One place I really wanted to check out in Tokyo is a place called “Ooedo Onsen Monogatari” [大江戸温泉物語](Oedo Hotsprings Story) in Odaiba district. From what I gathered on the web, it looks like my type of place, a literal onsen theme park, with hot springs and shops and restaurants and such.
I’ve always liked hot springs, but mostly they were attached to a hotel or a ryokan, and while it was always relaxing, I really wanted to experience a large, mega onsens. The closest I came to one was in a small town called Mino-o in Hyogo Prefecture, and ostensibly one can hang out with monkeys while bathing. The place I visited had no monkeys, and it was kind of an old place that was pretty difficult to get to, on a mountain. The place, I believe, is called “Mino-o Spa Land”, and the inside of the bathing facility was pretty large, but as far as outdoor bathing (Rotenburo) is concerned, it was disappointingly small.
So I mentioned this to one of my friends in Tokyo, telling him that I was looking forward to visiting Ooedo Onsen Monogatari. He tells me that while he likes the place too, he thinks it will be waay over crowded because of the Golden Week. But, he tells me, he knows even a BETTER place, where it won’t be as crowded, and may even be nicer. And, graciously, he offered to come with me.
Since I had been sightseeing near Shibuya that day(which I assiduously try to avoid, especially during summer and moreover, during Golden Week since the streets are jam packed with people), at the NHK Studios, I took the good ol’ Yamanote to Takanobaba, and from there took the subway all the way out to a small town called “Urayasu” in Chiba. There, I met my friends and we took a 20 minute cab ride to a place called “Yumeguri Mangekyo” [湯巡り万華郷], which opened last year. While Ooedo Onsen Monogatari is pretty well known to most people, it seems that many Tokyo-ites themselves never heard of Yumeguri Mangekyo, it being fairly new. When I told my friends that I visited an onsen in Chiba, most of them looked back at me with a blank stare and said “There’s an onsen like that in Chiba”?
Anyway, after a short cab ride, we entered a rather non-descript, yet imposingly large building. Once inside, I began to realize just how huge this building was. The whole of the building was laid down with tatami mats everywhere, and where there were no tatami, it was hardwood floor. Central area is where family and friends gather to chat, relax and maybe eat an ice cream cone or have a meal at many restaurants inside.
The first order of business was removal of our shoes and stuffing them in a locker. Afterwards, we all receive a bracelet which we are to wear at all times, since the bracelet has a barcode that identifies our party whenever we wanted to purchase anything in the place(hard to carry a wallet when you’re naked in a hot bath), and the bracelet also had a key hanging from it that opened our own lockers.
We then approached the counter where we request our yukata(light summer robes). We even got to choose our own design on the yukata. Women’s yukata were of floral design, quite pretty, and men could choose more somber, manlier patterns. My friend chose a white one with swirly patterns, and I chose a very dignified traditional pattern. Along with yukata, we were also given a bag containing two towels, one to dry oneself off, and the other to actually take into the bath.
At this point, the two ladies accompanying us headed off to the ladies section of the onsen, and my friend and I headed off to men’s section. After getting nekkid with only a small towel to gird my ah, nether region, my friend and I trotted off to the showering area to wash ourselves off sitting on a wooden stool. After a long day of hiking around Shibuya in heat and exceeding humidity, this felt great. There were even toothbrushes and shaving kits for free so you can really get clean.
Having suitably un-grimed ourselves, we then head off into the outdoor bathing area, one of maybe 15 or 20 such bathing spots. Of course, men and women are segregated, but there is also a large, beautiful outdoor bath the size of a huge swimming pool landscaped with trees and rocks and even a waterfall that is co-ed, but you have to wear a swimming suit in this area.
After a good soak in these baths, we decide to sweat it out in a dry sauna. Sitting inside this cedar-lined box of a hot room, I began to pour sweat immediately, even from places I didn’t know I had sweat pores. Looking up at the wall, I see that the room is a toasty 85 degrees…CELSIUS. Damn, doesn’t water boil at 100? Anyway, every bead of sweat from my body actually felt burning hot as it rolled down my face. I knew something so painful just HAD to be good for me. My friend and I glace at each other and say “Okay. No matter what, we’re staying in here for five minutes.” Let me tell you, that had to be the longest 5 minutes of my life. But stepping out of the sauna after five minutes, my body felt so light that I felt like I could fly.
After another vigorous shower and the dryoff, we head into the lounge area for men, which is outfitted with hair dryers, hair mousse, aftershave, lotion, etc., basically everything one needs after a bath. Donning our yukata once again, we meet with the ladies and go out to the deck with cold mugs of Asahis in our hands and cigarettes, everyone practically beaming since we’re so squeaky clean!
And it was time for dinner, and we settle down to a nice meal inside an izakaya in the building. Stretching out on the tatami floor, we drink mugs and mugs of Asahi, all while enjoying unusual yet delicous dishes that the izakaya served. And all it takes is the waiter coming by and scanning our bracelet, the bill to be settled when we are leaving the premise.
After our meal, we rent swimming suits and we head to the common bathing area where both men and women can bathe together. The night was sparklingly refreshing, and bathing under the moon near the waterfall was especially enjoyable.
But, closing time came pretty quickly, as Mangekyo closes its doors at midnight. We return our yukata, settle the bill(actually my friend settled the bill), and pile into a taxi to return home. Since I was staying in Ueno at the time, and it being past midnight, we had no choice but to take the taxi all the way back from Chiba.
The entrance fee is about 2,700 yen, and the place opens around 11 am. The best way to get there is probably taking the Keiyo line to Urayasu station in Chiba, then taking a cab to the place. The Mangekyo boasts 38 different spas, with 10 restaurants, you can literally spend the whole day there.
Highly recommended.
