Getting Naked in Arima Onsen: One of Japan's Three Oldest and Three Greatest Hot Springs

Spring has well and truly come and Japan is swimming in a cascade of colours from the Yaezakura late blooming cherry trees (fluffy, dense blooms) to bright pink, red, and white azaleas (tsutsuji), from the lilac and lavender wisteria (fuji) to hedgerows of Lady Bank's yellow roses (mokkō-bara). Breathtaking!

Regardless of the season, regular readers may know that one of BritishProf's favourite things about Japan is the bathing culture. Recently, I had the chance to visit Arima Hot Springs (=onsen) in Hyogo Prefecture which has the unique distinction of being BOTH one of Japan's three oldest baths (日本三古湯), together with Dōgo Onsen in Ehime and Nanki-Shirahama Onsen in Wakayama, AND one of Japan's three great hot springs (日本三名泉), alongside Kusatsu Onsen in Gunma and Gero Onsen in Gifu. This means that Arima Onsen is the only hot spring in Japan famous for both its high-quality medicinal properties, specifically its distinct mineral-rich "red/gold" (salt and iron-rich) and "silver" (carbonic/radium) waters, and its history, spanning over 1300 years and mentioned in the 8th century Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan). As an onsen fan I can't believe it's taken me almost 30 years to visit!

Though located in the mountains and boasting a very local, small-town atmosphere, Arima is easily accessible from Kobe (Shinkansen) Station or Sannomiya via a short 30-minute highway bus ride. After a dip in the onsen, it's lovely to don your yukata cotton kimono and stroll around the winding, narrow streets, packed with lots of beautiful buildings including a foot bath to soak your feet in (pictured) and stores selling the famous local treats. The most famous snacks are manju (饅頭), a traditional Japanese steamed bun with red bean paste filling, and senbei, a sweet, crispy cracker. Both boast a tansan variety which are made using the local carbonated spring water - highly recommended to nibble as you explore the town! 

My favourite area was probably the temple neighbourhood (寺田町界隈), a quiet area situated on a hill to the north of the historic resort. Dotted with yusen shrines (shrines dedicated to hot springs), temples, and retro-style ryokan inns, I enjoyed the charming atmosphere, rather different from the bustle of the main hot spring district. Tosen Shrine (湯泉神社), at the top of a long flight of stairs overlooking the town, was particularly impressive - it came as no surprise to discover that it is famous as a spiritual power spot (video here). An interesting feature of the neighbourhood was the placing of Oni-gawara (鬼瓦) roof tiles bearing the face of a demon or gargoyle on street corners, acting as amulets to keep away evil spirits. 

One final point of etiquette about public hot springs in Japan: it's taboo to wear any kind of clothing in the bath, including swimming costumes. This is of course traditional, but also for hygiene purposes: clothing can introduce fabric-borne dirt and bacteria (and onsen, unlike swimming pools, are never chlorinated). This can be particularly hard for British people. Compared to the Japanese - and even Northern Europeans - Brits tend to be "spectacularly bad at being naked": one survey found that 59% of British people - women significantly more than men - were either out-and-out uncomfortable naked, preferred not to say, or were unsure. Perhaps these fears are compounded by the uncertainty over whether public bathing is properly segregated. Before going to Arima, I reassured my British friends that traditional, mixed bathing (konyoku) is very rare today, thanks to shocked Western visitors and diplomats from the Meiji era who found the practice uncivilized, lewd, and un-Christian. Today, aside from a few "traditional" rural onsen, all public hot springs are strictly segregated. Imagine my surprise then, on entering the onsen at our Japanese inn in Arima (here) and discovering that there was only a low wall separating the men and women's baths, making it necessary to crouch down when leaving and entering to avoid being seen! Thoughts? Let us know in the COMMENTS!
 

Chanko Sumo Hotpot, Live Wrestling, and Public Humiliation

Temperatures hit a high of 21℃ today which is perfect for hanami (花見) or cherry blossom viewing - picnics under the sakura trees! Tokyo is approaching full bloom right now (map here) with March 28th-April 4th given as the best viewing window, surprisingly earlier than Kyoto or even Fukuoka, which are further south. As I wrote in an earlier post, despite the image of sakura as being deeply symbolic for the Japanese, people attending hanami parties are usually more interested in eating and (especially!) drinking than admiring the blossoms. This is captured in the phrase hana yori dango - literally "(sweet) dumplings over flowers," carrying the general meaning that practical things are more important than aesthetics!

