Nix the Public Naked Time
I’m not opposed to all naked time. Just public naked time where I feel as though I’m under close inspection. That naked time I could surely do without. I’ve crudely described my feelings about the weenie-watching which some foreigners experience before, and to my general nonsurprise, the textbook this month asked us to lay out our thoughts on onsen(s), or hot springs. I love the experience – minus the incredible heightened awareness of my awkward body. In short, I wish I could hire a time slot for a private rotemburo, or open-air onsen, preferably on the ocean with a good view. Now that I could really dig. Anyway, here’s my essay for the month. (An English translation is available in the full post.)
質問：”あなたは温泉に行ったことがありますか？温泉について、あなたはどう思いますか？あなたの国でも温泉に入りますか？日本語でまとめなさい。”
私は温泉について無感情(むかんじょう)な人ではないけど、私の意見は強くない。私の好みを説明するために最初に私の温泉の経験について書く。この教科書の中に温泉についての作文が書いてある。その作文が温泉を三種類に分けた。その種類は入る温泉、調理(ちょうり)温泉、と飲める水がある温泉。（全ては医学的な効能[こうのう]があると言われている。）私は温泉の水を飲んだことがない。しかし、入る温泉にも調理温泉にも行ったことがある。
私が留学生として勉強していた間のホストファミリのお父さんは三菱重工業株式会社(みつびしじゅうこうぎょうかぶしきがいしゃ)に勤めていた。春休みに家族が全員で温泉に行くつもりになって、今の私はお父さんのおかげで三菱重工業株式会社の小田原にある温泉リゾートに行けた。立派な所だった。実は、温泉より、リゾートの宴会広間やゲームルームやバーや運動室や咲いていた花があった公園の方に興味を持っていた。とにかく、お父さんと一緒に温泉に入った。暑さに少しびっくりしたが、すぐに好きになった。今、その時を思い出すと、一つだけの不安なことがあった。それは、知らない人の前に裸になることだ。私なら、普通に仲良しの前に裸にならない。多分これは私の育った文化からの不安かもしれない。他の外国人は多分時々同じ裸になる不安な感じがする。
同じ留学生時代に北海道の調理温泉に行った。日本語の授業からの友達と北海道に行きたかったので、自分でバスツアー計画した。クラブツリズムという会社で切符を買って、四人で参加した。東京の羽田空港から札幌市の近くにある新千歳空港まで飛んだ。飛んだ日の夜に有名な札幌雪祭りを見た。次の朝、バスツアーで出発した。札幌から旭川、網走、ウトロ、知床、摩周湖、阿寒湖、と帯広に行く道中で、ある温泉で温泉卵を食べた。初めてだったが、味が本当に美味しかったから十分間で三個を食べてしまった。あの時から、ずっと温泉風の卵が大好きになった。理由は味も北海道の旅行を思い出すのも楽しむ。
今の私にはまだ調理温泉の方が好きだ。入る温泉は体にも心にも良いけど、私の保守的なアメリカの文化でまだ不安だ。日本語ではこういう説明がまだ出来にくいだから、わかって下さったら嬉しいだ。
Prompt: “Have you ever been to an onsen? What do you think of them? In your country, do people bathe in hot springs? Please answer in Japanese.”
I am not a person who lacks an opinion about onsens, but my opinion is not particularly strong. In order to explain my preferences, I will first write about my experiences with onsens. This textbook contains an article about hot springs in Japan. That article makes it possible to divide hot springs into 3 categories. There are hot springs for bathing, for food preparation, and for drinking. (All of these hot springs are said to have medical powers.) I have never consumed water from a hotspring, but I have been to both a bathing and food preparation hot spring.
During my time spent studying as an exchange student, my host father was employed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. When spring break came, plans were made for us all to go to an onsen resort. Thanks to my host father’s job, we were able to go to the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries very exclusive onsen, located in Odawara. It was a splendid place. The truth is, I was taken more with the resort itself than with the hot springs housed within it. It had a massive dining hall, a game room, a bar, an exercise room, and a beautiful garden with blooming flowers which held my interests. Anyway, my host father and I entered the hot springs together. I was surprised by the heat, but soon came to appreciate it greatly. Looking back on that experience now, I can recall only one thing which made me uncomfortable. That was the fact that I was required to strip down to nothing in front of people I had never met before. I normally do not undress in front of friends. This bout of uncomfortable awareness probably stemmed from the culture in which I was raised. Other foreigners likely occasionally experience the same anxiety about nudity in front of complete strangers.
During the same year spent studying abroad, I went to a food preparation hot spring in Hokkaido. Some friends from my Japanese class wanted to go, so I reserved us tickets on a bus tour. We used a company called Club Tourism to buy the tickets and participate in the tour. We left Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and flew to New Chitose Airport near Sapporo City. That night, we attended the famous Sapporo Snow Festival. The next morning, the bus tour began. We went from Sapporo to Asahikawa, Abashiri, Utoro, Shiretoko, Lake Mashu, Lake Akan, and Obihiro. On the way, we stopped at an onsen and ate onsen eggs. [Edit: These are eggs which have been cooked either using sulphur vents above ground, or by submerging them into the hot springs. Ours were cooked using the former method, though I have since tried the latter as well. "Hot spring eggs" are common knowledge in Japan, so I did not elaborate on them in the essay.] It was my first time, but the flavor was really delicious, so I ate 3 eggs in about 10 minutes. From that point on, I have loved onsen eggs. The reasons are two; I love the flavor, and I love remembering my trip to Hokkaido.
I think I like food preparation hot springs the best at this point in time. Bathing hot springs are good for your body and mind, but my conservative American culture makes me uncomfortable baring my all in front of strangers. In Japanese, this is difficult to explain, so if you understood what I was trying to say, I am quite pleased.
If anyone else out there is doing these essays, please post them and leave a link in the comments. And before someone points it out, yes I realize I barely answered the question. I also realize that I used names of places as filler material. So sue me. Anyhoo – Clay beat me to posting his this month – so check his out here. Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment, or drop a link. Also, translations are encouraged for those who are learning or who don’t know Japanese. Plus, it’s good reverse thinking practice for the authors. Ha ha. Or for me at least. Right. I’ll stop yammering away now.
