Timeless Jozankei... Flying Carps Splash Over Our Heads, Homeward Bound They Dance

15th April, 2009 - It was a somewhat lazy start to the day after our night of... well... eating orgy. Needless to say, T-chan and I managed to have a relaxing morning ... but not much of a sleep-in as it was off to the onsen for an early bath followed by a quick tour of the immediate area. The hotel shuttle bus would be arriving (too) early to allow for a real sight-seeing adventure. For those that are interested in visiting, the Jozankei site can be found here.

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Whilst the hot-springs are why people come to Jozankei, there's plenty of stuff to do... in Autumn you can pop down to Houhaikyou Dam to see some brilliant scenery, and in winter you can ski. Autumn alas is another 6 months away, so we'd just have to make do with the small things, like the koinobori suspended over the river.

Now if you are wondering what all the koinobori streamers are for... well, they're more like pennants than anything. The name koinobori comes from koi (鯉) being carp, and nobori (幟) meaning banner. These are the traditional decoration that is put up for Children's Day (kodomo no hi) which occurs on the 5th May each year... and which is one of the public holidays that makes up Golden Week. Actually the festival originated in ancient times (from before the Heian Period) as the lunar festival Tango no Sekku. This was one of five seasonal festivals, and the one associated with the start of the summer rainy season... though the seasons are quite different here in Hokkaido it was still quite wet (but for different reasons).

The festival became associated with the celebration of boys, and indeed is often still referred to as the Boy's Festival... One of the aspects of the Boys Festival is that koinobori would be hung outside of the family house. The number and size of koinobori was dependent on the number of sons in the house (the biggest koinobori belonging to the eldest son). The significance of the Carp comes from an old Chinese legend that tells that if carp can make it to the top of a certain river (in China) they can become a dragon. The koinobori is therefore a symbol of the parents wish that the sons will endure and persist hardships to go on to great things.

Somehow in post-war Japan the Boys Festival was modified to be gender-non-specific. Was this an attempt to soften the Japanese culture, or to rebalance the gender bias? Strangely girls still have their Girl's Festival on 3rd March... And the name doesn't much matter anyhow as the trappings of the boys festival (koinobori and the samurai helmet displays known as kabuto) are still going strong in Japan.

Now for those that have read my other blog, you might recognise the chap below... it's a Kappa, the mischevious spirit that are said to inhabit just such areas as this. And like many parts of Japan, there are statues and art memorializing the little fella. Jozankei is said to be one of the places were you can find Kappa... or be found by them... so they have even more statues than normal.

In fact, they REALLY like Kappa statues here...they are all over Jozankei. As you can see by the nonchalantly held umbrella.... it was a slightly damp morning... whilst it may not have been the best weather for carp-flying, it was however perfect weather for an industrious Kappa-folk to come visiting. And still I have yet to see my first live kappa! ?;-)

 

Now we didn't have much of a chance to have a deeper look around, but there was one place I was curious to see... Iwanto Kannondo (otherwise known incorrectly as Jozankei Jinja, or shrine). Now this unimposing shrine hides a great little secret.

Care of Google StreetView

Inside the small building you'll find a doorway (on the right) that leads you through to an underground tunnel that cuts 120 metres into the mountainside before ending up opening up on the other side. It actually it looks more like a service tunnel than a cave (as it's often described). Entrance to the tunnel is by donation... so be honest and drop a coin or two in the collection tray.

Along the tunnel you will find a number of alcoves, and inside each of the alcoves you'll find a statue of the Kannon; ranging from the slightly gaudy to the more honest and rustic rough cut stone statues. Actually there's 33 statues of the Kannon to be exact. Kannon is the Japanese form of Guānyīn, who is also known as the Goddess of Mercy. Now... that means that this is not a "shinto shrine" at all, but rather a place of Buddhist veneration. I have read somewhere that this site was built for the many workers that were killed making tunnels in the local area. I would have thought it somewhat tempting fate then to build another tunnel to house these statues... 

It makes for an interesting, if slightly unnerving 5-10 min diversion whilst you're waiting for the bus. Just a word of advice however - being inside a tunnel 100 metres under a mountain is not a great place to hear a bus approaching. Make sure you leave plenty of time, just in case. Also - don't be surprised to get a little bit wet as there's often water running down from the ceiling of the tunnel (that's the unnerving part).

