Stories Along the Way

Or iginally writtennn

After our guided tour, we were dropped off in the traditional village of Shibu Onsen, where we were staying overnight in a ryokan — a traditional Japanese inn.

This was where Graeme and I discovered something important:

We do not possess Japanese finesse.

Everything here seems so graceful, organised and deliberate.

And then there was us.

Graeme kept forgetting when he was supposed to take his slippers off. He would walk a few steps, suddenly remember, then rush back to remove them.

Again.

And again.

Then came the traditional robes.

We had absolutely no idea how to wear them.

Mine seemed far too long, while Graeme quickly decided that his was too restrictive and became annoyed every time he tried to move.

So far, we were doing very well with Japanese tradition.

Then there was the onsen.

Neither of us was particularly enthusiastic about the idea of a public bath with absolutely nothing on.

But with encouragement from our tour guide and our host, we decided that since we were here, we should at least experience it once.

There was only one condition.

Before going in, we checked very carefully to make sure there were no slippers outside.

If there were no slippers, there were hopefully no people.

Perfect.

Men and women used separate baths anyway, so Graeme and I each managed to experience the onsen in relative privacy.

And I have to admit…

it wasn’t so bad.

But the best part of the whole stay was definitely dinner.

The food just kept coming.

Dish after dish after dish.

Some of it we recognised.

Some of it we had absolutely no idea what it was.

But everything was delicious, so we ate it all.

Eventually, after completely clearing the table, we decided we were finished.

We were so full that we thought we should go for a walk rather than head straight to bed.

So we left the dining room and were almost out of the building when the chef stopped us.

He apologised for taking so long with our meal.

Apparently he had only just finished preparing…

our main course.

And dessert.

WHAT???

We thought we had already eaten dinner.

Apparently we had only eaten our way through the beginning of it.

So overall, we love Japan.

We love the people.

We love the food.

We love how beautifully everything seems to be organised and put together.

But after our first proper experience of traditional Japanese accommodation, Graeme and I have reached one mutual conclusion:

We are not particularly fond of the traditional robes, the onsen…

or soba.