Footbaths of Gero Onsen

Last weekend while I was Japan I decided to spend Saturday in the little town of Gero Onsen. Gero Onsen is famous in Japan for its hot springs and boasts many free foot baths around the town for people to enjoy. I decided to sample a variety of them while I was wondering around town.

To enjoy the footbaths (足湯, pronounced "ashiyu"), you simply take off your socks and shoes and soak your feet in the water. The first one I stopped at was Geruma Footbath (下留磨の足湯). I reached it after walking thirty minutes uphill so it was a nice little break. Tucked in off the side of the road it was quiet and I had the footbath to myself which was nice.

I next headed to the Gassho Village (Entrance fee: Adults ¥800, Children ¥400), which is an open air museum with Gassho Houses that were relocated from Shirakawa-go when a dam project would have flooded them. Among the many exhibits in the Gassho Village there was of course also a footbath (合掌の足湯). It was by far the largest of the footbaths that I visited and I had a nice conversation with an elderly couple who were also enjoying the bath.

After I finished touring the Gassho Village, I visited Onsen-ji and then checked into the ryokan (Japanese Inn) that I was staying at. I relaxed for a bit and then headed out for a little more sightseeing, stopping at the Gero Museum of Hot Springs (Entrance fee: Adults ¥500, Children ¥200). In addition to having a variety of exhibits, the museum also had a footbath, of course. Called Yakushi Footbath (薬師の足湯), it consisted of two troughs lined with stones. The first was very hot that cooled down toward the end with the second being much cooler becoming downright chilly by the time it wrapped back to the beginning again. 

To use the footbath, you soak your feet in the hot end until they acclimate and then walk in a clockwise circle as the water gets cooler and then loop back to the start plunging your feet back into the hot water. Walking on the loose stones barefoot was a little tricky since they were so slippery so I was glad that there was a railing to hold onto as I did my circuit. The changing temperatures is supposed to invigorate your legs and stimulate circulation and going from the cold to the hot definitely made my legs tingle a bit. 

Across the way was the Sagi Footbath (鷺の足湯), which was the first footbath in Gero Onsen. Sagi means egret in Japanese and is a reference to the legend that 700 years ago an egret showed the villagers where the source of the hot springs was. There were some women already enjoying the footbath and I didn't want to intrude so I headed on.

I next walked past Venus Footbath (ビーナスの足湯), which is decidedly not very Japanese looking although it seemed quite popular.

I then walked across town to stop at Tanokami Footbath (田の神の足湯) near the Gero Onsen City Hall. I relaxed my feet for a while in the hot water before heading back to my ryokan for the day.

After enjoying a wonderful bath followed by an elaborate multi-course dinner at my ryokan I decided to make a little stop at the hotel's footbath before heading to sleep for the night.

In the morning I didn't have a lot of time before my train to Takayama, but I did walk by the remaining public footbaths in town on the way to the train station just to check them out. Three of them were right in a row along the main row through town with the first being Miyabi Footbath (雅の足湯) which is decorated with frog statues. Frogs are associated with Gero Onsen because in Japanese "gero-gero" is the sound that frogs make (equivalent to "ribbit-ribbit" in English).

Next was Sarubobo Golden Footbath (さるぼぼ黄金足湯). Sarubobo literally means baby monkey and is a faceless Japanese amulet for bringing good luck. The footbath is located at the Sarubobo Seven Gods of Good Fortune Shrine and features a golden boat with sarubobo dressed as the seven gods of good fortune. On a side note, I am really not sure why a replica of the Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) from Rome was doing at the shrine. Just a titch random...

Last of the three was Yuamiya Footbath (ゆあみ屋の足湯). It didn't seem terribly relaxing being right in front of a shop with a TV playing advertisements, but you could make soft-boiled eggs in the water if you wished.

On the way back to the train station I had one last stop, popping by Mori Footbath (モリの足湯), which was quaintly tucked into a building. I wished I had time to enjoy it, but I had to catch my train and didn't have time.

I really enjoyed all of the footbaths dotted around town. They made a fun break in between sightseeing stops in Gero Onsen and were one of the highlights of my visit there.

Heading Home From Japan

After a short trip I am heading back home today. I had a great trip getting a ton done for work as well as catching up with colleagues in the evening and having a bit of fun traveling on the weekend which I will share more about later. I've been almost continuously out of town lately so I am looking forward to getting home and doing some things around the house. Next stop Detroit!

Back in Japan

Within 24 hours of getting back from Atlanta from the Final Four I was back on the road again, heading to Japan for work. I left on Wednesday afternoon, arriving in Nagoya in the early evening on Thursday.