And speaking of water, if you've got the time and inclination, you can always try out the inumerous hand and feet baths that can be found around the area. They're free to use, and might ease some aching bones from walking through the mountains (especially if you up to see autumn colours).

With that we say farewell to Jozankei for now. I'm sure we'll be back!

Jozankei... A Night of Abandon...

14th April. 2009 - Today we were in for a treat. A parents retreat. Two days of fun... with or without the sun. Indeed, the sun had beat a quick retreat behind thick grey clouds. That, however, would not deter us. T-chan and I were on our romantic 2 day mini-break. Just the two of us. At last! It might, or might not, surprise you to know that this was our first night away from L-kun. Full stop. Of course - as all good parents did we worried about him horribly... for about 5 mins, and then we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

And how did we do that? Well, we jumped on a bus... a bus bound for Jozankei. Sapporo's other "romantic" getaway. Jozankei is the main onsen area, about 28 km from Sapporo Station by bus... actually, T-chan will most probably berate me here, as in her view Jozankei is still part of Sapporo. For a mere visitor however, it's on the other side of the mountains, and an eternity (and a 2 yo child) away. Autumn is the best season to visit Jozankei... and if you're interested, check out this older post when we were there during the golden leaves season.

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We stayed at the Hana Momiji onsen that sits alongside the river Toyohira-gawa, in the heart of the town of Jozankei. This particular onsen has two parts, the Hana-momiji portion is the taller Hotel to the left, whilst the lower (older?) Hotel wing by the riverside is known as Shika no Yu. There are a number of onsen, in the building itself,  but within the Hana-momiji section the main onsen is actually on the roof-top. Now... I'm most probably more a "natural" onsen person, but it's quite a bizarre feeling sitting (naked as you do) in a hot bath on top of an 12 storey building overlooking the town and across from the mountains.

Hana Momiji Onsen From Google StreetView

Actually, there are two onsen at the top floor - one for men and one for women, that alternate in the morning and evening. The onsen in the other wing are located on the 2nd floor, alongside the river itself. In terms of the onsen itself, I'd rate it 3 out of 5... it was a good onsen, but I'm a sucker for lakeside onsen or distant views of the mountain peaks... also, if I'm staying in an onsen hotel I prefer to stay where there's a good variety of different styles of bath.  As you can't take cameras into onsen (I certainly would feel uncomfortable if someone else did), you can check them out here to see a sample of the onsen baths themselves.

Of course - on the important issue of the onsen water... I have very little opinion. I'm sure most (though not all) Japanese enjoy onsen - and I'm sure there's just as many opinions about which water is best. Japanese certainly have a  greater appreciation for the water: whether it's temperature, smell, texture of skin following a bath, (supposed) curative powers - or just the particular array of minerals that are contained within the waters. For me, it's all about the degree of relaxation...

Our view was a slightly mixed bag. Like many onsen towns, Jozankei had evolved a fairly ugly concrete skeleton amidst the rugged beauty of the mountains. But as May was rapidly approaching, the town also like many parts of Japan, was already decked out in the koinobori (or carp pennants)... we'll see more about them later.

Another hint that the boys festival was approaching was the traditional kabuto, i.e. samurai helmet and armour (the armour part is optional), that was displayed down in the lobby. 

Returning to our room, to which we had been initially been guided to by one of the very helpful kimono-clad staff, we were able to relax even further. We had booked a "couples plan" (about 12,000 yen per person from memory...so not cheap), which meant a nice dinner in the room, and a little extra special attention. The room was Japanese style, so that meant that we'd be sleeping on futons... which had to be prepared once the dinner was completed (often done whilst your off enjoying the onsen...). Personally, for me, if you can I'd always recommend a Japanese-style room. It adds that extra special dimension to your stay... after all, you can experience a western-style hotel room anywhere. 

After a very relaxing afternoon and evening of onsen fun, we were ready for dinner in our room. It wasn't a huge feast, but we were quite happy with the variety, quantity and quality of the food. First off - there was the wine... a unique (seasonal) cherry-blossom flavoured sparkling wine.... actually this came on top of a bottle of white. Given that T-chan doesn't drink much more than fumes, this presented a different sort of challenge to myself. I mean, we couldn't let it go to waste.

