Hot Spring in Tokyo

Rob, Katy and I were invited to go to Oedo Onsen Monogatari (大江戸温泉物語), which is a public hot spring bath, by two of our friends who were exchange students in Leeds last year, and of course we couldn't resist!

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!

Midnight Drive

Last night was a Friday so Rob and Rob's friend Kazuya invited me to go for a dinner at a nice 回転寿司 (kaitenzushi) place which is a restaurant where the sushi goes round the centre of the tables on a conveyor belt and customers just take what takes their fancy, or order it from one of the chefs if they want it fresher, and then add up the price of the different coloured plates at the end of the meal.

We went to an expensive one, where the food was really delicious, and then decided the price was getting too high, so then drove round the corner to a cheaper one! We're on a budget...

After dinner, we all felt like doing something, so Kaz drove us to his home. It was such a nice house! Despite his protests that it was very small, it was a very spacious new home. It had a very Western atmosphere, with a lack of tatami mat flooring and shoji sliding paper doors. It was a lovely place!

We had some tea there, and then drove to a nearby clothes shop because Rob wants to buy new things. We spent a few minutes there, but he didn't buy anything. Back in the car, we didn't have a clue what to do next. It was about 10pm by that time, but we didn't feel like going home.

And then Rob suggested Odaiba, the man-made island in Tokyo Bay. I'd been there three times before but I really like it so I agreed, and Kaz wanted to as well, so off we went singing "Woah, we're going to Odaiba..." (We're so cool.)

I'd never been driven through central Tokyo before, and it was absolutely incredible. You get a completely different view of everything from the roads, and you see how things connect physically, rather than just on a train or subway map.

We basically followed the Chuo line's route into the centre of Tokyo, and then into the centre of Shinjuku. There were so many lights!

After we left Shinjuku we followed the road into Roppongi, where we saw Tokyo Tower all lit up!

From there, it wasn't long until we were on Rainbow Bridge over Tokyo Bay and parking on Odaiba. I'd been over the bridge on the road once, when I first arrived and I took the Limousine Bus from Narita Airport to Shinjuku. I'd been over it lots of other times on the Yurikamome monorail though.

Once we'd parked, we walked down to the beach and went to the end of the little pier they have. A very nice Japanese man offered to take our photo with Rainbow Bridge, although you can only see the lights!

Here's me with the bridge and Tokyo in the background. It was gone midnight but it looks really light in this photo!

We walked further inland and saw the Statue of Liberty, Japan version. I remembered taking a photo of my youngest brother with it when my family visited me last year. In fact, I associate a lot of Odaiba with my family, because I remember our visit there very clearly.

We wandered a bit more, and saw more of the island, but then started to get hungry. We stopped for a snack at Sizeria (サイゼリア), a cheap Italian restaurant. After that, we were all quite tired, so we walked back to the car.

We passed a couple of places I remembered from last year. You can rent a dog for a couple of hours and walk it up and down the beach, and then go to this restaurant and order something for you and something for the dog! This place is actually crazy!

Kind of an animal theme going on here.

We got home at about 3am, and I was really tired! But when else would I have the opportunity to be driven all the way across Tokyo to Odaiba? Tokyo is such a great city!

Sumida River Boat Trip

Today is the last Saturday when my two Thai housemates are still staying in my guesthouse. One goes home on Thursday, and the other next Saturday. We wanted to do something together as a farewell celebration (not celebrating the fact that they are leaving!).

So we went to Odaiba (お台場) to catch a boat up the Sumida River (隅田川) to Asakusa (浅草). I suggested that we took the Himiko (ヒミコ) boat. This type of boat runs 3-4 times a day, is more expensive than others, and looks very cool. It was manga-inspired, and looks great. Because my guesthouse is right next to the river halfway up towards Asakusa, I'd seen them pass by, and knew I wanted to try it. I'd even seen it on a TV programme in Britain last year.

As we waited (we didn't need to reserve and, even though it was a beautiful Saturday, the boat wasn't crowded at all), we watched some street perfomers do a European-style mime to music. It was very amusing.



The boat pulled in after a short wait. The ticket from this station (Toyosu, 豊洲) cost Y1,060, but Asakusa to Odaiba on the Himiko costs Y1,520. The Himiko is the most expensive type of boat, the cheapest is around Y300, for a short trip. You can see the types of boat here, and the different routes here.

The boat was designed with children in mind, and this was clear from the colourful characters, and lively announcements.

The whole trip took 40-50 minutes and was very pleasant. The views ranged from old Edo-period Tokyo, to a futuristic cityscape.

This is the area close to my guesthouse. It was interesting to see it from the water.

This is the hotel where my family stayed when they visited me in March and April.

I saw this building when I visited Asakusa in February.

Then we met up with another housemate in Sensoji Temple in Asakusa. We were all really hungry, and we ate in the same line of stalls that I had lunch with my family at one day.

This is okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), a pancake filled with meat and vegetables. It was so filling I couldn't finish mine, even though I'd only eaten an ice cream in the morning.

Yes, that's right. I'm as tall as the pagoda.

I have no idea why one of my housemates took this photo!

Washing my hands in the sacred water. It actually felt really smooth and nice.

On our way out of the Temple, my mum rang me and I was able to describe exactly where we were because she bought a pot for my grandparents from the shop I was standing next to!

Then our plan went slightly awry. One housemate needed to go back home to study for his TOEFL exam, and the two Thai girls decided to wander round Asakusa for a while. But we had arranged to meet someone in Shibuya, so my French housemate and I trekked across Tokyo to meet her.

It was lots of fun, window shopping, and trying on stupid sunglasses. We had a curry buffet for dinner, for only Y1,050! Very cheap and tasty. But we were all stuffed by the end of the evening.

Then we took the new Fukutoshin subway line, which opened today! You can read all about that on my next post.

On a different topic, this morning I slept through a magnitude 7.2 earthquake which killed 6 people in the northern prefecture of Iwate. I woke up a few minutes later, not sure why I'd been disturbed, but someone told me about it the next day. Apparently it had been very strong in Tokyo too. At this time, hundreds of people are injured, and rescuers are searching for people buried in a landslide. There have been over 200 aftershocks too. You can read about it on BBC News.