Being back in Japan always feels so good and the second I step foot in Toyota City it feels like home again. One of my tricks for getting over my jet lag is to keep busy after I arrive and not let myself go to bed until ten or eleven no matter how tired I am. By the time I checked in at my hotel it was eight o'clock so I did a little shopping at my favorite Hyaku-en Store in town and then went out for a small dinner at nine with some colleagues. We went to one of my favorite places in town, Tsubasaya, which brought back so many good memories.  

I'm only in town for a few days, but I am looking forward to a good trip full of productive meetings for work and some tasty Japanese food.

Final Four!

Frank has been saying all tournament that if Michigan made it to the Final Four we were heading to Atlanta to watch the games in person. We watched the Florida game almost in disbelief as Michigan steamrolled them, putting in the bench for the end of the game. Within minutes Frank was looking for tickets online while I watched the Duke vs. Louisville game. I was hoping that both our teams would make it to the Final Four but sadly my Blue Devils lost.

Right after work on Friday we loaded up the car (decorated with a few Michigan magnets, of course) and headed South stopping in Knoxville for the night before arriving in Atlanta at noon on Saturday. Frank drove the whole way and I was a lousy company since out of those eighteen hours I probably slept fifteen. I really appreciate Frank letting me sleep. I definitely needed the rest and it went a long way to helping me finally get rid of this lingering cold.

After getting to Atlanta we relaxed a bit, had an awesome late lunch at Flip Burger and headed to the Georgia Dome.

We walked around a bit and headed to Centennial Park to check out the celebrations.

There was a huge concert venue set up for the fans in town and we walked around and listened to Flo Rida for a while before heading back to the Georgia Dome for the game.

Our seats were in a really cool spot in the lower bowl behind one of the baskets and off to the side a bit. Although it wasn't always the best for seeing the game sometimes we were down low and relatively close which was nice. We also were right near where CBS was taping the Final Four show which was cool to see.

The first game was the Louisville Cardinals vs. the Wichita State Shockers. We watched the first ten minutes of the game and then did a lap around the concourse coming back to our seats just before halftime with the score pretty even.

At half time they played Christian Laettner's shot to win the Kentucky game in the 1992 NCAA tournament and then gave him an award. My Duke pride came out a bit watching the clip, I have to say...

Part way through the second half of the game we spotted the Michigan team watching the game off to the side.

The Shockers pulled out ahead of Louisville and were up by eleven at one point, seeming to have the game in hand. Louisville was not going to go down easily and rallied to end up winning the game.

We had forty minutes between the games and watched the teams warming up while the Final Four show for CBS was being taped.

Lucky for us the Wolverines entered for the game in a burst of smoke from just off to the left of where we were sitting. After being relaxed for the first game we were pretty amped up.

The game was a defensive struggle but Michigan built up a little lead over Syracuse going into the half.

In the second half Syracuse started chipping away at the lead and the last few minutes were pretty tense as it looked like Michigan might blow the game but it all worked out.
At the end of the game Frank and I ended up on TV a few times over the shoulder of the Michigan players while they were shooting free throws.

It was so exciting for Michigan to win and Frank just stood there in amazement about the fact the Michigan was heading to the title game to play for the National Championship.

We lingered for a bit soaking in the atmosphere and listening to John Beilein and Mitch McGary get interviewed.

It's been an exciting ride and I can't wait for the game tonight! Go Blue!

My Experience with Global Entry

For the past few years I've been meaning to enroll in the Global Entry program and finally got around to doing it this past December. Once enrolled you have an expedited process to enter back into the country after travelling abroad by getting to go through an automated kiosk for passport control instead of waiting in line to see a passport control officer. Travelling abroad a few times a year this saved time seemed like it was well worth the $100 fee.

The application process was super easy. I went to the Global Entry website, registered a GOES (Global Online Enrollment System) User ID and then filled in the online application. For the application you need your basic personal information, passport information, driver's license information, address history for the past five years, employment history for the past five years and a list of the countries you visited in the past five years. All in all it took me about half an hour to complete.

My application was processed quite fast. I submitted it on December 9 and I received my Conditional Approval Notification on December December 12. After that I needed to set up an appointment at one of the Enrollment Centers to finish the process. Because of the popularity of the program the wait list to get an appointment can be quite long. Frank had to wait six weeks to get his appointment at the Detroit airport. After getting his Global Entry approval he had heard that the land borders have a shorter wait than the airports. I checked out the appointment times at the Detroit Enrollment Center located at the base of the Ambassador Bridge and lucked out with an appointment on December 13.