Thanks to S & N for the photo

Cherry blossom season brings hordes of tourists and some might have been lucky enough to catch the end of the Osaka Grand Sumo Tournament (honbasho=本場所), one of six held each year, which ended on March 22nd (pictured). But for those here for the sakura and still yearning to see some live sumo, but who cannot wait for the start of the next basho at Tokyo's Kokugikan (starting May 10th), there is another option: the newly opened Sumo Live Restaurant Hirakuza Ginza Tokyo (Hirakuza Ginza), a unique restaurant with a professional sumo-size dohyo ring where you can watch live sumo bouts featuring veteran wrestlers accompanied by English commentary while enjoying traditional kaiseki cuisine. There is also a sake bar which offers a selection of high-quality sake. See this article in the Yomiuri Japan News for a good overview. 

The venue itself is impressive, with around 150 stepped seats arranged around three sides of the dohyo and a giant screen at the back. While the flashy sound, lighting, and visual effects were a little too gaudy for this Brit - perhaps more in keeping with the entertainment that that one sees at American sporting events - the audience of (almost all?) tourists seemed to be enjoying it. Personally though, I wanted them to tone it down a bit to reflect that sumo is not just a sport but a sacred, spiritual culture rooted in Japanese values such as respect, discipline, humility, and dignity. The show itself though was certainly entertaining, featuring a drum performance during the meal and then introducing sumo principles, exercises (such as the ceremonial leg raising and stomping known as shiko=四股), training, throwing techniques, and rules before some mock bouts. 

The food, as mentioned above, was kaiseki (懐石), traditional Japanese cuisine featuring a number of courses that aims to balance the taste, texture, appearance, and colours of food using seasonal (shun=旬) ingredients. The hassun (八寸) for example, an appetizer to set the seasonal theme, featured an artistic assortment of three bite-sized delicacies (picture bottom) comprised of dried fruits with a creamy tofu and sesame puree (left), grilled millet gluten with sweet miso glaze and poppy seeds (centre), and spinach and chrysanthemum petals steeped in savoury dashi (right). The importance Japanese place on seasonal foods, even today when supermarkets sell foods from all over the world, stands out for me as a key difference between Japanese and British in terms of attitudes towards food. In contrast, the hot pot in the top right is a year round staple, a protein filled stew of fish, meat, and vegetables traditionally served to wrestlers​ to bulk them up known as chanko-nabe.

At the end of the show, there was a lottery for audience members who wanted to ascend to the dohyo, don a sumo fat suit, and try their hand at wrestling with one of the wrestlers. Much to the embarrassment of his companions, British Prof's named was pulled out of the hat! The video below shows British Prof's futile attempts to grab the leg of his opponent before being unceremoniously picked up and dumped outside the ring. Think I need to eat a bit more chanko stew and work on my throwing techniques! Feel free to comment upon my humiliation or share your own in the COMMENTS below. 

Snow, Plum Trees, and the Tokyo Comedy Bar

Much of Japan, including Tokyo, experienced heavy snowfall in early February, a rarity for the capital. This coincided with the general election held on February 8th undoubtedly affecting turnout (around 56%). But despite the snow, spring is definitely in the air, with plum blossoms coming out now - this article describes the Mito Plum Festival (水戸の梅まつり), running February 11th to March 22nd, at Kairakuen Gardens in Mito, Ibaraki, one of Japan’s three great gardens (日本三名園): the other two are Kenrokuen in Kanazawa and Korakuen in Okayama. The plum blossoms are a precursor to the cherry blossoms - first bloom is expected around March 18–24 here in Tokyo!

Tourists coming to see the cherry blossoms in Tokyo will no doubt visit Shibuya with its famous scramble crossing - said to be the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world, with up to 3,000 people crossing during a single green light cycle - as well as the well-known Hachiko statue. But there is actually another attraction very popular with tourists in Shibuya - the Tokyo Comedy Bar! Billed as the only English stand-up comedy club in Japan it offers shows in both English every night, plus some Japanese sessions, comedy classes, and even open mic (for those interested in Japanese comedy see the older blog post here). Anyway, Britishprof has always been intrigued by stand-up (my day job at times does not seem that different) so I headed over to see what all the fuss was about.

The Tokyo Comedy Bar is located just a stone's throw from Hachiko, taking up a tiny space on the 3rd floor of the Renga Building. Renga means "brick" in Japanese and since Japanese houses are not built from brick, renga conjures up a strong image of Europe - and especially the UK - for the Japanese. As point of fact, Japanese houses are primarily built from timber (wood), using a post-and-beam construction method designed to withstand earthquakes and manage high humidity. What this means is that the average lifespan of a house in Japan is relatively short, with many homes demolished after only 30 to 35 years. While traditional, older, or well-maintained homes can last longer, the market trend is to treat houses as disposable assets, with their value often depreciating to near zero within 20-30 years (longer for steel-concrete structures). This is very different from the UK, where brick houses last for hundreds of years and increase in value as they get older!

Inside, there are two small rooms, a tiny bar boasting a big selection of craft beers on tap and an adjoining stage, perhaps big enough for 20-30 customers. When I visited on Tuesday - tickets can be bought in advance for ¥3,000 - there was a stand-up comedy showcase from 7:30 to 9:00 featuring local stars plus one international visitor followed by an open-mic session where fifteen amateurs were each given 4 minutes to show off their skills. The first segment was definitely tourist heavy with a lot of visitors from various countries while for the second segment the amateurs seemed to be mostly locals who had brought a friend or two for moral support. My New Year's resolution was to give open mic a try - what do you think, loyal readers? Should Britishprof give it a go despite the potential humiliation? Or should I stick to my day job? Let me know in the COMMENTS!

Exam Fatigue and Malatang: Japan's Spicy Sichuan Noodle Boom

January in Japan features the most important test for high school students hoping to get into university, a test used by all public and some private universities, known as the Common Test for University Admission (共通テスト). This year, 496,237 people applied for the exam, which was held simultaneously across the nation on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th, with 813 universities and other educational institutions planning to use the results in their admission processes. Saturday featured geography, history and civics; Japanese language; and foreign languages (including an English listening component) while the subjects tested on Sunday were information (a new subject introduced last year); the natural sciences; and maths. Any mishaps or problems are quickly picked up by the media, so those of us supervising the exams, like Britishprof, have to carefully wade through hundreds of pages of detailed instructions and videos, which cover every eventuality from earthquakes and cheating to projectile vomiting. Test questions and answers appear in major newspapers in full on Monday (pictured)!

After a weekend of mind-numbing invigilation, some comfort food was definitely in order so I went to try Japan's new food craze, malatang (麻辣湯＝マーラータン), a spicy but creamy Chinese street food dish that has taken Japan (and Korea) by storm. High school girls seem to be driving this craze - like many other trends in Japan - and when I went, I was the only guy in the place! A key reason for its popularity is the fun of customisation: you can choose how spicy you want it, what kind of broth to go for, toppings, and, most importantly, the kind of ingredients you want to include. I visited Tokyo Panda Maratan (東京パンダマーラーラン) in Tachikawa: let me walk you through the ordering steps below.

 

1. Take a bowl and tongs and line up (they will make sure you have a seat before starting). When you get to the front choose from a huge variety of ingredients such as meat, seafood, dumplings, vegetables, and tofu - the choice is overwhelming! I would personally recommend the quail eggs, boiled dumplings (gyōza), shrimp, lamb, crab balls, dried bean curd (yuba), and the various mushrooms (enoki, shiitake, and the white, gelatinous, frond-like mushroom known as snow fungus=白木耳). I also noticed they had spam (!) which seemed a bit out of place, despite the fact that it has become an integral part of Okinawan cuisine (here). Warning: take less than you think you want - they expand later in the broth!

2. After piling the ingredients into your bowl - don't take too much! - move over to the cashier who will weigh it. The price depends on the weight: Panda charged ¥400 for 100g (so my 307g cost ¥1228). A bonus is that if it weighs more than 250g they will add 80g of noodles of your choice in your bowl for free, as explained in the orange poster pictured. Once you've paid, the final step is to confirm broth type (usually the standard malatang) and spice level (from 0 for kids to 5 for those with a death-wish). Be careful, this is Sichuan spice and it hits hard so I would definitely recommend starting with level 1 - Britishprof likes spicy food but level one is plenty hot enough!

3. Finally, go back to your seat and wait while they prepare your malatang - they'll bring it to you once it's cooked in the broth, usually just 5 minutes. While you're waiting pick up chopsticks and a spoon, an apron to prevent splashing, and, most importantly, a glass of water. Once your bowl arrives, you can choose from a variety of toppings (pictured), such as garlic, sesame seeds, black vinegar, chopped spring onion, sugar, or chili oil (ラー油). Itadakimasu! If you have any thoughts on Japanese food or requests for covering a particular dish, let me know in the COMMENTS!