Thursday, March 25 – Sunday, March 28, 2010-

The Kobayashi’s go to Kayabuki no Sato Yakushi Onsen Hatago in Gunma Prefecture!

The past few days have been some of my favorite here in Japan so far. The arrival of Sumie’s aunt, Noriko, from Las Vegas brought us a reason to entertain. The Kobayashi’s recently went to visit her this past January and while there they visited some of Noriko’s friends, the Wang’s. Well now, along with Noriko’s husband Al, they will be touring Japan over the next few weeks. Their journey got off to a darn good start, I’d have to say, with an incredible visit to the onsen hot spring region of Gunma Prefecture about four hours west of Tochigi. Located up in the mountains and forests, the Kayabuki no Sato Yakushi Onsen Hatago is an extremely traditional Japanese style hot spring inn.

It was without a doubt the nicest place I’ve stayed at during my seven months here in Japan. The buildings were all extremely old fashioned, while still being remarkably comfortable. To make it even better, the food that they served us was of the very highest quality and cooked in styles that you won’t find anywhere else but in Japan.

A group of 14 of us (the Kobayashi’s, our six guests, Sumie’s parents, older sister, and myself) first enjoyed a fresh unagi lunch at the Kobayashi’s store before taking a rental bus from Nakagawa all the way to the inn. I think the Kobayashi’s and Wang’s were actually happy to have me there to help translating as well. Poor Noriko would have had her hands full trying to go back and forth for a group that large! But to be honest, I was more than happy to do it; it’s a reward in itself knowing that I’ve come far enough to do so. After arriving, seeing our awesome rooms, enjoying a fantastic (and seeming limitless) dinner, we enjoyed a hot spring that can hardly be described in words. For the best pictures I encourage you to visit the website (http://www.yakushi-hatago.co.jp/en/index.html) simply look at the first picture below and you’ll see what I mean. Spoiler Alert – Waterfalls!

That night we slept on comfortable tatami and futon beds, breakfast the next morning as extravagant as dinner (honestly one of the best I’ve had to date here in Japan), and the morning spent in hot springs, making our own soba noodles and mochi rice cakes, all before boarding the bus for our ride home. For a look at our Soba adventure check out the hotel’s blog (http://yhatago.exblog.jp/). Along the way back to Tochigi we stopped at a famous glass village where you could buy any imaginable trinket or charm made out of glass.

Dinner last night was without a doubt some of the freshest sushi that I’ve ever had. As you can see from the picture of the restaurant at right, it was all fancy wooden rooms surrounding a shallow pool of different fish swimming in the center. As you ordered your food the chef would come out with a net, snatch your own little fishy, and minutes later your plate full of fresh sushi would be sitting in front of you. We ordered Red Snapper, or Tai, and the entire meal was then based off of that one fish. We had delicious sashimi, served in three styles, one with your own hand-grated wasabi, another with radish and scallion sauce, and a third on a scrumptious lettuce leaf wrap with leak, cucumber, and a special sauce made only at that restaurant. We later enjoyed the fish skin, rice balls, and miso soup all made from the remaining meat and bones of that same fish. Nothing goes to waste.

The Wangs, Noriko, and Al, are now off to their next destination but we are planning on meeting up with them again soon in Tokyo. I’ll be sure to fill you in with our next escapades soon. For now, the pictures will tell a better story than any more words. ENJOY

Yuki and Masahito all set to go. Our own private bus came straight to our front door

A private meal outside the Kobayashi's store

The Kobayashi Bus!

Arriving at the inn. The location is perfect, nestled right down between the mountains of western Gunam Prefecture

Carp flags flying overhead

The entry gate

Welcome to the Kayabuki Inn

Woah! A bear! Do you see it?

Masahito in the resort's lobby room

The inside of our room. From here you can see the balcony and private all wooden bath. There were actually two more rooms beyond this one

Masahito and his Aunt, Miyoko

Yukata (the name for a lighter version of the kimono). This is what I wore almost the whole stay

My feet!

Yuki and Sumie as we explored the different buildings and museums within the complex

The interior was as decorative as the outside, including very interesting paper and bamboo lamps such as these

The valley and mountains stretching out behind us

The beginning of our incredible dinner

Bella, Yuki, and Hiroshi exploring the dinner table as we sat down. It was a traditional pit style table with a fire burning in the center. The building itself was also an extremely old style, including a rare grass straw thatched roof

A meal I'll remember for years to come. I couldn't even begin to count how many courses we had, I'd guess it was somewhere around seven or more.

My dinner table crew

Oh Japan...

A terrific cedar pine bath that took me straight back to the saunas of Minnesota's north woods. For you Beske family readers, the smell made me think immediately of the Boathouse Inn!

The next morning while making soba noodles

Don't worry, Grandma, you haven't been replaced! =)

I was on the best team while making soba noodles (Sumie's parents had all the experience)

Hirsohi, Noriko, and Sumie

Mochi

Masahito working the rice cakes while Bella and Sori look on

The crew as we make mochi

Myself, Masahito, and Jayden in front of a lavish display used for the boy's holiday coming up this spring

The Glass Factory

Masahito outside of a 7-Eleven convenience store. The Japanese love their "conbinis" as they call them =)

Bella, Jayden, and Sori standing next to the 300 plus dollar giant crab tank

Clash of East and West - Kimono-clad waitress uses high tech ordering system

Red Snapper at its best.

Deep fried fish skin, those curly flakes on it are actually the scales