Hot springs | KaleidoscopE

What a fun weekend! Thursday the 4th of January, Lin and Rob took Fred and me on an adventure. Without telling us the destination, they told us to bring warm clothes for two days and we piled into a rental car for a five-hour drive from Kawasaki.

Destination Nagano! Rest stops along the expressway are quite extensive, with large parking lots, restrooms, shops, and vendors. Paper cones of roasted and sweetened almonds, cashews, or peanuts enticed us to buy one of each to share. Yum!

Thanks to GPS we found our way to Yamanouchi-machi. We checked into our large room and found tea waiting for us. The square table has four adjustable stadium-type seats on the floor. Under the table top are blankets and a quilt to hold in heat generated by heat lamps that are protected by a mesh cage. We can choose low, med, or high heat and our legs are toasty warm! We have enjoyed tea and good conversation here several times a day.

The first afternoon we agreed not to use any electronics until after dinner! Today as I write this, Lin and I are both on iPads and the guys are playing Minecraft on their phones

Dinner at 6 and breakfast at 8 were served Japanese style with so many delicious dishes. I’m not sure when I”ve tried so many new and unfamiliar foods. Using chopsticks was sometimes a challenge for me with the odd shapes and sizes.

After dinner was the first of several trips to one of the onsen (hot springs) at the inn. They are mostly segregated by gender, but after 11 if no one else is there, a group or couple can lock the door for a private spa. Lin and I loved the outdoor onsen under a light snow. So beautiful! The guys had different hours for that experience

Tomorrow, another surprise planned by Rob and Lin!