The difference between this onsen and others I'd been to (Hakone and Beppu) is that it has a large area separate to the baths that has been made to look like part of Tokyo, when it was called Edo (江戸) in the aptly named Edo period (江戸時代, edo jidai). It costs Y2,900 for an adult ticket, but when we went they had a discount for November, so it was less than Y2,000.
Oedo Onsen Monogatari is in Odaiba, the man-made island in Tokyo Bay, so it took quite a long time to get there from our guesthouse in Musashi Koganei.
The front was very impressive, and even though it was the evening, there were still a lot of people there, and some coach groups.
We put our shoes in the lockers provided, and then queued for the counter, where we were told what to do. We selected the traditional Japanese robes (yukata) we wanted to wear from another counter. They had eight choices of design for men and eight for women. Rob and I, being tall, went for extra large, and they fitted perfectly.
We then split into men and women and went into our separate changing rooms. We got completely naked for the first time, and put all our clothes into a locker. Wearing our yukata, we went out into the Edo-style town area, where even the ceiling looked like a clear night sky, and met up with the girls.
We had ramen and gyoza at tables in a pretend park, and watched a short performance by men dressed in very traditional clothing.
It felt very strange, wearing nothing but a silky robe, and I was a bit uptight as, although I'd been to onsen before, I'd never been with people I knew.
After dinner, we wandered around the town area and saw what there was.
After looking at the shops and stalls, and generally getting used to being with so many people with only a thin layer of material covering them, we headed through the door to the baths.
We split into girls and boys again, and went into another changing area, where we got two towels, one big and one small. And then it was time to take our friendships to the next level! We put the yukata in another locker with the big towel, and then, covering some choice parts of our anatomies with the small towels, entered the main bathing area. There were quite a lot of men in there, but there was plenty of space for us to bathe.
It was so lovely to be in a bath again! I miss baths in Japan, as usually I can only shower. But my aching muscles (I blame Soul Run) really needed relaxing!
We relaxed quite quickly into the whole "being naked" thing, and enjoyed the experience. We went to the outside bath as well, which was lovely because the water was so hot but the air was so cool. It even spotted rain, which was very nice!
We stayed for about 40 minutes, before we all got a bit too hot, and needed to relax in some normal temperatures for a while. So we got showered and changed back into our yukata, and then met the girls back in the main area. Some of them got ice cream, but it was very expensive so I chose not to indulge that once.
We went to a TV room, that had rows of reclining comfortable chairs and individual TV screens like on an aeroplane. I think we all nearly fell asleep!
We took some purikura (プリクラ) (cute photos that you can draw on and then print out) and then went back to the main area.
We got changed and then went back to the main reception, where we gave back everything we'd borrowed, and collected our shoes from the lockers.
I want to go again now! I think I'll have to save up though... Need to find another way to relieve muscle tension!
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