My interview was short and simple. I had a photo and my fingerptrints taken followed by a few questions, like why did I want to be a part of Global Entry and what countries do I typically travel to. Within fifteen minutes it was done and I was approved.

On my return from Colombia last week I had my first chance to go through Global Entry at passport control. I slid my passport into the slot on the kiosk, got my photo and fingerprints taken and then answered a few questions on the screen. After I was done a form was printed out with my photo on it which was then stamped by a passport control officer. After collecting our checked luggage, Frank and I got to go through an express lane for customs as well, just turning in our printed form.

I was really happy with how quick and easy it was. Not only did we not have to fill out the paper customs forms on the plane, but we spent no time in line at passport control or customs. I'm kicking myself that I didn't do this earlier. 

In addition to being able to quickly go through passport control, being enrolled in Global Entry has other benefits, particularly also being enrolled in TSA PreCheck. TSA PreCheck allows people to go through expedited screening when going through security on domestic flights. You don't need to remove your shoes or pull your electronics out of your bags when going through security, which is really nice. If you are on the list you can still be made to go through regular security, but that has never happened to me. I was already a member of TSA PreCheck from my frequent flier program through Delta, but if you don't have that option Global Entry is the only other way to get on the list.

All in all, if you travel overseas more than once a year, or don't have a way to get on the TSA PreCheck list through a frequent flier program and travel domestically a lot, I would highly recommend applying for Global Entry. Waiting in line at the airport is never fun and anything that speeds up the process and makes it more simple is definitely worth it in my book.

Iglesia de San Pedro Claver (Plus Emeralds)

As you walk around Centro in Cartagena, the dome and bell towers of Iglesia de San Pedro Claver can often be seen above the roofline of the surrounding buildings. On our first full day of walking around the town, Frank and I decided to go in and see the beautiful church and cloister.

Upon entering we decided to get an English guide since there wasn't much signage and none of it was in English. At a cost of less than $15 US, it was a good deal and Fernando proved to be a great guide.

Immediately on the left from the entrance were two bells which Fernando said were rung in 1811 when Cartagena declared its independence from Spain.

From there we headed up a flight of stairs into the cloister. It was founded by the Jesuits in the early 1600s as San Ignacio de Loyola in honor of the man who founded the Jesuit order. Later it was renamed in honor of San Pedro Claver who lived in the cloister devoting his life to helping the African slaves that had been brought to Cartagena.

Upon entering these upper rooms I realized what a perfect tour guide Fernando was for Frank. When we go to museums like this, Frank likes to point out what he doesn't think is original or as he says call out the BS that a museum is trying to pass off as original by omission. As soon as we entered Fernando pointed at each item in the room telling us if it was original or a reproduction. Floors: original. Altar: reproduction. Frank loved it!

This ceiling: totally original.

We then moved into this second room. Just out of this picture was a case of relics that Fernando said were reproductions because the originals were looted by pirates. Pirates!

From that room we moved into the room where San Pedro Claver lived and spent his last days. He suffered from Parkinson's disease and died here in 1654. In case you were wondering, Fernando said the bed was a reproduction but the mattress was original. Not quite sure about that...

We then exited into a long open air passageway. Along the side of the building were paintings depicting the life of San Pedro Claver. He was born in 1580 in Spain to a wealthy family and following his studies at the University of Barcelona became a Jesuit monk. He volunteered to go to the New World, which is how he ended up in Cartagena.

Once in South America San Pedro Claver was appalled by the conditions that the African slaves were forced into and dedicated his life to ministering to them. He referred to himself as the slave of the slaves and would regularly meet slave ships that pulled into the port with water, food and medicine for the sick and starving slaves. Over the course of his lifetime it has been estimated that he baptised 300,000 slaves in Cartagena.

We then entered a room that once served as the cloister's dining room and is now a museum (all originals, according to Fernando).

All of the statues in the room were amazingly carved from wood. The second statue that looks like cast bronze has quite an amazing faux paint finish on it and at first I had no idea that it was actually wood.

In order to prove the point that the statues were wood, Fernando rapped his knuckles on them. Yes, he was tapping on statues over 300 years old.

We headed back downstairs and into the courtyard which is divided in half by this wall that was original to the convent.

It was such a lovely and peaceful space.

In a little niche above the middle archway was a beautiful little statue of the Madonna. 

The garden side of the courtyard was incredibly lush and full of beautiful tropical plants.

