Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Splish splah I was taking a bath

The greatest hidden treasure of Japan is the onsen. I don't know about any of you, but I have taken a public bath before....it wasn't pretty.... for details about this experience (in Turkey) ask me directly.

In Japan, however, it is a totally different experience. The odaiba onsen is one of the most relaxing and magical places on earth! Once you get there, they let you choose a yukata (a summer kimono) to wear for the day. You change into this, and you have a bracelet with your key and bar code on it so that you don't have to use any cash for the rest of the day. You can shop, eat, get massages, relax in the hot springs, and more just by scanning the bracelet. Of course, you have to pay for it all when you check out!
There was even a show by the strangest man I have ever seen. He came out riding a mechanical horse, ballet danced, played some instruments, put on a feather boa, and roller skated around. So weird!

The best experience, however, was the doctor fish! Apparently these are special fish from Turkey that like to eat dead skin cells. For $15, we could stick our feet in a pool of them for 15 minutes. My feet never felt so smooth! It kind of felt like a vibrator, but looking down and seeing slimy fish made it really strange.

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