6/23 Kobe - Arima Onsen

Omelets made to order

Baked goods

Japanese

Baked goods

Breakfast at the hotel is a sumptuous affair. They have both a European and Japanese buffet. I ate like a pig,. The pastries were to die for!

After a couple of lectures on Japanese education after the Tsunami disaster we had an amazing Bento Box lunch.

Lunchtime Bento box

After the amazing lunch we took a bus tour of Kobe and headed out for the Arima Onsen (Hot Springs). On the way we stopped at the longest suspension bridge in the world which connects two islands. It is the the Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge and connects the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshū to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait. The main span of the bridge is just under 2 kilometers long!

Under the longest suspension bridge in the world

Then on to Arima past rice paddies and small farms in the mountains behind Kobe.On arrival at the Onsen we changed into slippers and then went up in an elevator. We were divided into groups of eight and shown into private rooms. Each room had several chairs. They weren't really chairs, just sitting places in front of a low table. We had green tea and crackers. The room had a TV. There was a little balcony from which we could look  into the street. There was also a closet. In a closet was a pile of neatly folded robes. These robes are called ukata. We undressed and changed into the ukata. Then we went upstairs to a room where we showered before getting into a huge hot tub. It was really hot. We soaked a while in that tub and then moved to another tub which was outside. we soaked in that for a bit and after about half an hour we took a cold shower and a foot massage from a machine and then went back down to our little room.

Onsen tea room

The boys in Ukata

Doesn't need a caption

Kobe beef for Shabu-Shabu

The Ladies take pictures