The typhoon made for a stressful night, but when we awakened
in the morning it had moved on. Now we can say we survived a Typhoon. We
checked out and headed to the Kyoto Train Station. Our stress level increased
as the traffic was very slow and we were afraid we would miss our train. Not to
worry, Nancy had figured the traffic conditions into her suggested time to leave
the Ritz, and we made it without having to run.
With the Shinkansen, you keep your tickets and need them to
depart when you reach your destination. When we were about 15 minutes away from
our stop, I realized I couldn’t find them. A frantic search began. Eventually I
asked the attendant what happens if we don’t have our tickets. She looked around
and then removed the seat cushion and found them wedged into the seat mechanism.
They must have slipped out of my pocket during the ride.
At the Mishima Station we were supposed to be met by a taxi
to take us to our Onsen for the night: Asaba. We had a mis- communication
exiting the station from one side, while the taxi was waiting on the other
side. I had a Japanese SIM and was able to contact both the Taxi company (to no
avail – they didn’t speak English) and our local tour rep. It was quickly
resolved and the taxi appeared. On the drive, we were speeding along and
crossing a bridge when we realized Mt. Fuji was overlooking us. My iPhone is truly
amazing, I shot a whole bunch of pictures through
the window, and then enlarged and cropped the picture. I think it is great. I
used to buy a new camera every year, but stopped doing that many trips ago, and
only use the iPhone camera.
Asaba is a new facility, Onsens have natural hot springs to
soak in. We have a private wooden tub fed by the hot springs in our huge suite; there are both indoor
and outdoor public baths. This place is unbelievably beautiful. Natural wood,
huge garden and lagoon all make this especially nice. It is next to a bamboo
forest, and fast running river. I am sure the Typhoon made the river even
more turbulent. The sound of the rushing water is extremely loud when you are
near it.
We arrived and before check-in time and went to a nearby
Soba restaurant for a light lunch (pictures deceive, we didn’t finish it). We
then went on a walk through the charming village. Upon returning to Asaba we
both had massages and relaxed before dinner. In the Onsen they provide Yukatas
to wear, no shoes, no western clothes needed.
Dinner is served privately in one of the rooms of our suite.
We sat on the floor and were served course after course of delicious food.
It was a quite an experience. We also had a great bottle of:
2007 Gevrey-Chambertin. After dinner, we took a night walk through the
illuminated Bamboo forest and finally returned to our rooms.
It has been quite a day! Started very stressfully ended with
a relaxing stay.
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