So here is how my 20th birthday went. I woke up and went to work in the rain. Don't worry it gets better. We cut up a bunch of onions, had lunch, and hit the onsen! You may be asking yourself: "What is an onsen?" Well my friends, an onsen is a Japanese hot spring.
The onsen is perched on a hill about a 5 minutes car ride from here. Akio dropped us off at the front and took off before we could figure out anything. First we switched our shoes at the door for slippers. Then we went downstairs and found a stand where a guy collected our 400 ($4.80) yen tickets. Zoe and I were separated at this point to go into the locker room.
The first thing you do is get naked. You strip everything off and pack it into a locker, then grab the key and put it around your wrist. I had a towel for washing and for drying but unfortunately not one for scampering. The towel you dry with is big and fluffy -- that you keep in your locker. The towel you wash with has a burlap texture and is basically the size of a scarf so you can wash your back. The scampering towel is to be held in front of you when you're scampering and rested on your head or on the side of the bath when you're not. I did not have that.
So I scampered naked over to the washing area. I am sure there were a lot of jokes about a white hairy ghost that day (since I have hair on my legs and arms.) The washing areas is a bunch of stools in a row with soap and shampoo labeled in English at each of the 15 or so stations. I am an expert on these by now. It was funny though because people were shaving and brushing their teeth at these stations too.
After I washed I had three tubs to choose from: a tub about ten by forty feet by the gigantic window overlooking the valley, a small hot tub-like bath, and a bath made of stone outside. I started with the big one. It was hard to sit flat with my legs out in it, but they are all about 2.5 feet deep so when you're on your butt the water is up to your chin. When I could take the heat no longer, I showered off in cold water.
Next I went to the one outside. It is weird walking in the wilderness naked and very.... free. I sat in the tub until most of the blood had definitely drained from my head, then sat on the side for a while and repeated the process a few times.
Finally after I had completely transformed into a rubber-like material, I got out, clothed myself, and met Zoe in the lobby. We returned to the farm and had dinner. After dinner Zoe whipped out an APPLE PIE she had made for me! It was delicious and 'Merican, hell yes. The kids went nuts for it too. It was delicious and I had a Japanese family sing happy birthday to me which is gets weird about 2/3s through.
The pie was amazing and Zoe had to jump through a lot of hoops to make it great. First of all she had to cook it in this sort of microwave contraption and get around the lack of 'Merican ingredients. I loved the pie SO much. Unfortunately, one person loved the pie more than me: Toa, the two year old boy. He ate it, came back, had seconds, asked for more, and when he was refused he asked me to draw him a bowling scene.
Toa is two, keep this in mind. He LOVES bowling, has a plastic set of his own, and watches youtube videos of bowling every day. How much more awesome could Toa be? After I finished drawing Toa the bowling scene he crumpled it up like a bowling ball and stored it in the toaster oven with his baseball that he uses as a bowling ball.
I must say it was a really great birthday. It's a little hard to be away from family but I am grateful to have Zoe around. Also, I am beginning to look forward to my return home on July 21st/22nd. Damn it! 20th birthday in the Japanese alps!
The onsen is perched on a hill about a 5 minutes car ride from here. Akio dropped us off at the front and took off before we could figure out anything. First we switched our shoes at the door for slippers. Then we went downstairs and found a stand where a guy collected our 400 ($4.80) yen tickets. Zoe and I were separated at this point to go into the locker room.
The first thing you do is get naked. You strip everything off and pack it into a locker, then grab the key and put it around your wrist. I had a towel for washing and for drying but unfortunately not one for scampering. The towel you dry with is big and fluffy -- that you keep in your locker. The towel you wash with has a burlap texture and is basically the size of a scarf so you can wash your back. The scampering towel is to be held in front of you when you're scampering and rested on your head or on the side of the bath when you're not. I did not have that.
So I scampered naked over to the washing area. I am sure there were a lot of jokes about a white hairy ghost that day (since I have hair on my legs and arms.) The washing areas is a bunch of stools in a row with soap and shampoo labeled in English at each of the 15 or so stations. I am an expert on these by now. It was funny though because people were shaving and brushing their teeth at these stations too.
After I washed I had three tubs to choose from: a tub about ten by forty feet by the gigantic window overlooking the valley, a small hot tub-like bath, and a bath made of stone outside. I started with the big one. It was hard to sit flat with my legs out in it, but they are all about 2.5 feet deep so when you're on your butt the water is up to your chin. When I could take the heat no longer, I showered off in cold water.
Next I went to the one outside. It is weird walking in the wilderness naked and very.... free. I sat in the tub until most of the blood had definitely drained from my head, then sat on the side for a while and repeated the process a few times.
Finally after I had completely transformed into a rubber-like material, I got out, clothed myself, and met Zoe in the lobby. We returned to the farm and had dinner. After dinner Zoe whipped out an APPLE PIE she had made for me! It was delicious and 'Merican, hell yes. The kids went nuts for it too. It was delicious and I had a Japanese family sing happy birthday to me which is gets weird about 2/3s through.
The pie was amazing and Zoe had to jump through a lot of hoops to make it great. First of all she had to cook it in this sort of microwave contraption and get around the lack of 'Merican ingredients. I loved the pie SO much. Unfortunately, one person loved the pie more than me: Toa, the two year old boy. He ate it, came back, had seconds, asked for more, and when he was refused he asked me to draw him a bowling scene.
Toa is two, keep this in mind. He LOVES bowling, has a plastic set of his own, and watches youtube videos of bowling every day. How much more awesome could Toa be? After I finished drawing Toa the bowling scene he crumpled it up like a bowling ball and stored it in the toaster oven with his baseball that he uses as a bowling ball.
I must say it was a really great birthday. It's a little hard to be away from family but I am grateful to have Zoe around. Also, I am beginning to look forward to my return home on July 21st/22nd. Damn it! 20th birthday in the Japanese alps!
Happy birthday, Max!
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