Then came the main meal which consisted of a range of sashimi, tempura, grilled fish (forgotten what sort), salads, beautifully cooked rice (gohan), a type of Cherry-flavoured soft fish cake (kamaboko), and the main attraction, our own personalised shabu shabu dishes (see the white "cloth" dishes sitting over the tea-candle burners... something I've not had before. We also had some savoury jelly, desert (and we hadn't even hit the cake as yet).

We each had our own rice cooker/warmers...though I don't know where they thought we'd fit all of that rice?

Oh - and I forgot the  crab miso soup (misoshiru). Yummy.

And I have to tell you... I do have a separate dessert stomach. It doesn't matter how much I eat/drink, I can always find room for desserts... especially mini cheese-cakes and strawberries.

And whilst it's perhaps not advisable to rush down to the onsen immediately after a big meal, we had another special treat to occupy ourselves. We had booked our own private onsen bath for an hour... it's not that easy to enjoy onsen together as a couple as most onsen these days are sex-segregated. But... this is all you're going to see on this blog about the private onsen.

After a huge day of just plain relaxing, in the wee hours of the morning we decided to crack open the cake... ah raburabu keiki (a term of childish doe-eyed love for one-another in Japanglish for love-love). And the evening was yet young (unfortunately, both T-chan and I were not.... alas).

So whilst it was a night of "abandon".... at least in terms of leaving L-kun home with his grand parents, I can honestly say that it was not without some stress (and I'm sure there were moments of stress for T-chan's parents as well). It was a reminder also of our carefree lives, and of those days when we could just go running around the countryside without any commitments... and in those moments there's always a twinge of sadness at something lost. Yet honestly, those moments are quickly filled to over-flowing with the joy of having children. At least until the next time they start crying. ?;-p

I like to believe that whilst L-kun was snug in bed back at obaachan and ojiichan's house, that he benefited almost as much as we did by having re-charged parents coming home the next day. And as for the onsen itself, I'd give the overall experience a 4 out of 5... coz it's nice and close to Sapporo and yet still has the feel of being in the mountains.

Shikotsuko - Onsen Fun

5th November, 2003 - T-chan's family had prepared something special for our last week in Sapporo. The whole family including T-chan's brother H-kun were going to go to Shikotsuko to visit one of the nice onsen that sits on the lakes edge, called Marukoma Onsen (sorry the website's only in Japanese)

This onsen had a great view out over the lake - which like Touyako was actually a caldera lake formed from the remaining crater from a former cataclysmic eruption. This area is great for touring around in a car, as you can drive around the whole lake, or go for a bush-walk during the day.

The onsen itself was more the traditional onsen with both inside and outside onsen. The room itself was a large one (easily fitting 5 adults) which actually looks quite open and sparsely decorated during the day. As eveing approaches they start to get the bedding ready. Futons (which are the mattresses) that are stored in the room wardrobes.

The sunset fades to a glorious twilight... the outside onsen is inviting in the clear Autumn night's crisp air. Unfortunately, it's bad form to take photos in the onsen (as you can imagine, people get a little upset when a camera comes out), so I don't have any photos of the inside or outside onsen. One question might be - so what do you do in an onsen? Mostly... nothing. After cleaning, generally it revolves around lying in the 40-44degC (104-111degF) baths... but it's relaxing once you get into the swing of it.

And Shikotsuko has a charm all of it's own. Like Touyako it's a deep lake, and there is definitely a calming presence about the place.

The evening meal! Ittadakimasu (let's dig in!). The clothes (a light yukata with a heavier haori) is provided for your relaxation... so no, we haven't joined the Green Jackets cult.... or have we?... 

Oishisou! 

Ten things to remember when visiting onsen...

1.  Onsen and Sento (Sento are generally artificially heated baths) normally do not appreciate tattoos - and may in fact prohibit people with tattoos. Tattoos are associated with criminal elements (e.g. the Yakuza).

2. Don't forget to leave your shoes outside (usually in a locker) - indeed in hotels you'll often come to the onsen in yukata (see below)... Leave all clothes in the small wicker baskets provided. Some onsen offer wrist straps for keys for security.

