ZaoMet's

I just got back from an overnight stay with my host mom and obasan at ZaoMet's - a hot springs spa, or onsen. It was so amazing! I don't even know where to begin.

The drive took a couple of hours, through mountains, and forests. We finally drove off onto a little side path which wound it's way through about a mile of trees, and then finally arrived at the onsen. We deposited our shoes by the door, put on slippers, checked in, and then went up to our room. It was a small traditional Japanese-style room with tatami mats and sliding doors and a low table in the middle of the floor surrounded by cushions. There was a window that looked out over a breathtaking view of the forest and the river beyond. In the closet were yukatas which we changed into and then sat down to have tea.


After tea, we took our first visit to the hot baths. I'd kind of been a bit uneasy about this since I arrived in Japan - trying an onsen - because onsens = no bathing suites. Not a problem for most of the world, but a bit unsettling for an American. Actually it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. And the onsen was wonderful.

There were actually three separate hot baths, two indoors, one for men and one for women, which would periodically switch, and then one outdoors. You enter, remove your slippers, there's a small area with cubby holes for clothing, then you enter through another door where you shower before finally entering the hot springs.

We returned to our room to relax for a couple hours before going downstairs for dinner. Dinner was quite a surprise. When I imagined what kind of dinner would be served at a "spa" (as my host mom kept calling it) I pictured some sort of nice light healthy meal. What I didn't expect was a huge ten-course feast. I'm not even exaggerating. I have the menu to prove it. I didn't think it was even possible to eat that much. They just kept serving plate after plate after plate, until I thought I was going to explode.


One of the larger dishes was served with a knife and fork, which was an incredibly welcome sight. I'm the kind of person who always eats with a knife - none of that silly cutting food with your fork business. It doesn't work. I haven't used a knife and fork in six weeks though, and it took me forever to get reacquainted with the silly things. It was kind of sad actually. I finally gave up the attempt and went back to using my chopsticks.


After the tenth and last dish was finally served (I was plenty full after the second one), we went back to the hot baths. The men's and women's baths had switched by this time, and I walked in to find a much larger pool. It was gorgeous. The entire room was dark tiled, there were floor to ceiling windows looking out over the dusk setting over the green mountain forests, and the hot springs stretched the entire length of the long room.

The next morning I got to try the outdoor springs. It was the greatest experience - the brisk morning air, the stone pool surrounded by nothing but dense green trees, and then the water which was hot enough to make your head spin. They even had the sugegasa hats which were adorable and tons of fun to try on.