Not a day goes by in Japan when I'm not surprised by something I encounter. Here's a little taste of what my friends and I unexpectedly experienced this morning in Satomi, a small village in northern Ibaraki (please excuse the poor quality of the video:/ ). Today, I was invited by my friends to go to an "apple onsen" in Daigo, a place in Ibaraki famous for apples. On the way there, we decided to stop at the "Satomi Music Festival." I heard country music for the first time in Japan and loved it!
After lunch, we made our way to the apple onsen. Onsens are public baths, like spas, that can be found all around Japan. In Daigo, we went to an apple onsen, where fresh apples float in the main bath! The apples looked, smelt, and felt completely fresh, which was surprising since they were floating in a hot bath. The apple bath was inside; the bath outside was filled with an assortment of colored flowers. We joked about feeling like we were in fairytale. It really looked and felt like it. The outside bath was nice because the air was cool, which made the hot bath more bearable. Also, it was nice to look at the mountain scenery, especially the red and orange leaves on the trees. And even better, the free body soap, shampoo and conditioner provided by the spa were apple scented! I came home relaxed and with the scent of fresh apples all over my body.
It was so refreshing, and the perfect way to spend a Fall afternoon here. The only downside was that Jen and I forgot to bring socks to change into after the bath, and it was really cold. Luckily, we found some in a little shop in the same building as the onsen. Not exactly what we were looking for, but they worked!
