 | Tokyo Experience Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 14 |  |
 | |  |  | Experience: Traditional Onsen Experience (Part 1) | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
At the Oedo Onsen Monogatari, the Edo Period is recreated & those who come here will feel like they’ve been transported to the Edo era. When you arrive, you will be greeted with shouts of welcome outside the complex. Once inside, take off your shoes & leave them at the small locker (wear the key around your wrist). Pay the entrance fee, & get issued with a layout map in English, another set of locker keys, plus a special tag to wear (use this to pay for your purchases, no need to carry any money). Then move on to select your yukata (casual cotton kimono-in different colours, different designs and in different sizes) & matching sash. From there, enter (different entrances for men & boys and women & girls) the first set of change rooms and change out of your clothes and into your yukata. Place all your belongings into this locker. Then proceed onto the main area. The entire surroundings is like a scene out of a period Japanese movie. There are food stalls, souvenior shops, simple games for children and a stage where shows were carried out. I found it graceful, and yet bewildering at the same time, with the entire complex, a hive of activity, as men, women and children wander the streets, eating, drinking or simply relaxing. Photography is permitted here. After a quick tour, find your way out to the footbath gardens (see pics). This is where you can walk on the foot reflexology path or bath your feet while seated around a square footbath. This area is co-ed. Nearby there is the hot sandbaths where you can get buried from toe to neck. Getting back inside, I was momentarily disorientated by the darkness inside & found myself inside the Men’s Only area as indicated by the blue curtains! Making a hasty retreat, I then managed to find the red curtain which showed that the area was for women. If you don't speak Japanese, it may be quite difficult to manage, but please don't let this put your off from this unique experience. Leave a Comment Phone: 03-5500 1126Website: www.ooedoonsen.jp/
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| | | | Experience: Onsen Experience (Part II) | Tip Rating: | | | | |
What greeted me next was quite a surprise (even for a liberal thinker such as myself!) & even though I had mentally prepared for it. A sea of women of all ages and a few girls, were changing out of their yukatas in readiness for the best part-the bathing ritual. Here, I was handed a big towel & a small towel & had brought along a 100 yen coin for the small & final locker. Photography is strictly not permitted here. Having changed out of my yukata, I entered through the doors & found numerous stations outfitted with low wooden stools, showers & various ranges of liquid soaps shampoos. I picked an unoccupied shower station, turned on the water and gave the little stool a quick rinse. Taking my cue from a mother & daughter team I observed there, I proceeded to wash & scrub every inch of my body. (The hot water of the public bath is meant for soaking, not for cleaning.) After that, I was faced with many choices. There were pools of all sizes, some with Jacuzzi-like bubbles, a few that were hot and others hotter still and one at the corner which was filled with icy cold water. There was also a small steam room. After some minutes of peaceful soaking (per Japanese customs, no splashing please!), I wandered in a daze & stumbled outside. It was drizzling lightly but with a clear plastic covering the “roof”, only a bit of water splashed through. I then soaked in a couple of the small hot pools, and soaked in the atmosphere. It was lovely, and I felt completely sensual, free and at ease, absorbing the outdoor scenery, the Japanese gardens, the light blue skies and beautiful women around me. After that, I returned back indoors and bravely soaked in the the cold pool. Thus invigorated & feeling pleasantly drowsy, it was time to leave. Entrance Fees: 2,827 Yen for Adults, 1,575 Yen for Children. Extra for massage, foot reflexology, sand sauna. Yukata-wear the left flap on the outside, over the right. I wore mine the wrong way!Sash can be tied in many ways, usually, with bow at the back. Leave a Comment Phone: 03-5500 1126Website: www.ooedoonsen.jp/
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| | | | Experience: Tokyo: Street Art Works No2. | | | | | |
| | | | Experience: Tokyo: Street Art Works No3. | | | | | |
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on October 12, 2004
Tokyo
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