Onsen: The wonders of the Japanese Bath

Onsens. If there's one thing that you can't leave Japan without experiencing, it is the onsen, aka hot spa. Recently I went with Meli to Tenzan-no-yu onsen for my first onsen experience. For those of you who don' t know, at Japanese onsens you enter only with the barest of necessities. In other words: you get naked. There's no ifs or buts about it, and you'd look even more out of place if you tried to sneak in a bathing suit. With this is mind, naturally I was filled with a little trepidation, however after reading about Tenzan-no-yu in Kyoto Visitor's Guide (a wonderful resource for those of you thinking of visiting Kyoto), I couldn't help but give it a shot. I mean who could resist after reading this description:

Tenzan-no-yu Onsen

"If you want to enter paradise, then this place is a great place to start. Indoor/outdoor soaking and warming (on stone beds!); sauna; massage; private stone bathtubs full of herbal blessing from the Japanese alps; lots of reclining lounge chairs; a killer restaurant that allows a bit of napping right after, during or before your meal..."

I was hooked and indeed the description was not a let down. Meli and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, so much so that we stayed there from one until nine at night. Eight hours!!?!?? Yeah, we could hardly believe it ourselves, but its definitely feasible at an onsen, where you can get in and out of baths and eat a little food, then read some and doze off in these really comfy chairs, eat a little more, get a massage/facial etc, get back in the baths for round two...what ever cycle or permutation you like until before you know it, it's time to go home and, still warm from the baths, to fall into a deep, relaxed sleep once you hit the bed...or not. At the onsen there are also these pools you can dip your feet in which have little fish. These fish then nibble at your toes and clean your feet of any dead skin or bacteria and, if it's indicative at all about my feelings towards these fish, that night I had a dream about them clinging to my feet like magnets...yeah, borderline nightmare. Needless to say, that was one thing Meli and I haven't tried, but who knows? If we can get up the nerve to go naked in public, maybe that'll be the next step: letting little fish get comfy with our feet. HaHaHa.

One other thing, for all you first time onsen-ers out there, I just want to let you know that you have to give yourself a good sudsing and wash up BEFORE you enter the baths, because otherwise it's seen as dirty. Also, (at least at Tenzan-n0-yu) the two shower stalls when you first walk in are NOT for this purpose. I think they're just for rinsing off? Meli and I stopped there first and after we got all good and soapy, realized that all the weird stares we were getting from everyone around us was not because Meli is obviously foreign, but because there is actually a whole area dedicated to washing off, complete with a multitude of shower stations and this season's themed brown sugar soap. Oops. Luckily it was still early in the day, so there weren't as many bathers!

More to come on New Years in a bit!

The Holy Spirit

Spectacular view of Mt. Fuji from the bus Saturday morning (a rarity I am told)

I have found the soul of Japan.

Maybe a month or so ago, a friend of mine said rather jokingly that Japan has no soul. Thinking of the souls and the spirit of the Christian friends I have found here, I disagreed vehemently with him, but at the same time I could understand what he meant. First of all, there is the salaryman image that for the past forty years has been the building blocks of Japanese society - the man who goes to work from early morning to late at night, dresses smartly in a suit and coat, gets a little tipsy (or more than a little tipsy) with coworkers into the early morning hours and then comes home. And then repeats the same monotonous routine the next day, and the next, and for the years to come at a job that he's not even really interested in until he is forced to retire.

Well I've been here, however, I haven't really seen much of the salaryman life as my host dad is retired and all my other acquaintances are my age. I have seen, however, a lot of people starting their search for a job and I have to say that it seems different from the states. It is during the junior and senior year of college that nearly everyone engages in job hunting. People apply to a lot of companies and there are all sorts of tests and interviews that one has to pass in order to enter the working world, very similar to the U.S., but what surprises me is how even at Doshisha - a prestigious university by Japanese standards - the way people select the companies is not so much out of personal interest, than through the fact that they are good companies and that they will provide the monetary support needed to sustain their lifestyles.

In the states, however, I feel like there is a much greater effort to align your interests and your career path (even if that doesn't always happen), and a lot of people go to college in order to gain the means of carrying out the career that they had envisioned for their future, or to find out what exactly it is that they enjoy doing - that they have a passion for - so that they can find the career that best fits them.

In Japan, however, what people want, what they envision as a life goal or a life purpose, isn't so clear cut and so it is harder for them to figure out what it is that will personally suit them. Until they start job hunting, kids are told what to do by their parents. Their parents make their decisions for them. They start going to cram school in elementary school (actually, I was told recently that kids start going to special schools from age 1!!!! How is that possible?!?!???) so that they can go to the best elementary, middle, and high schools that will feed them into the best colleges. It is all about getting into a good college and then getting a good job that pays; kids are told what their goals should be instead of discovering for themselves what they can contribute, what they're good at, what they love enough that they can do for a lifetime. Granted, a lot of college students in America don't know what they want to do or what their place in society is yet, but at least we are encouraged to find out for ourselves what we are best suited for and what is best suited to us, and we are raised to think that way from the beginning; in Japan, by the time people start job hunting in college, they've lost some major formative years in their life, they've lost out on a lot of personal growth potential, and so as their college career comes to an end - college, the thing they've been working toward for all their lives - and they begin to consider the ways in which they are to carry out their lives as active members of society, they often times have an identity crisis. Who am I? What do I personally believe in? What is my life goal? How am I to carry out the rest of my life? These are questions that maybe for the first time they begin to seriously entertain. And after a life of following the desires of parents, this naturally can be a shock to the system, especially if you have a year left of college during which you have to decide the course of a lifetime. It is no coincidence, I think, that a lot of the people in my church began believing during their college years.

