My daughter is adopted from near Tokyo and my wife is from Osaka. As a result, I have visited Japan going on eight times in the past fifteen years. Only this year did I finally start studying the language. Shame on me, I know. With my wife to translate and my job taking my time, the last thing I ever wanted to do was to spend more time on a computer or hunched over paper with pen. And I refused to let my wife or daughter teach me. Go figure.
Since my first trip to Japan, the pervasive onsen, or public bath, were always the highlight of my visits. I am a vegetarian so eating out in Japan causes more stress than pleasure, especially for my wife who has to embarrass herself by trying to figure out how to get me food with no meat or fish. Sometimes I’m asked to stay home when the family goes out to eat since many restaurants just cannot accommodate me. I’ve been vegetarian for over thirty-five years, so I don’t see this changing anytime. As a result I love onsen all the more .
Espeically the public-style onsen. They charge less and are better quality than the private-style establishments. That being said, the former are bare bones — they do one thing only and they do it well. You often have to bring your own towel, your own soap and shampoo, and change for the lockers. NOTE: you get the change back after you return the key into the cylinder— I made the mistake of assuming that there was a fee for the locker, leaving my coin in the machine. I came back later and it was still there.
The private option is much more like a resort with, to use the bath my family goes to as an example, a massive manga library for the kids to enjoy reading, a small shopping area to buy vegetables for dinner and snacks, ice cream concession, a napping area, television lounge, massage chairs, and many other perks. The private baths also have a huge array of different types of pools and saunas like a rubber ducky pool for kids, traditional cauldron baths, water jet massages, and a salt sauna where you scrub your body with handfuls of salt.
The last public-style bath I visited, in contrast, had only an indoor pool, an outdoor pool and a sauna. Nearby they had some vending machines. But the quality of those few features was unparalleled, and the clientele are the local locals — those coming by foot, judging by the size of the parking lot. Public-style baths are not always easy to find, whereas the private versions are found in every area and always provide parking and show up on Google Maps.
To the Japanese, it would seem outrageous how few bath houses we have for the number of people living in New York City. Excepting spas and western hot tubs, It’s pretty much the Korean Spa Castle or one of the Russian bath houses in Brooklyn if you want to enjoy public bathing. We don’t have readily available hot spring sources the way they do throughout Japan, so this is understandable. For context, though, the Japanese even have a public bath on overnight ferry service — you literally soak with other riders while swaying in the ocean waves. Not to mention the baths people have in their own homes. I still can’t figure out why human beings don’t have baths like that everywhere — the Japanese use less water than we do and they have a much better “up to the neck” soak every single night in water that is constantly being re-heated so it doesn’t cool off while you soak. We attribute their strong health outcomes to eating a lot of fish, but I would be surprised if their bath culture doesn’t play a role as well.
My second recommendation for anyone visiting Japan is to make a point of visiting Michi no ekis. Reading about these on Wikipedia, they appear to be just highway rest stops. We have those in America too. But Michi no ekis are special. First of all, the products for sale are all local. And I’m not talking local franchises or any kind of chain. Local farmers bring their produce to sell, as do local artisans of all kinds. It’s like a mix between a farmer’s market and a grocery store showcasing local specialties at the roadside.
Each Michi no eki is totally unique. I could write a travel book if I were to describe just the ones I have visited. They always include free parking and nice public toilets. Many also include coin-operated showers so you can sleep in the parking lot in your car and have a nice hot shower, too.
My sister-in-law is heavily involved in organizing her local michi no eki which is the smallest (and cutest) one I have ever visited. It’s a tremendous community, just check out their Facebook page. They have festivals in the parking lot, an amazing restaurant, and their products are of the highest quality including hand-made miso by my other sister-in-law and baskets made by their 96 year old grandmother. It reminds me of a miniature Waldorf holiday fair, if you know what that is. If you are ever in Osaka, you should make a point of visiting the Chihaya Akasaka michi no eki, in particular.
Michi no ekis also tend to have local crafts like wood-carved toys for kids, and fascinating local souvenirs and spirits. Visiting one of these rest stops is a great introduction to any area in Japan. They also have free Wifi, which can be critical when traveling without phone service. Many include an information counter with hyper-local information (in Japanese) and small concessions with local sweets or even one or more restaurants. One of the best inexpensive tofu restaurants I have ever been to in Japan was at a michi no eki — they had a an “all you can eat” tofu bar with many different kinds of tofu, all home made and (shockingly) all vegetarian. One of the styles of tofu involved using a spray bottle to mist the tofu with a pink colored liquid. Weird.
The Michi no eki is a great way to get to know Japan and by visiting you are supporting local farmers and artisans directly. We always prefer to spend money at the local Michi no eki than at a grocery store or department store. The downside is that they cater to Japanese people and so you will have little help in communicating if you don’t speak Japanese. But that makes it all the more entertaining. I bought a nice shochu at one michi no eki and because of my lack of Japanese I didn’t notice the cashier telling me that she had forgotten to include the shochu when ringing me up. If it were not for my wife, I would have kept walking.
This official site has a search tool to find a Michi no eki in a specific area or based on a specific service. Check it out.
