Living the Dream!

Today was the kind of day that is why I am here.  If I really am dreaming, don't wake me up.

I love seafood.  One kind of fish I really like is makerel, or saba in Japanese.  The nearest place that I can buy it is from Mitsuwa in Arlington Heights.  I can get a different sort of mackerel at a Korean grocery store in Appleton.  It's not the most expensive seafood, but it's not cheap, either.

Here, I can buy two halves of a fish for under ¥198 (plus tax).  That works out to $1.86 with tax. That's enough fish to make two meals for my husband and me.

It's an oily fish compared to white fish, like cod or haddock.  But the oil is the stuff that we spend good money on in capsule form when we buy fish oil capsules.

I don't remember how much I paid for this at Mitsuwa, but it was definitely more than $2!

Here is how my lunch turned out:

That's fried yakisoba noodles, fried saba (mackerel), with onion and shimeji mushroom in a soy-miso sauce on top, and a cut up tomato.

On Fridays, we only have class in the morning.  I think this is done to allow students to get a head start on their weekend trips -- or in recognition that they will do this regardless.

I spent some time this afternoon at a nearby onsen.  It may be a sento (no natural hot spring on site to provide the hot water) instead of an onsen (an actual hot spring provides the hot water), but it's good enough for me.  ¥700 is the entry price to heaven, in case you're wondering.  Today, that's $6.08.

If you ever get the chance to go to a Japanese onsen or sento, I cannot recommend it highly enough. I can understand the lack of onsen in the US, but the lack of sento is a crime. A hot tub is close, but the ones I've seen won't allow the water to be hot enough. Today I was soaking in 111°F water.

Remember to follow the rules, though:

1. You have to take all your clothes off in the locker room.  No swimsuits allowed.  Don't worry -- almost all are gender segregated, although you'll see women bring in very young children of either gender.
2. There is an area to thoroughly wash yourself before entering any of the baths.  Be sure to do so.
3. Bring or rent a small towel. You can use this to cover your dignity (or not) when going between baths, but don't bring it into the bath. Either set it down outside the bath, or set it on your head.
4. If you have tattoos, there is a good probability you will not be allowed in.  This is to keep out the yakuza (Japanese mafia), who tend to get full-body tattoos. Of course, they like onsen as much as anyone else, so there are onsen that will accept them. If you have tattoos, you may just have to find out where the mob goes to soak.

If you can't get past being naked in front of naked strangers, there are resorts that have private baths, so you can bathe with only the people you want to, or by yourself.  I personally think the experience is worth it and in the right context (this one), I have no problem with public nudity.  There is absolutely nothing sexual about onsen or sento.

Here you can see the baths at Okazaki's Raku no Yu.