Another thing about Japan is that it is all about the collective mentality, and so it's harder for individuals to discern their individual desires and to thus go about finding a way to achieve their dreams. I'll give you an example. In Japan, they're all about the おすすめ (osusume) or "recommendation". In stores and restaurants, there will always be signs telling you what the recommendation of the day is or what is the number one selling product. You know immediately what pizza everyone else likes, what shoe is the number one seller, what outfit combination is currently popular, what make up brand everyone is currently wearing, what cd everyone is listening to etc etc etc. And what's key about the recommendations is that they change constantly. They're not static because they have to show the current trend so that people know exactly what is popular NOW and not three days ago. But by putting up the ubiquitous recommendation sign, stores find a way to draw people in and customers find a way in feeling safe about their purchase; if it's what the majority of people are buying then it must be a good product and it must be one that will get you into the "in" crowd.

In this way consumerism is taken to new heights here. I'll give you another example: In American there is only one kind of kit-kat bar, but in Japan there are TONS of different kinds (like tiramasu, ginger ale, soy sauce...) and they vary by region too! The varieties also change frequently so that you can only get a certain kind for a limited amount of time. Thus the kit-kat bar, that innocent (or not so innocent if you're counting calories) long-time favorite sweet has been suddenly turned into a collectors item. And in Japan, this is only a small example.

I've been tempted to buy things that are totally unnecessary and useless and which in the states I would never think of buying, but which here seem too cute to pass up and which seem to be a necessity. For example, cell phone charms. Little charms that dangle for your cell phone which everyone has (and which, I'll admit, I caved in and bought as well, yikes!! But it was just so cute you know??). There are also the accessory stores which are like giant treasure boxes filled with glittering pins and jewels and flowers. There they sell tons of different varieties of hair ties, some with flowers others with beads etc. Thankfully, though, I've been able to hold out on these little baubles so far...

A wall of cell phone charms (don't worry, if these don't do it for you, there's another wall and more tables that are available for your perusal as well!)

Hamburger anyone? Man, I miss In-in-out T_T

Personally, I don't see how anyone could buy a cell phone charm that looks like ice cream or any other delectable food. Every time I'd look at it, I'd want to eat it!

Anyway, sorry, I've gone off on a long tangent about materialism, when what I meant to talk about was its opposite: spirituality. On Saturday I went with my church to Tokyo in order to go to a conference about the Holy Spirit (perhaps something like Urbana in the states?). I have to say, I've never been so moved in my entire life. Before coming to Japan I had been worried because Christians are supposedly only about 1% of the population, and I definitely didn't expect to find any defining religious moments during my time here. But on Saturday, the passion and love and thanksgiving in that room was overflowing, was absolutely overwhelming. After the sermon, people were on their feet sobbing and praying and I have to say that I was one of them. There are absolutely no words to explain how I felt, except to say that the Holy Spirit was there. Over a thousand people were in that room and I saw Japanese people - people who if you met on the street would most likely be stoic and reserved, albeit polite - on their feet praising God and weeping. Halfway through the service, I remember looking around at the whole crowd and knowing if I went to any of the people there I would be met with nothing but love because of God's love that was flowing so strongly through these people's hearts. What an amazing feeling that was! To think that every single person in that hall was a brother or sister in Christ, that that great singing, weeping, praying, dancing crowd was God's family and I was a part of it and it was a part of an even bigger family world-wide. It was such a beautiful feeling and at that moment all I could think of was how wonderful it could be for everyone to feel this love and peace. For the whole world to be united in such joy so that every person you meet you'd have an instant connection with, just like how I felt securely bonded in love with the other 1000 people in that hall...

In a country where real religion - religion that is of the mind, heart and soul - is almost dead, where materialism has hollowed out the bones of spiritual stability, where the suicide rate is one of the highest in the world, where there are television specials on how the young people don't have dreams anymore, in such a country as this with all these heartbreaking problems, there is also belief that is stronger than any I've ever seen. Belief that has moved me (a Christian for all my life) in a way I have never been moved before. I prayed to God that he would guide me during my time here and that He would keep me close to Him throughout whatever trials and joys that would come my way, and He's done an amazing job so far. And for that I am forever grateful and my life has been filled with unimaginable joy.

God is good. He is great and His love is boundless, and I just wanted to share a little bit of that with you today.

Hopefully this month I'll be putting up more posts (I know I've been slacking off lately) because I'm finally on BREAK!!!!! :D

Merry Christmas everyone and God bless!

With all my love,

Elisse