Tottori and Kinosaki

Last weekend I finally made it 'up north' (or maybe it's east?) to visit my friend Katie and see the real inaka (country) - vs. the industrial/surburban area I live in that I sometimes refer to as inaka. Katie and I met at an event at the consulate last fall. We clicked as friends pretty quickly and she has stayed at my place a few times, including Thanksgiving. Anyways, I have wanted to go visit her for a while because she lives about 10 minutes away from Kinosaki, this awesome little onsen (natural hot spring) town, and well, some of us can be pretty spread out so it's an excuse to get out of town.
Trains, Train and more time on trains
I left right after work on Friday afternoon and made the three hour train trip to Katie's town, Toyooka. After having made the trip one lonely time, I have to admit I am impressed by how often Katie gets out and travels! That is a long time to sit. Once I arrived, Katie met me at the station and we spent Friday night just talking and watching Friends episodes. Sadly, Katie's going back to America this summer, but she is starting law school, so we've had a lot to talk about this fall since we're both going through (well, or about to go through, in my case) the application process. We couldn't stay up too late, however because we wanted to get up early on Saturday to make our way to Kinosaki, the onsen town.
Kinosaki
The onsen experience is extremely Japanese. As an American, it takes a little while to get used to being naked (and bathing) in front of a crowd, but once you are adjusted to the exposure, it is extremely relaxing. I went to a public bathhouse (basically like an onsen, but they are not natural springs) with Jessica when we went to Kyoto in 2004, and it quite honestly freaked me out a bit to be in a bathtub - naked - with an old friend. But I swear people do it all the time, and some Japanese inns and public facilities only offer this style of bathing!
So when you first enter the onsen, men and women are separated and you start the experience by stripping down to your birthday suit in the locker area. You basically have a hand town to cover up, so I am not kidding when I say you are exposed. You then procede to the bathing area where you take a seat on a stool and clean your body off with a shower head and/or a small bucket in front of a face mirror. I have heard of old, Japanese women telling foreigners they missed a spot if they did not spend enough time cleansing before entering the bath; it's important that you are completely clean before getting in the pool.
The onsen we went to* had both indoor and outdoor pools, so we spent some time soaking in the hot, steamy water, while a cold waterfall ran down a mountain-side (with bamboo trees) behind us. In the summertime, people supposedly can walk from onsen to onsen in their yukata (cotton robe), but I am glad I went during this cooler time of year. The hot water would have been too much if it was humid outside!
Tottori
After Kinosaki, we continued our sea-side journey and took the train yet another three hours to Tottori. Tottori is on the Sea of Japan (other side of the country) and is known for it's apples, pears and giant sand dunes, our primary interest in visiting the site. My friends visited the town on their portable bikes a few months ago and were able to paraglide off the dunes and ride a camel, but unfortunately, the only acitivities being offered during our visit were making sand castles (and I guess that was just on your own)! The dunes were very impressive, however, and the view was beautiful. While I live in a pretty good location with enough to see for years, the trip made me realize I could get out and explore other areas of this country a little more. I have always wanted to go to Maine to see the dunes there, for example, so I am definately accomplishing things I have always wanted to do but hadn't considered Japan as an outlet for.
The road home
Katie spent a few hours in Tottori, and then I had to leave to catch the train back to Himeji (yet another three hour trip). I had to work early Sunday morning as an interviewer for a language proficiency test, or else I would have spent more time checking out the other side of Hyogo Prefecture. I don't know that there was that much more to see, but I had a fabulous time with my adventursome buddy and a lot fun sightseeing!

*We went to the newest onsen in town, which was pretty nice. Katie had been there before and remembered it being prety expensive, but I didn't think the 800 yen entrance fee was bad.