Stepping back in time to Old Japan..

A family from the Edo period..or at least, looking like it! :)

I have found a gem in Japan. A place called Yudanaka & Shibu Onsen at Yamanouchi town in Nagano. If I have to choose a place to truly feel like you are stepping back into old Japan, this would probably be one of the best.

Yamanouchi Town is located in the northeastern part of Nagano Prefecture, and comprises of three main tourists areas: Shiga Kogen heights (ski resort), Kita-Shiga Kogen Heights (ski resort) and Yudanaka & Shibu Onsen. The Onsen was found about 1,300 years ago by a Japanese monk, Gyoki and is a well-known hot spring resort among locals.

I was stopping by Yudanaka Onsen on the way to my hunt for the Snow Monkeys the next day. Knowing that I was going to stay at Kokuya, a ryokan with 400 years of history here made it a stay that I was really looking forward to. Kokuya ryokan (http://www.ichizaemon/) is the only one in the area with 6 different 100% natural hot springs and still uses the same pure hot spring water for the last 400 years. The ryokan’s present master is 16th generation and the Okami-san* (wife of the master who manages the ryokan, whom I had chats with about the history of the area and the ryokan), has devoted her life to mastering the skills and art of managing the ryokan.

Kokuya Ryokan on the right

There is deep-rootedness and preservation of Japanese tradition in this place. Everything along the main Shibu Onsen street brings you back to the past…to somewhere 300 years ago. It is almost natural to feel like you are in the Edo period. Locals and visitors alike were going to the public onsen baths and strolling along on the stone-paved streets in their yukata (simplified kimono) and Geta slippers (Japanese wooden footgear) just like how people who lived here did hundreds of years ago.

Walking out after a a dip in the public onsen

The tablet pass from Kokuya that is used to gain access to the public onsens in the town (looks like a tablet of authority from the emporer!)

The old architecture of ryokans and houses were also impressive. The ryokan just opposite of Kokuya (whose beautiful night light-up view I had the fortune to see from my room balcony while sipping on my Sapporo beer) - Kanaguya (http://www.kanaguya.com/), had managed to preserve its original form since 1758. The pictures outside the ryokan showed people from the long past, in their kimonos and hairstyles of that period, posing at exactly the same spots of the ryokan that were visible to anyone standing on the street looking at it now. This ryokan is a national heritage asset, and I hope it would still be the same 250 years later.

The beautiful Kanaguya ryokan built in 1758

Wanting to be part of the past, I decided that I would go out and stroll and have yakitori in a small little izakaya in my yukata. But first, I had to choose one out of 7 hotspring baths within Kokuya. Of course I chose the outdoor hotspring (Issa) which allowed me to do some star-gaze while soaking in the onsen (oh yes, of course!). It was a little difficult to tear myself away from that, but wrapping myself in yukata and with my toes in tabi socks and Geta slippers, I stepped out of the ryokan onto the street. Taking a deep breath of the crisp cool spring air while feeling warm from the onsen, I felt such bliss it was almost difficult to stop smiling to myself. I took my time to stroll up and down the street, listening to the tapping my slippers made on the stone-pavements. Being able to enjoy life the same way as the ancestors did (albeit just for one night), in an old ryokan and cobbled streets as the ancestors were in, provided such a transient interaction with the past that it was a truly unforgettable meeting with history heart to heart :)

* The okami's role corresponds to that of a general manager in a Western hotel. In many cases, the okami is the owner of the ryokan or the wife of the owner, which means that the okami, as the representative of the ryokan, attends to all external affairs such as business matters and cooperation with the local community (Quote: Japan Ryokan Association)