An Oita Sea-Change
by Willhemina Wahlin

On a recent trip to Oita Prefecture, on Kyushu Island, for Golden Week, my husband's parents booked us into an "onsen" (hot spring) hotel in the mountains just outside Oita City. After a quiet afternoon nap, I was the first to wake and make my way down to the bathhouse, where I found steamrooms, saunas and a variety of tubs, one even filled with roses of every color. Just when I was thinking that a girl could get used to this kind of indulgence, I was off for a 10-course meal, meticulously laid out on small plates. Most definitely, this is one of my favourite parts of Japanese culture.

Next we went to stay with my husband's aunt in Hita, also in Oita Prefecture. "Do you want to go to the onsen?" she asked after dinner. Feeling a little onsen-ed out (if there is such a thing), I was hesitant, until my husband pointed out it was a private onsen - for friends only.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

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This article was originally published as JIN Newsletter No. 369 for Japan Inc. Magazine on 23 May 2006.

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