Japan: Day One

While I was being patted down and searched in customs, Brad had already met Helpful Japanese Man #1. This man said his job was to just help foreigners who needed help. That was us. He showed us where to get on the subway and pointed us in the right direction. So nice! Our first stop was Arima, a small hot spring area near Kobe. For those of you not familiar with the onsen, it's very Japanese and a must when traveling there! Onsens are natural hot spring baths that you enjoy (men and women separate) in your birthday suit. :) Here is where I was amazed. In China, we are stared at at all times...fully clothed. And I don't even want to imagine what it would be like if we weren't! But in Japan, you can walk around naked in a hot spring bath and no one cares...because everyone is naked! Other than forgetting a towel and having to dry off with a shirt, it was a fairly smooth experience!

Here is me after the first onsen experience, drinking some Arima specialty drink, clean and refreshed for the first time in days.














From Arima we headed to Kyoto, the old capital of Japan. We searched for our hostel (Guesthouse Bola Bola) forever and never would have found it if the nice lady from the convenience store hadn't walked us there (so nice!). Our hostel was a little out of the way, but pretty cool! And the owner was very helpful in getting us where we needed to go.