Well, the train ride to Noboribetsu was interesting. I was enjoying listening to music on my PSP when the guy in the aisle across from me spilled his huge can of beer and got my shoes all soaked. Luckily I saved the pack before it got sopped in beer. The guy then tried to mop up the wet train car floor with his Asahi Shimbun newspaper. After he was pleased with his efforts, even though the floor was still wet, he ordered another beer to celebrate a job well done.
We arrived in Noboribetsu and took a bus to the Noboribetsu Onsen area. Onsen is the Japanese word for hot springs, and this area of Noboribetsu is the most famous for hot springs in all of Japan. Similar to Hakodate, there were no western foreigners - there were however foreigners from other Asian countries in large numbers.
We stayed at the Dai-Ichi Takimotokan, the most famous Onsen in all of Japan (or at least that's how it bills itself). We were greeted by a friendly parking office attendant who asked "Excuse me, where are you from?" My mom said Seattle, WA but he didn't get it. I said it in Japanese and he got it. He commented about The Seattle Mariners. Later, when we were walking to Hell's Valley the same guy came up to us and said "Excuse me, where are you from?" I said, "Didn't we already do this?" He remembered and laughed.
We went to Hell's Valley which was right near our hotel (See the pics below). It was very pretty and easily photographed in all its majesty. I didn't have the heart to walk all the way down the trail and get up close and personal with the sulfer smell - I can do that from my dorm room window in Kimball when they water the plants.
Dai-Ichi Takimotokan is billed as the best Onsen because it is not just one onsen, it is an amusement park of onsens. The Daifukuba or Grand Bath has over ten different baths. There were boiling hot demon baths and all sorts of baths that were supposed to cure illnesses and give you beautiful skin. I still have asthma, but my skin does look a bit clearer.
Bath house style bathing in Japan (for those who don't know) involves sitting in a communal room on a little wooden stool and washing yourself in front of a mirror. All the other men (most older) are naked with you. Just about all baths are separated by the sexes now but some are still an awkward gender free for all. The idea behind Japanese bathing is to clean yourself before you enter the bath tubs themselves and thus not contaminate the water. I started by splashing myself with bucketfuls of water, and then I used squid ink-black hair shampoo and concrete gray body lotion. It was not uncommon to see the Japanese people spending a half hour cleaning themselves before entering any of the tubs.
In terms of tubs there were all types (this is the distinguishing feature of the Dai-Ichi Hotel). There was a cold jacuzzi, a boiling hot wooden box, a small hot tub with a swim up bar attached, three outdoor baths in the snow, and body massaging water jets. My personal favorites for all around weirdness were the water race course, where you tromped through ankle high lukewarm water in a giant circle, and the terrifying fog room. The fog room is a giant glass box filled with boiling hot white fog. You can't see anything at all (it didn't help that I didn't have my glasses). My heart rate started to race and I got disoriented. It felt like being dead and what I imagine going to heaven would feel like - minus the panic.
The next day we went to Higuma Bokujoh or The Brown Bear Habitat. After logistical confusion, we had to climb about 18 million stairs (Japanese people love stairs) to get to the tramway to take us to the bear habitat. We found out later that the tramway to take us up to the tramway was broken, which is why we did the stairs.
When they said a tramway into the mountains boy they weren't kidding. The ride was beautiful! We literally ascended the entire mountain and there was snow and everything - the rest of Noboribetsu disappeared away as we climbed higher and higher towards the mountain-top location of the habitat.
The park was a bit shocking / confusing / interesting. There was supposed to be a traditional Japanese village we could visit but it was closed due to the snow. There was also supposed to be a show where you could watch the trained brown bears ride around on tricycles but it was also not in operation.
The park is basically an opportunity to buy 100 Yen biscuit packs and feed the bears (see the pictures below). You can throw the biscuits to your favorite bear or put them in little shoots and fire them blowgun style at a bear's mouth. You can't help but feel sorry for the bears and their life of trained performance for tourists. I guess it is no different from Sea World or San Diego Zoo when you think about it, but something feels different. I'm not sure if there's a PETA or WWF in Japan - there's certainly not one for aquatic life - but the whole park felt like a giant game, not like a wildlife habitat.
When we got back down the mountain we saw a caged bear that was being sent down the mountain on a tram car when we arrived in the park. The caged bear was now on ground level. Maybe they were taking her to the vet? There were news crews there filming the bear - only in Japan.
More bathing that night and some yummy food in the buffet. Mom started to get really sick with a cold. She's feeling a bit better now but it was pretty bad for a while. We even had to buy one of those sickly old woman face masks for her so she didn't spread germs on everybody.
Next up Sapporo and BEER! Stay tuned.
B.E.W.
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