Originally written December 2018
I woke up this morning feeling surprisingly invigorated and rested.
And I thought:
It must be the onsen.
Since it was only 4:45 am and the onsen was open 24/7, I decided to give it another try.
This time, it was completely stress-free.
I was fairly confident nobody else would decide to have a bath at that hour.
Except me, of course. 
So I had the whole place to myself.
I even felt adventurous enough to try all the products provided.
There were several bottles lined up, and I simply assumed the one in the middle was for the face.
If it wasn’t…
well, surely using it once wouldn’t do too much damage. 
When I came back to our room, Graeme was already awake.
I told him he should give the onsen another chance too.
And he did.
When he came back, he admitted that he had actually enjoyed it.
Well, well, well.
Then there was the yukata.
The night before, we had both decided that we weren’t particularly fond of it.
This morning?
Not too bad at all.
In fact, we ended up walking around the village wearing ours.
They were surprisingly warm, and I discovered that the long sleeves were actually very handy — almost like pockets — so I could tuck my hands inside and keep them warm while walking.
Suddenly, the yukata was looking considerably more practical.
So after one night in Shibu Onsen:
Onsen — reconsidered.
Yukata — reconsidered.
Which leaves only one unresolved issue.
Soba.
I’m still not convinced.
But perhaps next time we’ll try it warm.
Never say never.
Stories Along the Way 