Over the weekend I took off work early and headed up to the mountains around Gunma to a pleasant onsen hot springs hotel with Mrs. J-List. Our home prefecture of Gunma isn’t as flashy as more famous parts of Japan like Kyoto or Nara, but we have our charms, including good skiing, clean mountain air and more than a few hot springs. This was my first time staying in a Japanese inn since watching the Hanasaku Iroha anime, the story of a girl who’s forced to go live in her grandmother’s traditional Japanese inn, where she learns the joy of working hard for the satisfaction of the inn’s okyakusama, or guests. I found myself looking at the staff of the hotel in a different light than I would have before that anime came along, wondering if they had a passion for caring for their guests like they do in the anime, or at least pretended they did while working (which would be a good example of tatemae and honne). I do recommend Japanese inns as a great experience if you ever plan a trip to Japan. The peace and relaxation you can find there is one of the best things I know of.While relaxing in the onsen bath I happened to notice that it was called Oni-Oshidashi Onsen, or Pushed-Out-by-Ogres Hot Springs. This name comes from a rather awesome natural park located near the top of Mt. Asama, one of the most active volcanoes on the Japanese main island of Honshu. In 1783 the mountain erupted in a fiery blast of lava, which formed twisted and gnarled shapes as it cooled, creating a beautiful and otherworldly area to explore today. The unique name came about from the villagers who believe that oni (OH-nii, ogres) were dancing around inside the earth, pushing the lava out. Since Japan’s indigenous Shinto religion places great importance on significant sites in nature, there’s a Shinto shrine in the middle of the lava field, and you can almost feel the energy of the kami all around you when you visit.
A trip to an onsen hotel, though not quite as moe as Kissuisou.
