Onsen and Creepy Crustaceans! (Thankfully Not in the Same Room...)

On January 2nd, some friends and I went to a hot springs villa in Okayama, which is about a ninety minute drive from Himeji. It rocked!!! I was a little nervous getting naked in front of all my girlfriends, but by the end of the trip I was a professional speed-undresser (unfortunately, I don't think that will do much for my resume)! Being that nudity was the primary state of the trip, I don't have a lot of pictures.

But! Our rooms had the coolest bathrooms in the whole world! Japan definitely knows how to do small...





The toilet paper is underneath the sink; readily accessible when necessary, and duly protected from shower water. Yes! You shower in there too! See the hose running up the wall from the faucet? I don't know how you're supposed to wash your feet, but no space is wasted...

So after oohing and ahhing over our rockin' toilets, we enjoyed the night soaking in outdoor jacuzzis and cooking a meal together. We made nabe, which is a soup you cook in a big bowl on a hot plate in the center of the table. You continually add ingredients (such as cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, onions, and meat or fish), and as the soup cooks, everyone serves themselves. I love the communal aspect of cooking a meal together and sitting around the same meal for a few hours.

And now I will leave you with some food for thought, generously provided by our crab nabe:



Mmmmm...oishii, desu ne? (Mmmmm, delicious huh?)