#yubara

Sunayu by Yuki Yaginuma

Silent Hill by Kurt Gledhill on Flickr.

And now to some "rules". First thing a gaijin should know, even before thinking about entering the bath: how to put on the yukata (kind of kimono) correctly. NEVER put the right side of it over the left, because that's the way a corpse is being clothed and I think I do not have to explain to anyone why it would be quite strange walking around dressed like that. Now that we have clarified this, let's move on to the onsen itself. Before entering the bath, you get rid of everything except a little towel. And by everything I mean everything, no clothes, nothing. So if you're the shy person and you cannot get naked in front of a bunch of strangers (although they are all naked, too), you better be not going. Once in the bathing area, make sure you clean yourself thoroughly. There are plenty of spaces with little stools available for that purpose. After being clean, enter the bath (ofuro) and prepare for one of the most relaxing times you might ever encounter.  And one thing at the end: according to the two Japanese that took me on this trip (and whom I thank for explaining everything to me), you do not put that little towel mentioned above on top of your head while bathing, even though one can see this on many pictures. Put it to the side of the bath and take it with you when leaving.

岡山県湯原温泉その温泉由来と、毎年8/8に行われる「はんざき祭り」の由来について、温泉指南役　古林伸美さんに案内をしてもらった時の動画。