This is Yumoto Onsen, Iwaki, Fukushima, I thought I'd take a minute and take a look inside
See what it looks like this is the outside area now this part of the Onsen is co-eds
It's Konyoku, meaning, it's mixed. You have men and women here usually
It's not what you think usually people are modest they cover up
but today
What makes this really beautiful is that you can see the autumn colors are in really?
popping today
That's what makes Onsen really amazing. That's why I like autumn the best if you take a look around
There's some red up here, the some red here this color this tree is gonna be turning color soon
The sky is blue you can hear that beautiful sound of the water running. I'm not talking
Let's get in. My favorite time of the year to visit the Onsen is fall, winter and early spring
Because that's when it feels the best to soak in hot water
Onsens are usually a place with stunning scenery
The water comes naturally from the ground containing loads of minerals good for the skin
It's sometimes mixed with cooler water when the hot spring temperatures are too hot to be comfortable in
For me it's a time I can slow down. There's no swimming or playing here. It's a place to relax
In a large bath like this you can move around to different areas or sit on a rock and take a break to cool down
Let's head to another bath in the area
This is the Onsen
It's got that feeling to it. You know the woody walls and ceiling the old tack to it
Caked on sulfur. The smell of rotten eggs oh
Oh, Yeah
It's really hot
You can see the mineral staining the bath after years of use
So Hako-Yu has public baths for a reasonable 230, yen, or two dollars open to the general public
The bathhouse itself looks like something from an anime resembling Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama, Shikoku
There are two bathrooms here that switch between men and women on different days
this one is open to men today the high ceilings and open baths in the center is really stunning to look at
This is Hanano-Yu at Bandai Atami Onsen, and it has loads of different baths in the same place
My favorite is the big barrel. it fits more than one person nice to share it with a friend or a stranger
We're all equal when naked in Japan
Hadaka-no-Tsukiai
Many Onsen have both outdoor and indoor baths in the winter the temperature change is pretty abrupt
I think you appreciate the hot water more when you have to freeze to get to it
It's still too good!
The cool air is all other than that
Really hot water
I only get up so cold
Here's the indoor bath, it's quite large
So you can find an area for yourself or sit around friends?
You can shower after the bath at the many stools with faucets around the edge of the bath
This outdoor bath is illuminated making it look like it was sent down from the heavens to make you feel like a god
Many new style Ryokans have modern touches like this
Down here
the flow used to be making the view with this
Being outside, surrounded by nature means waterfalls that sound of rushing water is a good contrast to the last bath
Which is a lot quieter?
This bath is at ground level along the river
It's really cold, but that there is Tamago-Yu this back. I want to show you in
Beautiful 360 degree virtual reality video you can see on the left and right of me. This is a river going through here
It's got sulfuric water in it. There's a powder that makes it kind of like a green white
Color and you're gonna see this in the bath, which is really cool
This is always such an amazing experience to be in an Onsen like this
Oh, Yeah
That's it Onsen!
This is called egg bath because of the smell and because it makes your skin feel soft like an eggshell
I love bathing in historic baths like this. Old wooden buildings that have tons of personality
The color of the water makes this bath more curious to me different
More than just being loaded with minerals it stands out with the wood color around it when regular water would just give off a reflection
It's really incredible. You can hear the rushing river going by
Exciting great here!
Tamago-Yu
It's really cold, so this is the outdoor bath Auto door
Yeah
It's about
Two degrees Celsius, it's a little bit freeze, but you can see how beautiful it is
Right now you it's the end of autumn
There's still some of the autumn colors hanging onto the leaves
This bath is really cool because it's layered it steered you have three layers three tiers
Each one is a little bit cooler as you get the other warmer
And this one gets a little bit cooler as you get there, but they're all quite hot, maybe this is at 40 degrees Celsius
But the most impressive thing about this
Onsen not not the architecture the wood covering is
The view the fact that we're at elevation looking down onto the river, and then that sound can you hear it?
