Foot Onsen

Hello! So this was November 19th, 2009. Today would be my first introduction to.......the FOOT ONSEN!

This is my friend Brooke...and after Day 1 of Kencho we did some "hanging out" as the kids call it these days. hehe.

We stopped to smell the roses on the way back to the train station. Which means, that we took pictures by every Koi pond. :)

"Onsen" is the Japanese word for "Hot Springs". There are thousands of natural Hot Springs in Japan, but I'm not sure if the Onsen's that I hear about all the time are purely man-made or what. This little foot onsen is certainly the work of one genious human-being.

Don't let my dress misdirect you. Japan was already cold. And a scorching hot foot onsen is just what I needed. Foot Onsen's around "Yuda Onsen" (a district in Yamaguchi city) are all around...for public benefit. And by public, I mean me.

I've talked about foxes in another of my posts...Like the fox watching me warm up?

An old lady came at the end of my first foot onsen experience...who had a bagful of extra towels. :) She wouldn't take "no, its okay!" as an answer. She told Brooke, who's Japanese is much better than mine, that she visits the foot onsen everyday. I better have one of these where ever I retire!

This giant fox guards the Yuda-onsen train stop in Yamaguchi city. Bye bye for now Yamaguchi...tomorrow I will be in Kyoto...but thats another story! (and one I've already told...)