“Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not Today.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Length: 1.98 mi
Moving time: 32:00
High temp: 90°F
Water temp: 197°F
Home Sweet Hostel
Use the slider above to open and close the window of our Japanese-style room. Below is the tiniest genkan (entryway) I encountered on the trip. Just enough room to ditch your house slippers before heading onto the comfy but fragile tatami mats. After a breakfast of sweet bun, coffee and ibuprofen, we walked to the post office in to use the ATM. So I guess technically it wasn’t a zero day.
My main goal for the day was to take as many onsen dips as possible. This beautiful outdoor bath was part of our accommodations at J-Hoppers. The hot spring waters of Yunomine are mineral-rich and full of strange little clusters of yu-no-hana: “hot spring flowers.” You can see them floating above our feet. You can also see Alexis’ tattoo which reads “Not all those who wander are lost”. This inspired the Tolkien quotes associated with each of these Kumano Kodo posts.
Tsuboyu
In the cool of the evening, we headed down the road to the oldest “spa” in Japan, Tsuboyu. This tiny, sacred hot spring has been use for more than 1,800 years. The water is chock full of sulfur, sodium, and hydrogen carbonate. It’s supposed to cure all sorts of ailments. Very smelly. That’s how you know it’s working.
The water was almost 200 degrees Fahrenheit! I regularly added cold water from a tap but could only stay in for about 15 minutes. I popped out bright pink and a bit too warm, but happily found an ice-cold ginger ale in the vending machine by the bathhouse. I even got to meet the real-life Yubaba, and she was just as mean as the one in Spirited Away XD
Karada Bar
After the onsen, we tried Karada Bar to further relax and release our sore muscles. Our instructor, Yosuke Kuriyama, was very kind and knowledgeable. It’s one of my life goals to be able to teach aerial arts in Japanese, so I was super impressed when Kuriyama-sensei was able to lead an entire class in a non-native language. I felt amazing the next day and was able to enjoy some Karada Bar techniques using my trekking poles later in the hike.