At this point we entered the church through a side door from the courtyard.

The church was built in the early 1700s in honor of San Pedro Claver and features a beautiful Italian marble alter with a carved statue of the saint. In 1850 Pedro Claver was beatified and then cannonized a saint by Pope Leo XII in 1888, making him the first saint from the New World.

At the base of the alter, San Pedro Claver's remains were interred in a glass coffin.

At this point we were done with our tour. We really enjoyed having Fernando as our guide and were particularly impressed with his English, which he had only been studying for two years.

Even though the tour was now over, Fernando went above and beyond and took care of us in one more way. It was super hot with ridiculously high humidity that day and he could tell that Frank was dying in the heat so he lead us out of the church, telling us to follow him down the street. He led us into an "Emerald Museum" which happened to have ice cold air conditioning and then we said our goodbyes as he had another tour scheduled back at Iglesia de San Pedro Claver.

The "Emerald Museum" had some displays about emeralds in the back with an emerald store up front, of course. We were thankful for the air conditioning so we spent some time checking it out. There was a small fake emerald mine that you could walk through and some paintings about how the native people of Colombia used emeralds in rituals.

We also learned that Colombia leads the world in emerald production with over half of the worlds emeralds coming from the country.

Of course, the sales people tried to sell us some emeralds, but thankfully they didn't try to push a sale on us and we enjoyed the small break in the air conditioning before venturing back out in the heat. Thanks again, Fernando!

Heading Home From Cartagena

Frank and I are heading home today from Cartagena after a great week here. The city is amazing, full of beautiful architecture, delicious food and wonderful people. We spent time wandering around the old walled city, had an amazing time trying new tropical fruit at Bazurto Market and spent a day out on Bocachica exploring old Spanish forts. It has been a fun, relaxing vacation and I'm looking looking forward to sharing some of my photos from this trip when I get home.

Columbia: Take 2

Today Frank and I are heading off to Columbia. After our original plans to go in December were derailed we are finally getting to go. Things have been crazy at work lately so I am really looking forward to a week off of relaxing in warm weather. I can't wait to trade in the snow of Michigan for the sun of Cartegena!

Misadventures of Lisa and Trisha: Snow Monkeys

While we were living in Japan Trisha and I would often go on road trips on the weekends. We would enlist some of our other expat friends, fill up the FunCargo (my little Japanese car) and head off.

On one of those trips, Trisha and our friends, Martin, Kuan and V-ken, headed up north to Nagano Prefecture. We stopped to see a variety of things on that trip but the main reason was for us to visit Jigokudani Monkey Park. 

I had read about the monkeys and was so excited to see them in person that I could barely contain myself. Trisha took this picture of me to the left waving my hands in excitement as we walked up the hill to the park.

The entrance building was pretty unassuming and after walking through a small exhibit about the monkeys we exited back outdoors into the park. 

The park itself was completely not what I expected. I thought there would be a path with a fence dividing the people from the monkeys, but instead you can freely walk along the valley with the monkeys running right up beside you.

The monkeys at Jigokudani are Japanese macaques, otherwise known as snow monkeys because they live in habitats with snow. Unfortunately, there was almost no snow on the ground while we were visiting because we were there a little too early in the winter, but it was still an awesome experience.

Near the entrance before descending to the river many of the monkeys were occupied with digging around in the dirt for insects to eat.

We also saw a number of the monkeys grooming each other. It was really charming to watch.

The monkeys had such expressive faces and I loved how the adults' pink faces contrasted with their brown fur.

The little babies were my favorite with their large eyes dwarfing the rest of their faces. They constantly scampered around their mothers and I was lucky to catch a picture of this little guy sitting still for a second. 

The monkeys were running around everywhere and were so used to people that they would run right next to you or just continue on doing what they were doing as you walked by. 

At this point we hadn't walked very far into the park and as we looked down into the valley we saw that the whole riverside was swarming with monkeys. They are a little hard to spot because their fur blends in with the rocks, but there are fourteen monkeys in the picture below.

We headed down to the river to get a closer look and saw the hot springs pools nearby where the monkeys were bathing. The name Jigokudani, which means "Hell Valley" in Japanese stems from the hot springs because people thought that the hot steam and water bubbling to the surface looked like Hell. In winter months the monkeys come to the valley to warm up in the hot water.  

In Japanese culture, relaxing in natural hot springs (onsen) is a very popular activity so it seemed very Japanese of the monkeys that they also would enjoy bathing in the hot springs.

