October 1, 2012-
We've finally gotten a chance to relax and have a few minutes of necessary down time in our room.
Whew!!!!
We were all starting to get a little cranky so having some down time is a Good Thing.
How about I show you around our little room and the ryokan we're staying at?
Let's show you a little more now that we've had some lovely hot tea…
Here's a view out our window:
Locking up our room and getting ready to explore the inn:
The women's bath:
note about the Japanese baths: So…these baths are segregated by sex (men and women are in separate baths). You're supposed to sit on the short stools and soap up (and shampoo) and rinse off BEFORE getting into the hot tubs. This ryokan has two hot tubs- can you see the one outside? Don't worry- the outside one is nearly closed in. Here's the weird thing (for me) they're communal baths- that means any guest can use them. Luckily for us we were the only ones using the bath. Also, you don't wear swim suits….nothing. I do like the idea of showering and shampooing before getting into the hot tub.
Walking down the hallway at the inn:
The inn has lots of hallways and staircases. It's a Harry Potter tent- it looks small on the outside but vast on the inside! The hallways were filled with shelves and shelves of interesting collections. Oh, and do you see the opening on the left? This is the little garden you can see from that opening:
Cabinet filled with small glass curios:
Annika wanted a close up of the tiny glass bugs:
And in the entryway of the inn was this curious little piano that played a tune:
We all had to stand around it and watch it play:
(check out the cabinet of lovely vases!)
Well, we're heading out for another walk. From the map the inn gave us there are several temples very close to us that I think we'll check out. You want to come with us????