Today was probably one of the most memorable days, being one that was off the beaten track, the one that was almost cancelled, and being a drive the freedom that we had with not having to catch trains/ stuck at train stations etc making it all the more memorable.
We took a train in the morning once again from Ueno station, but even the train we caught nor the distance was dissimilar from previous days, taking the Max Tanigawa ( a double deckered Shinkansen), for an hour from Ueno to Takasaki. Takasaki in itself was a pretty city-like city with a nice big fat train station, all the good stuff. Arrival at Takasaki felt quick, comaparatively to the 2/3 hour rides we had prior.
After using our GPS for a bit and trying to work our way around the station, we found the Toyota- Rentacar and went through the whole don’t crash your car, insurance all the standard procedures and stuff. The five Aussie lads walking into a random Toyota office isn’t the most usual thing, but eh. We got given our little Toyota Corolla once again, and before we left someone had to use the toilet but I can’t remember for the hell of me who it was.
The GPS was set for the 2 hour drive along Route 406, which was pretty much single lane for most of the drive, going through rural areas and going through a hell of a lot of hills, hair-pin turns, scenic areas, you name it. It’s pretty amazing how I can be driving exactly the same but experience totally different nature, houses, people etc.
One of the downsides of being in a foreign country, is that outside of your GPS there isn’t too much going for you so, we ended up driving into the town but not being able to find anywhere to park. We backtracked and drove back up from the town to the little tourist center at the entrance, and asked about parking in our broken English and eventually figured out a place where we could park.
Once we finally parked, a little celebration and sigh of relief was to be in order. We grabbed our stuff and headed for the main centre of town, the Yubatake. The whole time is pretty much devoted to onsen, with it being one of the more famous and popular onsen towns in Japan, seemingly devoid of the technology and development in the rest of Japan, with all the buildings being single storey, streets are quite narrow, the lack of transport, almost felt like we had gone back in time.
Now, the Yubatake. Nathan, Kevin and Charlie could not bear to stand the smell, Dan and I could handle it but it certainly wasn’t pleasant. Imagine the stereotypical rotten egg smell (sulphur), but a whole pit of water of it flowing through the town. Yum. What a good place to eat some lunch, which we did LOL. After smashing down our 7/11 sandwhichs/onigiri etc, we headed off towards Sainokawara Park. Its a little gravelled up “park” (parks have grass don’t they?), which had little rivers of Hot Springs and even a few foot baths. It was sorta being renovated which ruined to ambience a bit, but still pretty damn cool regardless. On the way there, we were hassled by many shop owners who wanted to buy their stuff, but we had no idea what it was so we just ignored them kindly.
Eventually we got to the Sainokawara Park, and went to the Rotemburo (A large open Onsen), which was essentially inside a giant fence, even thought people walking on a nearby pathway could still sorta see LOL. We paid the 600 yen entry fee, and a few of us paid 300 yen more for a little bath towel since I think we didn’t think we needed it. Compared to the Onsen at MT Fuji, this was a lot more traditional, going back to the time travel I mentioned earlier. Once we entered, there was no shower/get changed sections, or washing area. Strip naked, wash yourself a little bit from a large tub of water and jump right in. The view of the valley and hills from inside was sublime, and it was great to be able to just sit, relax and reflect on our trip thus far after the long drive there, and busy days prior. We probably scared away a few locals or so, but ah wells it was quiet season anyways.
On our way out, we bought some little bottles of milk that Japanese people tend to drink after bathing and twas hella nice. Maybe because we were thirsty, but I can’t really recall the taste too well. After spending an hour or two in the town, we headed back to the car and took a little detour towards Onoidashi Volcano Park, which was formed from the volanic leftovers of an eruption or something.
To get there, the drive was pretty much the same, hills, forests, tight ass turns, but this time we had to drive through a nature reserve and pay a little fee. Meh. A few of us walked up to check it out, but there was an entry fee and it was a 4km walk or so to get to the top. “Next time” was the decision made, and we drove back towards Takasaki, passing through some random cabbage fields, and a river with an interesting rock formation. Definately off the beaten track! Ain’t no average trip here mang.
Drove back to Takasaki, raided the Konbini and smashed our food on the train before heading back towards the ol OKACHIMACHIIIII.
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