour, and also poor Amanda, who is stuck with me again! So as far as I am concerned I am one of the gurls! The beds are traditional tatami mats laid on the floor and the room is not massive with a table in the middle. The room also has paper doors and between the four of us there is one key. We also have a public onsen key. Onsens are a big part of life here with this small town having nine of these public hot springs within walking distance of our hostel.

Luke, me, Stephen and The Guersney Gals: Katie and Brooke, at the standing bar

After folding our little hearts out Stephen, Luke and I decide to head to an onsen together. Now you may be wandering why only the guys were going together, well you see these are all nude public baths/hot springs. The onsen is a deeply historic and spiritual thing here and clothes inside the onsen are considered dirty and are strictly prohibited so the onsens are separated by gender. Although many of the women on the trip are indulging in these hot spring baths, unfortunately for me, probably not for them, I can’t go with them, me being a man and all. So Luke, Stephen and I somewhat awkwardly walk to an onsen in traditional Yakutias, a loose dressing gown type thing and Getas, traditional sandals. Once there we join strangers in the very hot but surprisingly small hot spring bathtub. Now this isn’t a place to bathe, one is supposed to shower before arriving and often expected to pour water on yourself before getting in. We sillily forget this and in our haste to not be standing around naked, jump right in. It is hot, like really rather hot. The two gentlemen there before us, leave so we have the place to ourselves, but we still only last roughly ten minutes before having to get out and cool down. All in all a rather nice and liberating experience. Would heavily recommend it to anyone visiting Japan, don’t be British and reserved, get your kit off and enjoy yourself, it is refreshing.

Kanaguya Ryokan and Onsen, the hot spring that inspired the sets for 'Spirited Away'

Origami Class

Loving my middle seat!

Koishiya Ryokan

Spot the Yakutias, Getas... and the sexy socks!

After the onsen the three of us all agree that we could do with a drink and once dressed in the hostel we head out in search of one of these elusive pubs. On our way we run into the Guernsey Gals, Katie and Brooke. You would think between the five of us, finding a pub or bar wouldn’t be that difficult but almost every one we pass is closed today. We even cross the river and climb the hill on the other side having googled and found a brewery, but once there we realise it is more of a factory than a place that serves drinks. We head back down the hill and admit that we have to go to the small standing bar we passed earlier but ignored in search for somewhere with seats. Once there we are joined by Mark and Sarah, the couple who I had been sharing a room with in Tokyo but luckily for them, now had their own room! Mark at one point puts his pint down on one the barrels being used as tables, to take a photo with his phone. At this point some French tourists come over to give him some unrequested tips on how to take a better picture. I mention this interaction because Mark was very friendly and accepted their advice, even though Mark is in fact a professional photographer who’s pictures have been on book covers and in Vogue magazine. So essentially someone who can probably take a picture of his beer without interference!

Once back, the group head for a dinner together. It is a nice restaurant with tables which have sunken footwells underneath, making them extremely comfortable to sit at. Soon our conversation comes onto Amanda, who tell us of her search for some tentacle manga, she works for a firm who’s logo is a tentacled animal and thought it would be a funny present for her work colleagues. This conversation leads on to hentai, the more explicit version of manga and anime and ends with me googling images to explain what is essentially tentacle porn, and we are laughing our arses off. Rachel, who is sitting near me, gives me a look that says this probably isn’t appropriate, although with a slight smirk on her face. This probably hasn’t happened on any of her tours before but, hey, we did have a good laugh. After dinner a few of us go back to one of the pubs which is now open, just a couple doors down from our hostel. After a few drinks we suddenly hear a song that doesn’t quite sound professional and Lucinda, Stephen, Luke, Amanda, Mark, Sarah and I share a look. Turns out that a few drinks and some karaoke tunes are enough for us to stay in the bar until we are kicked out half an hour after the barmen/owner had told us it was the last song. It was a good night in the sleepy town of Shibu Onsen.