A weekend in Gero and Nagoya

I went into Snooow Country last weekend.

It was glorious.

Magical.

Wondrous.

[insert choice adjective here]

Snow country in my case, was Gero - a small town 1.5 hours train ride from Nagoya, famous for its hot springs. "Gero" is also the Japanese word for vomit. Thankfully, unlike Rotorua (a hot spring, mud pool town in NZ), Gero didn't smell bad.

It was my first onsen/hot spring/public bathing experience since Christmas 1998. This time, I went with V - a seasoned professional when it comes to stripping right down and steaming right up in public.

After ascertaining which bathing areas of our Japanese inn were free/we could sneak into without anyone noticing, we went for a quick bath before tucking into our massive meal. Our room lady (who we barely understood, despite having a combined 20 years of Japanese ability between us) dutifully explained what each dish was and how to eat it.

HIGHLIGHTS

• fireworks display on the Gero bridge;
• footbath in cafe while drinking hot soy milk;
• outdoor Anne Geddes-esque pots (we called 'em our "honey pots") with varying degrees of water temperature;
• drinking Baileys while butt neked in said honey pots;
• free feet massage machines;
• dodgy "health check" machine to determine one's body age - I have the body of a 23 year old 'parently;
• catching snowflakes on our tongue while butt neked in an outdoor rotemburo hot spring bath, facing the mountains, snow pouring down;
• deeeelish hoba miso - a special kind of miso from Gero, for breakfast;
• Antique market in Nagoya and my Mao bag;
• Brazilian cuisine in Nagoya;
• The best hot chocolate of 2005 at Cafe Peck in Nagoya station;
• Snow plummeting down in Nagoya.

I think I may just have to move north..

For a selection of photos and lame-o commentary, click on the pic below: