04.27-28.11 Gasshuuku -- Lake Forest Resort

I had an absolute blast yesterday! In the morning, Bea and I met up with Melanie at Kintetsu Nara station and boarding a tour bus with about forty other people. Together, we set out on our "gasshuuku," which is really a fancy way of saying "field trip." The ride began with everyone passing around snacks they had brought along for the ride. Japanese sweets were in abundance, and we munched on various treats until we reached our first destination: the Miho Museum. Together we walked through a tunnel and over a bridge to where the museum was nestled in the mountains. You could see nothing else but trees for miles in every direction. The museum itself was a work of art seeing as the architecture was pretty unique. We had the chance to see the work of Nagasawa Rosetsu, a famous painter from the Meiji period. His work was beautiful and awe inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit! We also got to see some art from China, Greece, Egypt, and the Middle East.

Tunnel before Miho Museum

The bridge leading to the museum

Museum entryway

By the time we finished touring the museum, all of us were starving. Luckily, our next stop had lunch on the menu. We drove to a small pottery shop not far from the museum and immediately took a group picture in front of the hundreds of tanuki statues that were sitting outside. A tanuki can best be described as a racoon-dog hybrid, and they are a popular images in Japanese folklore. The thing most people notice are their oversized testicles. Why are tanuki's testicles so big? I don't really understand it either, but everyone seems to think it's hilarious. Anyway, moving on. Lunch was a real treat. Everything was made in the traditional Japanese style. There were things on my plate I had never seen before, but I ate everything (excluding the tofu) and enjoyed it all. Once everyone had eaten, we all sat down to try our hand at making a piece of pottery. I attempted to make a Japanese tea cup. I thought the design was simple, yet cute. On one side I drew a sun with the words "ohayou" (good morning), and on the opposite side I drew a moon with "oyasumi" (good night). Apparently, the shop will fire and color the pottery and ship it to Nara next month.

Giant Tanuki!

My lunch!

The pottery we made

It was down pouring rain by the time we finished at the pottery shop. It was after another thirty minute drive through the mountains that we reached our final destination: the Lake Forest Resort. The hotel was probably the biggest one I had ever seen. We walked in and I was immediately taken in by the grandiose decorations. After a short group meeting, we were given the keys to our rooms. I was thrilled to discover that they were also made in the traditional Japanese style. A sliding door led into the genkan (the entry way), another sliding door revealed tatami mats and a low table (futons were stacked neatly in the closet), and the final sliding door led onto a balcony where we had a spectacular view of the mountain scenery.

View from the balcony

With an hour before dinner, Melanie, Bea, and I all decided to go to the onsen (hot spring). In truth, it was probably the main reason why we went on the trip in the first place! We went to the bathhouse area where we were given keys to our own personal lockers and two towels. In the locker room it was something of a shock to discover that everyone in the onsen was completely naked (and seemed completely comfortable with it.) Melanie and I were the slowest to get accustomed to this, but after we stripped down and stepped into the onsen area it didn't really matter anymore.

The onsen was basically one giant room with four separate pools and a sauna. Immeediately to our left upon stepping inside was the "shower" area. Of course, the showers were also done in the traditional Japanese way. This meant sitting on a stool, soaping, and manually dumping water on your body by means of a bucket. Again, the area was open so there was really no place to hide. Once we were showered, we got to pick between the four separate pools. One was a round and looked like a jucuzzi with big jets all around the sides. Then, there was a long pool with bubbles coming up from the bottom, and one outdoors made completely of stone. The final pool was filled with ice cold water that you could dump on yourself if you got too hot. Together, the three of us rotated between all of them. It was really the most relaxing and enjoyable experience I've ever had.

(I don't have my own pictures of this for obvious reasons.)

 After spending about an hour trying out the onsen, we got dressed and went to the "powder room" where individual stations were set up for girls to do their makeup, hair, whatever. Each station had a mirror and a hair dryer, which was a plus. From there we went to dinner, which was served buffet style, but of course, with Japanese touches. I loved how the Japanese plates looked like waffles. Each little square was meant for a separate food. I am continually amazed by how the Japanese make everything a work of art-- even while eating! Once everyone had eaten, we did self introductions. This is one thing about Japan that I don't really enjoy. Anytime a large group of people gets together, the Japanese find it necessary for everyone to say something about themselves. This time around we were told to say our name, our high school, and our favorite singer.

This is the part of the blog where I will insert a small rant. This trip was sponsored by Nara's language department, so a French, German, and English professor all were present. I found it extremely interesting that the French and German teachers, although not natives of Japan, were able to speak Japanese, but the American English teacher (who has lived in Japan for nine years and is married to a Japanese woman) speaks NO Japanese. I am not exaggerating this, either. The entire trip he only spoke in rapid English. (I felt bad for the Japanese girls he spoke to.) Personally, I was embarrassed and a bit angry that he did this, especially since he has lived in Japan for so long. I wonder what everyone else must think of him. During the self introduction portion of dinner he was the only person to speak in English!

Once dinner was over with, it was karaoke time. Although I love singing, karaoke wasn't as fun as when I went with Bea, Melanie, Yoonkyung, and Hana. There were a lot of people in one room, many of them I did not know, so I mostly sat and talked with Bea. After about an hour of that, we left to visit the onsen again. We returned to our rooms completely relaxed and exhausted. Pulling out our futons, we laid down to sleep around midnight, but were up again at 6:30 to visit the onsen one last time before breakfast. Before leaving, I bought some "omiyage" (souveniors) for my friends back in Nara. In Japan, it is expected that if you go on a trip you should buy some type of souvenior to give to your friends when you return.     

Karaoke room

The trip back was not as long as the trip to the resort, but just as bumpy. Riding on a bus through winding mountain roads is not the most comfortable thing in the world. Even so, the entire experience was enjoyable and I am extremely glad that I went. It was fun to do things the way the Japanese would, and I am looking forward to my next truly Japanese experience!