3. Check that you're going into the correct bath - onsen are normally single-sex now and you can easily tell by the colour of the noren (curtain): blue = men, red = women (no prizes). Be careful however - it's common for the baths to swap depending on the time of day

4. Come into the onsen area essentially naked (bring along the small modesty towel... it seconds as funky hat). Shampoo/soap is supplied at the washing seats. Actually that's the badge of the ojisan (older man)... wearing his towel proudly on his head as he's sinking chin deep into water. Seriously - there's not many other places to put the towel as keeping it on the ground would be considered unclean.

5. Wash yourself at the seated shower area (easy to see)... and wash EVERYWHERE. Onsen are not baths for cleaning - you are expected to be clean already. Remove all the suds before you get in.

6. Don't stay too long in any one bath... temperature differential is good for circulation, so getting up and moving about (to different temperature baths for example) is good for your health

7. There's often a basin with cooler water - use the ladle to pour this over yourself (good for getting that cooling to stimulate the circulation).

8. Whilst you want change baths/temperature... don't jump in and out of the baths. Onsen is a soothing time for care-worn Japanese - take things slowly. I'm not sure if there's etiquette involved in where you sit in an onsen, but I know personal space shrinks in the hot, pungent water.

9. Don't forget to hydrate - sitting in a hot bath for long periods can be very de-hydrating. For some reason, a lot of onsen/sento have weighing scales that Japanese religiously use before and after (especially if using the Sauna). Onsen are synonymous with drinking alcohol - remember this is BAD for hydration (and drinks are typically banned from the onsen itself).

10. Try not to wash/shower after coming out of the onsen... this may seem strange if you're hot and sweaty... but the onsen water is thought to be very good for the skin... However - do what you feel comfortable with.

Check out here for a really good resource on the do's and don'ts of onsen etiquette.

After a late night of eating, drinking, and dancing (ok - that was perhaps mostly after the drinking), the morning light shines through strong. Before you know it, the bedding's been taken away, and it's time to head out to meet a new day. Unfortunately, the days have disappeared... and it's now time to come back to Australia.

This is the last post for our second trip to Japan together in 2003. We started the trip (months earlier when T-chan had to go back to Japan to apply for a fiance visa) not knowing if she would be approved for immigration to Australia. It was a stressful time, and quite unlike our first trip which was more about a crazy whirlwind tour of Japan. This time around we were living at home, our second home... and developing our own Japanese Ties.

Thank you T-chan's parents for looking after me so well - and thankyou for agreeing to let me marry your daughter. Arigatou otousan to okaasan!.

The Gates of Hell - Noboribetsu and Back

31st October 2003 - It's a 42 km drive from Touya-ko to Noboribetsu (see below)... and our plans were to get back to Sapporo by the evening. This was going to be a long day, and it had started off badly.

On our way to Noboribetsu we had faced many perils, and many demons of fear (my driving for example in the POSSESSED CAR). Still none of this prepared me for the demons that I would face in Noboribetsu... and the truly horrible things that I would see.

My God... So that's what Blue Demons wear under their dresses.... That's disgusting...!


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Noboribetsu is famous really for one thing. It's a Japan-wide famous Onsen (hot springs) town that has made it's fortune from (a) attracting people their to plunge themselves into very hot water, and (b) attracting people to leave said hot water and spend their money on any number of touristy things. Today we had no time for the onsen. Unfortunately we skipped straight to (b)...with a slight detour.

First stop was encouraging. Hell Valley (where above picture of the non-nuclear Oni family was taken). Hell Valley is, as far as Hellish things are concerned, a little over-rated. It's not really a valley (it's a crater), and whilst I wouldn't want to buy land here, it's not that bad.

The path work is nice... shame about the smouldering ground. Oh - did I mention the sulfurous gases (reminded me of Usu-zan)... Hmmm - bad eggs. Yumm-o.

The real estate hereabouts is a tad on the small side...

And the main attraction seems to be this large gaping hole through which you can see... one helluva HOT hot-spring. Clearly, this was not one of the ones that did the attracting of tourists... As we gazed down into the boiling hot water, a voice drifted up. "Prepare Thyselves to Meet Hell on Earth, Human Harumph - and Know Ye Had Best Boil Ye Head Now Whilst Ye Have the Chance. Harumph." Hmmm - sounded a lot like a pirate, ahoy me hearty! Either way, I wondered what could possibly be ahead of me that such a self-inflicted punishment would be better... I was about to find the true Hell-on-Earth in Noboribetsu.

