Addicted to Onsen

I am in agony.

Agony from suffering major 'onsen' withdrawal symptoms.... Allow me to introduce another very enticing reason to visit Japan: The onsen. Now, the onsen is the Japanese public bath where you get to soak in hot tubs containing volcanic mineral water that's good for you. It leaves your skin smooth and soft, and apparently has healing properties.
We went to the onsen twice on the trip, such nice dips they were! Man, it's soooooooo relaxing.... it's soooooo addictive....
For the uninitiated, here's how the onsen works -
1. You check in, pay and leave your shoes in a locker.
2. Enter the onsen - separated into mens' and ladies sections
3. Once inside the locker room, prepare for a cross-cultural shocker: Everyone's walking around without clothes! For the shy types, after the initial giggling/hemming/hawwing, you can discreetly remove your clothes and make a dash for the wet area. Personally, I've got really thick-skin so I am as Japanese as that gets!
4. Enter the wet area and head for the showers (pic below) to scrub yourself down real good.
5. After you've scrubbed yourself squeaky-clean, you're all set for THE HOT TUBS!!!

Ooooo, this is the BEST part of the onsen.... you have a few tubs to choose to dip yourself into - indoor tubs, outdoor tubs under the moonlight, jacuzzis, milky mineral tubs, outdoor tubs with reclining seats to star-gaze at night, quaint little personal tubs with cute flowing taps, all filled with enriched mineral salts. *HEAVEN* Plus, there're mist-showers, saunas, pressure showers and waterfall seats to try out! One onsen even had a dimmed meditation room (which was really too hot to sit on and didn't give me any peace-of-mind at all). But yea, you get the heavenly idea. It winds you down and purifies your clogged pores.... Oooooooo........

I keep feeling my arms just to get a sense of how soft it's made my skin! Oooo! Man, I could just go back to Nagano for the onsen.

I just had to talk about it to deal with my addiction.