.JPG)
.JPG)
Hamanako Lake: Watch the Early Morning Sun, Drip like Blood from the Day
In its almost-summer season, I noticed that the sun rises in Japan at 4.30 a.m. That probably accounts for a hell lot of daylight savings, but well, that was the last thing on my mind when the sun shone into my room, and made me wake up to this...
A serene sight to wake up to, only enhanced by the rejuvenating experience of gazing at the view in an outdoor Onsen. The hotel's policy was to switch the Onsen locations for each gender at 6 a.m. every morning, so while the gals got the outdoor Onsen the night before, they were probably staring at naught, while we got the soothing morning view. The outdoor Onsen was A LOT more soothing, especially when you have the chilly morning wind threatening to blow your balls off if you don't stay in the Onsen.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Peace Park: War and Peace
The journey from the West continued as the entourage and I continued on our quest to attain Nirvana (which I heard is often found at the top of big mountains). While not exactly Nirvana itself, our first stop of the day gave us a little slice of Zen to momentarily quell our (dark) souls. Dubbed "Peace Park" by the locals, a rather steep, winding path brought us to a quiet hilltop spot with a blown-up bonsais, statues, sacred bells and a large Buddha monument to top it off. All was well save for the flashes of lightning that preludes the impending rain that threatened to ruin my 'manly' mirror-primed crown.
Not Pictured: Lightning
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Premium Factory Outlet: Hark! Nirvana!
With the superb planning of the conspirers behind the whole concept of tourism, a little relief for our souls was followed by an intended relief of our wallets at a premium factory outlet; must be part of that "feel-good-spend-more" psycho-babble. Our aimless wandering about the chain of stores reaped little rewards as the only affordable point of interest was G.A.P. ... or so we thought... until we discovered that we had omitted an ENTIRELY different wing, one that had a Muji store to satisfy the obsession of a particular female member in the entourage.
We had to cross a long bridge built high upon the tree tops in order to reap the new-found harvest, and the Rock Star, being a photo-whore just had to lag behind and snag some pics.
Suddenly, the entourage turned around and started pointing in my direction, and for a moment I thought that the veil had finally been removed from their eyes and they recognized me for the Rock star that I was/am, but no, what they were pointing at was...
...A measly, little mountain with a distinctive snow-capped peak, the key to ascension into Nirvana, Mt. Fuji. Chin-chin said that Fate plays the role of the match-maker between a person a Mt. Fuji, that you will only be able to see her if Fate so allows you to. Looks like the entourage and I were a blessed bunch then, and Nirvana was fated to be ours to attain.
But well, hell hath no fury like the obsession of a woman, so we quickly hurried to Muji with the little time we had left. Since I am not much of a shopper, I decided to constructively use the time to goof-off with the guys instead.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Lake Ashino: Lake of Poison
Our post-lunch journey took us to Lake Ashino. Considering that it is on rather high-ground, I would expect it to be a crater lake. Rather stark juxtaposition as we boarded a gaudy, funky looking pirate ship aboard a peaceful lake surrounded by wondrous scenery and man-made architecture that eased into the natural landscape, kinda reminded me of the Korean country-side landscape I witnessed a year back.
Lush greenery flooded my visual senses, as the afternoon sun reflected off the surface of the still water, with a gentle lakeside breeze carassing my face as the boat sailed on. A took a deep breath to absorb to essence of the surrounding nature, before heading down to pose for the picture of the day...
Yes, that is YMCA in the middle of Lake Ashino. Yes, we were all hooked to Elite Beat Agents over the last 2 days. And yes, Siwei's sense of rhythm really sucks.
A good 20-minutes, we were on the other side of the lake, refreshed and rejuvenated (again) enough to look refreshingly refreshed in a group photo.
Owakudani Boiling Valley: Smells like Steam Spirit
Sunset beckoned as we approached our last designated natural sight-seeing stop in our "Course of Nature." Owakudani Boiling Valley was a mountainous zone with rather immense volcanic activity. Potted with sulphur boiling pits throughout the mountain or valley (whatever they want to call it), the sulphuric content wasted no time in making its presence known to our olfactory senses the moment we got off the bus. Wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be though, at least relative to the manure-like assault the night before; kinda smelt like black sesame, if you ask me.
The entourage and I decided to scale up the boiling beast for a better view of the landscape, compensating our olfactory comfort. The smell got a little more pungent as we got up-close-and-personal with the boiling pits. Steam, lots of steam, emitted from said pits. Apparently (again, this is if I translated Chin-chin's words correctly), the locals actually use these boiling pits to cook some food, in particular a specific type of bird egg. The purported effect of eating one of these eggs was that it would extend your lifespan by 7 years, and one person could have a maximum extension of 14 years, by eating 2 eggs. 
A hike down the mountain took us to the shops which were about to call it a day. To our HORROR, the black life-prolonging eggs were SOLD OUT (as if my lifespan is not short enough already), so we just had to settle for the packeted eggs, crossing our fingers for longevity. At least they had Wasabi Ice Cream, which was actually not as bad as I had anticipated; more like milky cream ice-cream littered with tinges of stinging Wasabi, quite tantalizing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lake Side Rest Stop: Second Sighting of Nirvana
A long bus ride bound for our accomodation for the night took a rest stop at a certain unnamed lake side. If Fate really plays a part in the sighting of Mt. Fuji, that she has surely been too kind with the entourage as Nirvana played the supporting role of the background scenery once again for our photos. This time, viewed with the dust skyline, the mountain gave off a stronger aura of mysterious beauty.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hotel Sinko: Free the Bird for Good Luck
The night ended with a much-needed Japanese spread with hot plate pork and Sashimi (finally!). Dinner was pleasant, save for the row of aunties in our tour group behind laughing HYSTERICALLY throughout the dinner about some joke that only menopausal women would find amusing.
The post-dinner party had us sampling the Life-prolonging Black eggs, which really tasted like normal hard-boiled eggs, far from the disgusting-hard-to-swallow elixirs depicted in Chinese dramas.
Onsen abounded as I refused to bath in the VERY cramped bathtub, except this time, we were the only ones there. So, the thought of sneaking a picture of the Onsen crossed my morbid mind. Post-bath, I went up to smuggle my camera down under my towel, snuck through the dark corridors, into the Onsen, only to discover a middle-aged naked Japanese dude in the bath. Probably an authentic prop to have in the photo, but not exactly the most legally sound.
Discovery of the night was that I suck at tying Yukatas, as the Chinaman suggested sleeping in one for the night; to authenticate the entire Ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn) experience of sleeping on the Tatami (floor). So, since I figured that they didn't have briefs in traditional Japan, I freed the bird for that night, only to discover its mischief of slipping through the slit in its cage a few times throughout the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment