Take a Walk on the Wild side
About to hike this:
No marked trail where I was going. Like the scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the land just ripped apart and a huge gorge in the earth prevented me from going further. A land slide having taken place a while ago had wiped out the trail beneath me which is why it was not clear if I was on any trail at all.
I never really made it it the top. The path of the trail I took (if you can call it that) was literally cut off, an incision in the land. I turned around and headed back down the mountain.
At the end of the hike I walked into town for a nice hot spring soak. That was always the plan. Although I didn't make it all the way to the top of the mountain, at the very bottom was a lake with a public bath house I did make it into!
Two buck chuck all your clothes into the lake and go for an open air, hot spring bath! Yes, I did it for ¥300 ($2). It is really odd because just on the other side of the bath house is a fenceline which separates it from a high class restaurant which looks out onto the same lake with the same views. From my position in the bathhouse I get more expansive views of the lake. I can also see through the broken slats of the fence straight through to the outdoor dining area of the restaurant. Perhaps in the summer the vines fill the gap but in the fall… I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I see people eating their crumpets sitting forward in a proper posture, back erect, bringing food to mouth with no movement of the head or tilting of the body whatsoever. Why? Because if they turn slightly, just a tad, they will see me, soaking in the bath amongst all the morning glories. Muahaha! For posterity’s sake of course no pics from inside.
Sometimes I make people uncomfortable. I relish this position like a hot dog boiling in a hot water. Oh the irony of being in this nice mineral water with expansive views of the lake for only 300 yen, while the tourist literally next door is paying a minimum 3,000 yen per dish for a piece of sweet bread, restricting themselves to sitting in a certain direction, with diminished views of the lake, all to avoid staring at a naked man staring at the same lake. Of course, you cannot see any of what’s beneath the water's surface. It’s just my head above the water like an apple bobbing in salt water.
But man is it a joy to be in this position, relaxing in the water outdoors.
You want free and easy, cheap tour? Come join me!
