Onsen Day

I'm obviously not going to be writing every single day, but I'm hoping to be doing enough interesting things to at least post a few times a week. Right now I'm all excited about everything so will probably be posting more often. Today was JOUR DEUX of work. We only work in the evenings during the week (usually 3-9 or so) because the children we teach are coming to these classes after they get out of school, so we have all morning and some afternoon to do things or get things done. Andrew and Christa have been staying with us the past few nights because they are moving and are currently kind of homeless. (Actually they live with our boss, Miyuki, like two hours away or something crazy so they just crash here) This morning we all woke up around 9 and got ready and went to a place called an Onsen. It's AMAZING. It's basically a spa but it's only hot tubs. There are big ones, small ones, deep ones, cold ones, still or bubbly ones, outside ones, ones that send shockwaves through the water...it's great. It's apparently THE past time of the Japanese people. I know most Americans would be totally freaked by this but Onsens are a naked past time. You pay like 5 bucks, go in, get naked, shower and get clean, then go wander about the place soaking in the hot tubs of your choice. The Japanese people are ridiculously clean. Some of the older ones will sit there for like an hour scrubbing every inch of their bodies before even going near the hot tubs. Most of the Onsens are not coed. I think the nearest one to here is like two hours away. Al and Andrew go in one door and Christa and I go through another. In the sauna room there is a huge barrel of some kind of salt and you rub it all over yourself then rinse. My skin is STILL unbelievably soft right now. I plan on being a frequent visitor to the Onsens. Just a side note: the Japanese women have some huge bushes.

Just a few quick things...gas is about $5 a gallon here...usually around $1.35 a liter. Doesn't matter though, we get reimbursed for all our gas so I don't care how much it is.

Also, I had my first squatter toilet experience yesterday. Awful. I nearly peed all over myself.

<3 <3 <3