Even in the water, the monkeys continued to groom each other. It was so neat to see and I really could have watched them doing this all day. 

I like how the monkey getting groomed in the photo below is giving the stink eye to the other monkey. 

The monkeys looked so peaceful and serene in the water compared to the way they were scampering around on land.  Watching the monkeys warming up in the hot springs with their reflections in the still water was quite surreal and beautiful to see.

We all were pretty camera happy and had so much fun watching the monkeys go about their business as if we didn't exist. Here's a photo of Martin taking a picture of one of the monkeys.

Of course, we had to catch a few pictures of ourselves next to the bathing monkeys.

Even though we were enamored with the monkeys, they really could have cared less about us being there and would get out of the water right next to us if they so felt like it. Luckily, I scooted out of the way before this little guy splashed me.

Trisha was not so lucky, however. I grabbed this cute picture of Miss Trish (it was Christmas time, hence the antlers and Santa hat) but then one of the monkeys decided he was done with his bath and popped out of the water right next to Trisha.

I caught her reaction right after she got soaked. Priceless photo, I'd say!

Before we knew it, dusk had settled on the valley and in a matter of minutes all of the monkeys slipped into the safety of the forest along the mountainside for the night. What had been a hive of activity moments before was suddenly empty. Our time in the valley was brief, but it was so amazing to see the monkeys up close that it ranks among my favorite experiences in Japan.

To get to Jigokudani Monkey Park, we drove and parked there which was very convenient. If you are taking public transit, you can take the Shinkansen to Nagano followed by a local train to Yudanaka. From Yudanaka station you can then take a bus or taxi up to the Monkey Park. Keep in mind that no matter how you get to the Monkey Park, vehicles cannot get all the way to the top and you will have a 15-30 minute steep walk before you reach the entrance. 

Of course, double check the details before you go, but at the time of this writing Summer hours (April - October) are 8:30am - 5:00pm and Winter hours (November - March) are 9:00am - 4:00pm. In the summer months the monkeys will go off into other areas of the park to forage for food, so it is not a guarantee that you will see monkeys if you visit then. Cost for entrance is ¥500 for adults and ¥250 for children and in my opinion is completely worth it!

Celebrating Valentine's Day (and White Day) in Japan

Happy Valentine's Day! I thought it would be fun today to share how Valentine's Day is celebrated in Japan. The biggest difference from the U.S. is that only women give men gifts. I bet a lot of American men would like that!

The typical gift to give is chocolate which is usually beautifully packaged and elegant. Leading up to Valentine's Day the Japanese department stores have many beautiful displays of chocolate for sale.

There are two types of chocolate to give. First is giri choco (義理チョコ) which literally means "obligation chocolate." This is given to male co-workers or friends where the woman has no romantic intentions. Giri choco is usually fairly inexpensive and a polite gesture to give.

The second type of chocolate is honmei choco (本命チョコ) which literally means "true feeling chocolate." As you can suppose it is given to boyfriends, husbands, or a guy that a woman is romantically interested in. Honmei choco is usually higher quality and more expensive than giri choco.

A month later on March 14 men reciprocate on White Day (ホワイトデー, pronounced Howaito Dē).  While Valentine's Day was adopted from the West, White Day was started by the National Confectionery Industry Association in the late 70s as a way for men to give return gifts to women (and for the Confectionery Industry in Japan to rake in more money).  If a man received chocolate on Valentine's Day then he should respond with a gift, usually about three times the cost of the chocolate he received. Popular gifts can be white chocolate, marshmallows, jewelry, or cookies.

My experience in Japan was limited to giri choco that I gave to about twenty of my co-workers. I put together little treat bags with chocolates for all of the guys in my group as well as a number of other people that I worked with on regular basis who were in other groups. On White day I received some chocolates and little potted plant from my group as well as a small purse and a beautiful white handkerchief.

While celebrating was very low key for me there was definitely some angst among some of the Japanese women I knew. Because of the tradition of women giving men a gift on Valentine's Day it is a perfect opportunity for a woman to let a guy know that she is interested in him by giving him honmei choco. I knew some women who were worried about whether or not they should make their feelings known by giving Valentine's chocolate, which chocolates would be best and would the guy understand that it was meant to be honmei choco, not giri choco. Very stressful!

All in all, I had fun celebrating Valentine's Day in Japan. It gave me a nice excuse for me to give little chocolate presents to my co-workers to let them know I appreciated working with them. I also had fun looking at and drooling over all of the beautiful displays of chocolate. I even ended up buying myself a box to eat because, well, I felt obligated.