Wednesday, June 24

to Thursday, June 25, 1998

the Ryukan Misono

Ryukan

Special Edition of the Journal

After the exhausting day at the elementary school, we went directly to the Ryukan Misono. A ryukan is a traditional style Japanese inn. Each guest shares a room with several others of the same sex. In the modern ryukan, groups reserve a room together. I shared a room with the three other men in my group: Tom, Ron, and Stephen.

When the guys arrived in the room we looked around and were surprised to see no beds. There was a table in the middle of the room. Near the entrance were two small rooms. The first held a traditional style Japanese toilet. This type of toilet is a pit in the ground. Modern toilets are made of porcelain and flush like I am used to. To use this toilet, one must squat. I did not need to use it and I was glad.

The next room held a sink and the bath. This bath tub was about three feet deep and was meant to be used by each person in the room (although one at a time). The idea is that the bather would sit on a small stool next to the bath, use the bucket and the shower hose to wash, and then get into the bath to soak. I thought about using this, but then I remembered the public bath (more on that later).

The four men stood together in the room and looked around. Fortunately, our guide came knocking. She came in with an employee of the ryukan. The ryukan woman proceeded to pour us tea and motion for us to sit and enjoy a cup. Our guide, Harumi, told us that we had about two hours until dinner so we might as well enjoy the tea and then visit the bath. The four of us decided to take tea.

The tea table was only about 18 inches off the ground so we had to sit on the floor. The ryukan had provided us with floor/seats and cushions so it was quite comfortable. After a relaxing cup of tea, Stephen and I decided to go to the baths. The other men were not comfortable using a public bath and opted out.

Stephen and I changed into the provided yukata. A yukata looks like a kimono, but is really a cotton bathrobe. At one point in Japanese history, the yukata was the main dress of at least some men. Stephen and I looked very Western in our yukatas, but at least we tried. We walked together down to the men's public bath.

After removing our sandals, we stepped up into the changing area. Along one wall were shelves with many baskets on them. We left our yukatas in the baskets and walked to the bath. As we opened the door, we felt a blast of hot humid air. The bath had two parts. The front was tiled and had three shower hoses and mirrors on each side. There was a pile of buckets and stools by the door. We each took a stool, a bucket, and a small towel and sat at separate shower spots. There was very nice soap and shampoo on the ledge, and I used them.

After a good cleaning, we got up and walked further into the room. This is where the bath itself was. The bath was the entire width of the room (about 15 feet wide) and about three feet deep. There was a large step lining the front. In one corner of the bath was a rock formation with water flowing through it. The water made a noise like a mountain stream. The wall opposite the door, on the other side of the bath, was actually a sliding glass door. This door led to a small, fenced in garden. The blinds were up, but neither Stephen nor I seemed to care at this point. I figured that no one was going to come walking past, and if they did, so what.

With all cares aside, we eased ourselves into the hot water. It was hot, but not too close to my tolerance level. We sat and chatted for a few minutes when in came another man. This was a Japanese man. I watched to see if he did the same procedure as Stephen and I had. To my relief, I had done the exact same thing as this native man. After he washed, he sat in the bath near us and said only, "Konichiwa."

He got up after only a few minutes, washed and rinsed and left the bath. Stephen and I remained in the bath. After a few minutes, I began to get uncomfortable. The water was getting too hot. I did not want to look like a wimp, so I sat. I noticed that Stephen also seemed to be getting uncomfortable. Finally, I'd had enough and got up. Stephen looked relieved and got up also. I guess that he also did not want to look like a wimp. We both rinsed off and went out to get dressed.

After we dressed, we returned to our room. The other men looked bored and uncomfortable sitting together. As we only had a few minutes until dinner, I suggested to the men that they put on the yukata and we all head down. The guys agreed to wear the traditional outfit. We all looked a little goofy.

If we were worried about looking goofy, all worries disappeared when we reached the banquet room. Most of the women were already there. They looked as awkward as we did. We, of course, had to take pictures.

The banquet began with each of us sitting on the floor at our own small table. The table was partially filled with all sorts of food. As soon as we sat, waitresses brought several more plates. The food was gorgeous. I am unsure of the identity of much of the food except that it came from the sea. Many members of the group were not pleased to see a seafood dinner, again.

The waitress did one more thing - she asked us for drink orders. I, and several others, decided to drink sake. I'll only say this about sake. Only drink a lot of sake if you are not driving (or even walking far).

The party went on until fairly late. When I finally went up to the room, I was pleased to see that the ryukan staff had come in and rolled out futons for each of us. The futon was remarkably comfortable, and I slept well.

The morning came and so did breakfast. Another seafood meal. Even I was beginning to tire of fish. However, it was delicious. After breakfast, we boarded the bus to return to the Kurashiki Kokusai Hotel for a meeting with some members of the Oimatsu PTO. Check out the next entry for news on that and more.

next entry