It took another 48 hours — all of Saturday and Sunday — to emerge from the haze and misery of the sickness. I spent most of both days in the hotel room in Tokyo. And what a waste of a beautiful, warm weekend it was. At least the view from our room on the 30th floor of the Century Southern Tower Hotel in Shinjuku was fabulous.
On Monday morning, the fever broke and my energy returned, though the cough and sinus blockage remain even now.
Okay. Enough about personal health, or lack thereof.
On Monday, Sam and I traveled to Shima Onsen, a small hot springs resort village in the mountains in Gumma Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo. We stayed at a great ryokan (traditional inn). The outdoor baths were beautiful and the food was very good.
2 thoughts on “Shima Onsen”
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Gunma has some beautiful onsen. If you ever get the chance, visit Takuragawa Onsen (we usually stay at Dõgen-sõ a bit further down the road because it’s much cheaper). It’s about 40 minutes by car from Minakami (there’s a bus if you’re sans auto).
Takuragawa has very nice outdoor baths nestled in beside a little river, and the out-buildings are old and very pretty. Dõgen-sõ isn’t bad either and also has a good outdoor bath (not as spectacular as Takuragawa).
It’s been *far* too long since I visited and onsen…
Jeremy,
Thanks for the onsen suggestion. I’m always looking for good recommendations.
One of my students knows how much I like onsen, so today she gave me a collection of onsen-at-home packets. Apparently, they each contain the essence of a famous onsen. So you can sprinkle the powder into the bath at home, close your eyes and pretend you’re bathing at the real thing.