It was Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura... the worst theme park in the world, based on the old Edo-period live museum concept. What should have given it away was the very large and almost completely empty car-park. T-chan assured me that we would have fun here (the Sera's evil spirit had obviously possessed her - but I had not dreamed she could be so evil).

Actually to be fair, the place looked not too bad from the outside.

Hell-oooooooo. Anybody there? Unfortunately there was someone at the ticket counter, and he was more than willing to take our 2,900 yen each (1,500 yen for children). Did I also mention they charge for parking... hmmm - because clearly you pay a premium for space. T-chan, I hope you know what you're doing... This place was largely deserted. To be fair, we were coming here during the middle of the week. In the wrong century.

Finally we found someone... they looked friendly enough. What's that... bring out ya dead? Hey, I'm feeling much better now. Actually... on second thoughts... maybe I should just let myself go peacefully. Sweet death, come to me.

We saw a Ninja show. Actually - I thought it was a show. These kind gentlemen kindly offered to show me a magic trick involving my wallet. Little did they know the man at the front gate had already shown me this trick before. 

There was definitely some colour around. Actually, my hat goes off to the workers here. I mean can you imagine having to go through all of this for a handful of people? They did put on a brave face.

Apparently this procession was just of prior visitors that were still looking for a way out. Interesting early-Harajuku style...would like to see the mobile phone strap that goes with this outfit.

They put on a show - which seemed to be largely about making bawdy jokes involving the handful of drunk ojisan (older men) salarymen that sat in the audience.

Let's go for a quick response from the critics... Hmm  - I'm sensing some discontent from the crowd...

But surely it wasn't that bad... not bad enough to lose your head over? Or was it? Right now the dunking-head-in-boiling-water was looking a good option.

Other's had a more direct display of their considered opinion.

Meanwhile T-chan was getting jiggy with it - what is it with the Japanese and their funky rooms? Is this some sort of ancient earthquake ritual or something?

Actually - I may have been a little harsh. For all of my belly-aching, the park was not quite Hell-on-Earth. It was really quite nicely done. The only problem was (a) we arrived late, and (b) guests were outnumbered by the performers by about 10:1. We could enjoy the scenery however... and I'm sure during the weekends and holidays this is a very different place.

So we left Noboribetsu... our final leg started on this two day Odessey. On the way home we passed through Tomakomai. I mentioned it earlier... and it's fitting to recall the earthquake comment. On September 25, just days before I arrived in Sapporo, there had been a major earthquake measuring 8.3 that had an epicentre just off Tomakomai. When we drove through it, you couldn't really tell, but it had hit international news with a resulting oil storage facility fire. The scary thing was that Sapporo's airport (New Chitose Airport) is not that far away. Driving through and noticing some of the local wild-life I suspect that there may have been some not-so-minor radioactive release. Why couldn't they have taken out the theme park!

Actually it was a really long day... and not even a stop at one of our favourite eating places (Bikkuri Donkey) could revive our enthusiasm. Actually I have to say their exterior looks a little strange, but their 300g beef burgers (ie a slab-o-meat in a yummy sauce) are delicious. Love em.

Driving home to Sapporo, I discovered what it's like to get in a Japanese traffic jam. You don't even know you're in it until it's too late. We were one the expressway (trying to save time as it was now getting very late), and we noticed that there was a huge bank of cars on the left hand lane - doing about 20km/hr whilst we were doing about 100km/hr. Suckers! As we drove blissfully on, we started seeing signs for T-chan's exit ahead. 5 km...4 km... 3km... 2km... 1km... hmmm... those cars may have actually been trying to get off the expressway. In a manoeuvre that would have left Michael Schumacher reaching for the paper bag, T-chan (now well and truly possessed) slammed on the brakes from 100km/hr to 20, inserting the Sera into a gap that was perhaps 10m long. Impressive.

I hope T2-chan's brother (who was going to buy the car shortly) didn't mind a slightly soiled front passenger seat.

What a day... what an adventure. Despite it all, this trip was definitely a highlight of our trip, and T-chan and I look back on it very fondly.

I still can't believe we paid nearly 3,000 yen each for that theme park!......