Akan onsen (hot-springs) resort

The last week in Japan was more eventful than some of the preceeding weeks. In fact, I'll start it a bit before the last week.

On Saturday, June 23, we went to an onsen, or hot-springs resort at Lake Akan-ko, which is not too far from Kitami. Maybe an hour and a half drive.

We went there when we visited in December, 2000, also, and stayed in the same hotel. It was pretty then, with snow all over. I would have appreciated it more if I had not been sick as a dog. Hokkaido is like Minnesota in the winter.

I think it was the New Akan Hotel, or something like that. It's a nice hotel, looking out over Lake Akan.

We arrived in the afternoon, and after getting situated in the rooms, we went directly to the baths. The baths in this hotel are on the top floor.

If you're not familiar with Japanese onsen, there's a dressing (undressing) room with bamboo baskets to put your clothes, towel, etc. in. Then on the way to the bath, there's a bunch of washing stations. Each has a little plastic stool to sit on, facing a half-height wall which has the shower, soap and spigot. There's a shallow plastic bucket, or pan at each station. Here you soap up and clean up before you get in the baths.

Then, this onsen has a rectangular pool that runs the length of the room against a window that runs the width of the room from the pool to the ceiling. This provides a nice view out, and perhaps in too? It is deep enough that if I sit on the bottom, my head is out of the water.

I am not sure if there are different zones in the pool, or if it is uniformly hot through out. At the end of the pool away from the entrance, there are two streams of water with stands so that you can stand on them and have the water pelt down on your head. Next to that is several contoured shallow areas where you can lie down and your head is propped out of the water.

Directly across from that area is the cold pool. It was my goal to completely submerge at least once per session. Next to that was the sauna. Continuing back, there is a shallow warm pool. Sam liked that because it wasn't too hot.

Between the warm and cold pools, there is a circular staircase that goes to the roof pools. There is a Jacuzzi hot-tub style pool and another hot pool with rock surrounds at the top. From there, you can through a little hall to get to a large swimming pool on the roof. The swimming pool is co-ed, so you need to put on a suit when you go there.

Anyway, after we had the bath, we met in one of the rooms and relaxed while waiting for the dinner buffet to open. Before going to the bath, everyone dressed in yukatas (light, cotton kimonos), and we (and many others) continue to wear them down to the buffet. The food was plentiful, tasty and in total, caloric, if not always identifiable. I had the better part of two large draft beers too. Life is good.

My only complaint is I don't think they have such a thing as a non-smoking room. They don't allow smoking in the dining area, which I think may be a change since the last time I was there. The rooms didn't smell so bad, but the bedding reeked. A word about the bedding. It's a typical Japanese arrangement. The main area of the room has tatami mats and during the day, a low table in the middle. When you go down for dinner, they come up and pull the futons out of the cabinet and set them up there.

Fortunately, I have a CPAP for apnea (or hypopnea, in my case). It was drawing air from outside the bedding area and consequently, I didn't smell the smoke when I was using it.

Sunday morning, I woke up early, so I took my computer to a mini-lobby on the third floor and did a bit of work. In retrospect, I would have been happier had I taken an early morning bath. By the time I got back to the room, Masae and Sam were up and getting ready to go to breakfast. The rest of Masae's family had gotten up early and gone to the baths.

After breakfast, we went to the baths. Sunday morning must be kind of a lull, because the sauna was closed and they started cleaning up the baths while we were there, getting them ready to switch over. I think the baths are mirror images and they swap the Men's and Women's on a weekly basis. When we were there in 2000, they were switched opposite to this visit.

We set a time to meet at the swimming pool, so we could soak in the hot baths first. When we were getting ready to go up, Sam started putting on his Spiderman swimming trunks, and ... They were too small! That makes sense. I'm not sure when he last used them, as he has pretty much refused to get in a pool in recent memory. Fortunately, the hotel has loaner suits just outside the entry to the baths.

So we met at the pool and everyone had a fun time. It was the most enthusiastic I've seen Sam about going in a pool. He had a ring to swim with. Sarah had a great time, too. It was a nice setting. I took a bunch of pictures of the surroundings and us in the pool (to be posted later).

Masae arranged for late checkout, but her family was champing to go, so we were out of there by 11 (checkout is 10 a.m.) .

Aside from the smoke, it was a very enjoyable and relaxing trip. As it was at the end of the week before the quarter started, it was fairly quiet on that end too. Only a few problems.