Akita - text fixed.

(I posted this in a hurry without checking how it appeared, and then found it was nearly illegible because of a load of junk html which had appeared.  Blogger does this. I've now removed the junk)

Whenever we told our various Japanese friends we would be visiting Akita, they asked, politely,  "Why is this?"    I think they were surprised to find that Western visitors with a limited time in Japan would make the long trip up to this rather remote area.   But actually, Akita was fantastic.  We originally headed there because we were staying with people who lived there, but something about the region  "spoke" to me, and I would love to return another time.  

One place I'd particularly like to return to is Nyuto Onsen.   This is actually a collection of ryokans (traditional inns with hot springs) inside the Towada Hachimantai National Park.    Weather permitting, you can hike in the surrounding mountain and valleys, and visit all the ryokans and onsens if you feel like it.  The picture below shows the type of scenery, (although I think they only have sections of boardwalk in ecologically sensitive or marshy areas.)  

  We visited in October and were lucky to catch the most spectacular autumn leaves. 

I like to know what trees I'm looking at, and I did identify beech and maple, both of which have brilliantly coloured foliage, but many of the other trees weren't familiar and as you see there was quite a variety, stretching away for miles. 

Given unlimited time and money, I think I'd have hiked some of the trails between several different ryokan, but we only had time to visit Tsurunoyu Onsen, perhaps the best known of them all.   You approach it via a very narrow road. this picture doesn't show the hairpin bends and steep gradients and the deep ditches - but it is certainly rustic. Passing the occasional car or bus was a bit of a challenge, and I did wonder how people manage when it's deep in snow - they most certainly do come then, because the onsens look fabulous and are popular in the winter.  Anyway, we got there in one piece, with me admiring trees all the way - partly so that I didn't have to think about the hairpin bends and steep drops...

And I loved the many lively streams and  little waterfalls in the woods.

This ryokan has traditional samurai-era lodgings - you can see some of them in the photo below.  Here, you live in traditional Japanese style, and your food is cooked for you in a fire pit in the floor.  I was too polite to photograph the people I saw through open doors and windows, sitting and eating.

The central pathway shown below leads to the pools.  And I'm sorry to be disappointing, but I was too polite to snap away with my camera there too.  The tradition is that you are quite naked, and although it did not bother me, I am not sure I'd have liked someone coming in and taking photos of me.      

The women's pool, Kodakara-no-yu (I'm told it means “blessed with children”) is three or four feet deep. It seems to be almost unchanged from centuries ago, with its bamboo pipes bringing in natural hot and cold water,  rough wooden changing shelter hewn from logs, and long white banners hanging over the entrance.  It is milky green-white in colour, and pretty hot, and a couple of strides from its edge there's a tiny shrine, set on the black volcanic rock. Traditionally, women who hoped to conceive used this pool and prayed at the shrine.

 I learned afterwards that the shrine is supposed to have a sculpture of a penis in it, but somehow I missed seeing that.  So I guess I won't be having any more children as a result of my visit. 

This is the entrance to the mixed pool, which you can glimpse if you look at the little opening on the left.

The place has been left in a very natural state, very clean but not groomed and "prettified."  Being surrounded by silence and natural beauty is very relaxing, although if you got near to the waterwheel, you could hear it trundling around. 

I'd like to write a bit about the Namahage, godlike creatures who live in the mountains and visit homes in the depths of Akita's harsh and snowy winters at New Year.  Also about some wonderful architecture that we saw.   But that will have to wait for my next post.  I will leave you with a picture of the famous Akita dog.

This breed is rather like a husky, bred to cope with the savage winters. It is said to be an independent and dominant breed that is fond of its owners but doesn't relate well to strangers.  Although we called to this one, it took absolutely no notice of us but continued to lie there with its eyes obstinately closed.  Perhaps that is how it showed it was independent and dominant and didn't like strangers.   But what a lovely dog, or at least I thought so.

(By the way, I have been meaning to say that my artist pal The Chubby Chatterbox has a superb picture giveaway on his blog - and it only has two days to run.  Take a look here for more details. )