Visas, Birthday Suits, and a New Home

So, I'd like to say that, after all the stress and worry and extra cash the E2 confirmation number caused by showing up late, I think it was worth it.  Japan was an amazing and beautiful country and I can't wait to go back someday.  While there, the visa process even seemed sort of secondary.  I dropped my passport off on Wednesday which took just a few minutes.  They told me to come back the next day at 1:30pm.  I showed up, expecting it to take some time to finish the proceedings.  But they had my passport waiting there, showed me my picture and asked if it was me, and handed it to me.  Couldn't have been easier.  My passport, however, feels infinitely more valuable after all of the legalities and time that went into that visa.  I treasure it dearly.


So after the two minutes it took to grab my visa, I got to cross something off of my bucket list.  Alan and I traveled an hour and a half up into the mountains of Japan to visit an onsen.  We found a few blogs online about the Ajisai No Yu onsen, here and here.  One of the blogs suggested calling ahead to see if they were opened.   So Alan called and they spoke absolutely no English.  But someone answered, so we assumed that meant they were open.

So we grabbed a train to the Yahata station about an hour away.  There's a free shuttle bus that shows up to the bus stop I think every 20-40 minutes or so.  (Probably whatever a round trip from the onsen takes).  We got lucky and the bus happened to show up 2 minutes after we got there.  Which is good because we had no idea where to wait.

The bus is pretty discernible and looks like this. 

The view on the way through the mountains was beautiful and really got me excited for the hot springs.

So we got there and had no idea what to do.  I took a few steps inside and was pleasantly greeted by an angry Japanese woman indicating that I should take my shoes off.  

We kind of just stood there a while until we figured out that you have to buy your admission tickets at a sort of vending machine.  They cost about 800 yen ($8) each.  You can also buy things like shampoos, towels, hairbrushes, etc for extra fees.  We gave our tickets to the above mentioned Japanese lady who now was actually pleasant after we had removed our shoes and she gestured that we should go downstairs.  

Down the stairs, you'll find the entrances to the male and female baths.  In blogs, I had read that ladies generally go through the red curtain and men the blue, but we waited to watch someone go in to be sure.  They have private baths for couples or families that you can rent out, but that defeats the purpose of experiencing an onsen, right?  I can bathe with my husband at home.  It's not every day that I have to don my birthday suit in public and bathe with the old Japanese ladies.  So Alan and I said our goodbyes and respectively headed inside. 

There's a locker room immediately upon entering that you stow your possessions in.  The lockers cost 100 yen but they spit your coin back at you when you put the key back in the locker so you don't really pay anything. As an ex-swimmer, wearing very little clothing and having things hanging out that generally shouldn't was nothing new, so walking around naked didn't perturb me much.  Walking into the bathing area to find all the 60+ year old women was the more troubling part.  It's a quick shock, but the appeal of the baths dissipates it quickly.  You're all there to enjoy the same thing.  

Now, onsen etiquette rule number 1.  You DO NOT go into the baths without scrubbing off first.  You all have to share that water, you'd better be clean getting in.  So there are two rows of little faucet stations with little stools to sit on and buckets to rinse yourself with.  They have body soap, shampoo, and conditioner provided (for the ladies at least.  Alan will have to speak for the men).  After you've scrubbed off, there are various baths and saunas that you can enjoy.  Alan said that inside, there was also a cool bath, but I never found that one on the lady's side. I just went right outside, which was glorious.  It was quiet-just the gentle hum of cicadas and I could see the mountains all around me.  It made me realize that my mind had been nothing but a train engine for the past week.  Loud and constantly chugging.  It felt great to settle down a bit.  

After you've finished with your bathing and you've dressed, there's a waiting area directly outside the locker area that has massage chairs and foot massage machines that can be used for a few hundred yen.  

Upstairs, there's a rest area that you can go to do whatever (nap, read, talk quietly, etc) and a restaurant on the third floor.  The good thing about the restaurant was that it also used vending machine tickets.  The waitresses spoke no English, so we just had to match the picture of what we wanted to the correct ticket to purchase and wallah!  Food!    

Even though the commute was very expensive and time consuming, it was definitely worth it.  Even if visiting an onsen wasn't something on my bucket list, it's still a great experience that I'd recommend for anyone.  Totally worth it. 

So Friday, we got back on the ferry to Busan, Korea and stayed the night there.  We found a great Thai place online that we sought out.  It's kind of nice to know that no matter where you go in the world, Pad Thai is pretty much the same.  :D They also served us plum tea for desert in really decorative cups.  It was delicious.  Sweetest tea I've ever had.  

On our way back past Busan Station to the hotel, there was a water/light show going on.  They had music playing and the water/light was synced to it.  It was really pretty and aesthetically pleasing to those who enjoy synesthetic experiences.

We got back to Ulsan this morning and met with our landlords.  Chung (whose first name is actually Youn-Jo I discovered) helped us with translation and took us to the store to buy a few essentials.  So we're all moved in now.  We have a home.  We have a washer (Koreans don't use dryers), fridge, stove, functioning bathroom, internet, tv, and AC.  We have no furnishings yet though.  So we'll be sleeping on the floor for a bit.  But Korean mattresses are notoriously hard as concrete, so I don't think I'll notice a difference from the beds I've been sleeping on.  XD  It's just good to not be homeless anymore.  

The view from outside our window