That's the river the rapids they're about 250 meters away, and the color is beautiful
You know it's really cold. I'm just gonna get in
He's been amazing feeling
So cold outside. We're here in the water you look perfect
the different shapes styles and views from the baths make each Onsen experience special
All right, so this is Toryu-Kan
They have a normal bath, and they have one in the room a private bath, but they also have one. That's outside
So let's go check that out you have to change into
these wooden sandal so or "Geta" and
Down we go
Onsen baths are sometimes separated from the building meaning you have to walk outside to get to them
Your sandals or get to here
These baskets down here these buckets are for your Yukata to put it in and there you are very
impressive and beautiful
So there you have it, this is Toryu-Kan beautiful Onsen
The trees are bare in the winter meaning the view is different by season
Now let's look at the traditional Japanese Inn, it's called Ryokan here in Fukushima although each Ryokan is different the rooms have many similarities
Lots of the Japanese Rhokan
This is a room in a Japanese-style hotel with your call a Ryokan and
The first thing you notice when you come in here is it's a Tatami. It's a very traditional
Flooring here. There's 16 - Tatami mats, which is quite large. It's just me staying here. This is too much space for one person
Usually a family of four will be here, which you can see with the seats
It is enough to accommodate four people at Ryokan you always pay per person not per room
Each person is getting that incredible service and of course two meals which you should never skip
All right
Unless pretty cold, you have a
Really big cushion and the chair is on the ground like this. It's pretty comfortable Japanese-style
Usually in the Ryokan rooms you'll have a little complimentary snack sometimes. It's a
Confection from this local area as well as it's cheap way. If there are four people
There's gonna be four of them around the table
And then you have a tea set they put it on the floor in front of the table
That's right this here is green tea
And you put one into the kettle and the pot
Wait a couple of minutes and put it the tea in there and here you go you have hot tea
Very very nice. No coffee if you're a coffee drinker bring your own. That's what I do every time
I come to Ryokan I bring my own coffee because yeah, they don't have it here
This is another room with a similar set up. Table in the middle, small tea lounge set by the window
Now let's move to the food "Kaiseki Ryori" or cuisine
Alright, so this is a dinner at a Rhokan
This is a really good one
This has all been set up usually they'll bring out the course is one by one
This is the starter and then they'll bring out these dishes
This is the likes of fire for the Sukiyaki and the soup
later on but I asked them to bring everything out at
Once so you can get a sense of the scope of the size of this meal we got some really nice Japanese sake here Kampai
This is Sukiyaki
This is Fukushima beef and
You dip the Sukiyaki into the egg like this
Sukiyaki, I can't even start straight to explain what all of this stuff is but
This one's from me, and this one is for you
So thanks for joining me. I hope you enjoy this meal because it's really special each meal at a Ryokan is seasonal
There are four seasons in Japan
Spring, summer, fall and winter. This is the fall set up. It's really good, Bon Appetit!
Itadaki-masu
This is the Onsen's Yukata.
They have Yukata in the closet it almost always this
Just like you're getting used to there's to set the towel, jacket
Coat hangers you know
The light is made out of Washi paper on the table, there's a snack that's complementary
Information packet with Wi-Fi and TV remote control with the TV it's kind of the same setup in everybody, Ryokan
I think you're getting used to it
The closet has a bath set with razor, tooth brush, wash towel and extra amenities
This room is luxurious and beautiful.
Here's the living room
The Futon is in its own room for sleeping
Come on let's keep moving there's more to see like the other rooms. There's a lounge area for tea by the window
And unlike many other rooms there's this private Onsen bath
very very cool
It's great for families really shy people and people with tattoos who can't bathe in public areas
Oh yeah, so nice
Come on in here
Now you can really see
If you look up on the ceiling you can see the condensation of
All the steam just sticking to the roof and now collecting and totally
gonna start to rain in here looks like it anyways and
The bath is wonderful this the water is coming out of here
This looks like a little birdhouse
Take the top off you can see it is just the pipe but
It's better if it looks like that oh wow I want to get it
It's nice and warm
There are all sorts of Onsen rooms and meals available and any trip to Japan must include an Onsen and Ryokan stay
Check out the other in-depth videos on Fukushima's Onsen and Ryokan culture to see what makes this a must when visiting Japan
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