Wakayama Onsen and Snowshoe Experience Tour

  

Blake is the one usually planning our trips when we travel, but this trip was the first time we did a tour group. We found out about this specific tour from a local community member who was familiar with the group organizing the tour. We took an "Adventure World" train and got a bento lunch box to eat.

  

Once we arrived in Wakayama we walked around the isolated Ryujin Village for a about an hour and a half. We saw a small shrine known as Anada Dragon Shrine, temples, and a long bridge. For safety reasons, only five people at a time could walk on the bridge. Towards the end of the walking tour we went to Tenchugura. In the 18th century, the tenchu gumi were a group of fugitive samurai who sought refuge in Ryujin Village. The people from the village helped them and hid them. They were hidden in Tenchugura, during which time the leader of the group wrote a death poem in blood on one of the buildings walls.

    

Our accommodation in Ryujin was a ryokan. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese-style inn that has tatami floors, futon beds, and local food. Blake and I had our own room with a low tea table and green tea. There was also an onsen, a natural hot spring, on the basement level of the hotel. When you stay in a ryokan you get a yukata – a type of casual kimono – to wear around the establishment and onsen. There are separate hot springs, one for females and another for males. They are separate because you must bathe yourself in order to enter the water. Yes, that means everyone is naked. This was my first time at an onsen and I was nervous about the steps involved, especially being naked in front of strangers. At first I couldn't believe it – I'm naked in a "public" place, but then so is everyone else who is there and they don't care. They are minding their own business and relaxing. Honestly, I loved the experience! You do get a small towel that's barely big enough to cover your front side for those that want to be modest as you go from the communal showers to the water. You also use it to dry yourself before heading to the lockers to change into your clothes. The towel must not touch the water, so you fold it up and place it either on your head or near the edge of the pool while you're relaxing in the warm water.

  

The next day we got on the tour bus and headed to Mt. Gomadan, where we went snowshoeing! It was my first time being surrounded by this much snow. The tour group we were with took care of everything and even provide the snow gear needed. I did not feel cold except for my face and hands (when I took off my gloves). The snowshoe experience was an hour and a half long. We started and ended by Gomasan Skytower. This was one of my favorite trips we have done in Japan so far! I got to try new experiences, some of which I was nervous about. If you ever have a chance to go to an onsen, I would highly recommend you do it even if it sounds a bit intimidating. I think it's worth going out of your comfort zone and trying it out.