Akiu (otherwise known as Gorges, Otaki and Onsen - oh my!)

This week the people of Japan celebrated Golden Week (which consists of 4 holidays within 1 week, 3 of which are consecutive).  That means we had last Friday and this Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off.  Since we were limited in time and since I hurt my knee at the staff cookout on Friday, we didn't do too much on Tuesday and Thursday, just relaxed, enjoyed game nights with friends, and I baked. 


But on Wednesday, we took a trip with 6 other friends to Akiu to see the waterfall, gorge, and go to an onsen (hot springs bath).  Akiu is normally about an hour from where we live in Sendai.  It is still technically part of Sendai, but it is way out of the city, so the scenery is incredible.  It was really nice to get out of Izumi ward and explore another part of the prefecture.


Getting to the waterfall was not easy!  Luckily I had done my research (since I like to be well-prepared and well-planned for trips) and had located the address of the Akiu Hot Springs welcome center.  It's a good thing I did because that place was not easy to find.  I'm sure the signs worked well if you spoke Japanese, but we did not, so we had to trust the GPS navigation on our iPhone (which, btw, having the iPhone for the GPS navigation, free text app, and skype app alone makes it way more than worth it!).

After trying to get onto the highway at the wrong place (since we didn't have their version of the E-Z Pass, we had to drive to another location to get on the highway) and sitting in Golden Week traffic, we finally found the visitor's center.  Of course there were no signs or maps in English, but luckily the maps had pictures.  We were able to them and our iPhone to find our way the the waterfalls.

The first "waterfall" we wound up at ended up being a few tiny rapids in a gorge in a camping area.  It was a beautiful spot to eat lunch and skip stones.  A Japanese couple cooking lunch on a grill offered us some of their smoked cheese and told us about all the American shows they like (including 24 and Glee).  We offered them some Pineapple drop cookies in exchange.  One thing I've noticed about being in Japan (a country where racial diversity appears almost non-existent) is that when you are out and about people will often come up to you to practice their English or just find out if you are from America.  It's kind of fun like that.



Picnic at the gorge



After lunch we decided to try the other waterfall spot, which we were hoping was "the waterfall" that websites for Akiu advertise.  Though the map was not spatially accurate, there were luckily a few signs in English for the Akiu Falls, so we were able to find it.  I can see how it would be able to miss because you can't see the falls from the road and actually before you can even get to the falls you must walk around a temple.

The Akiu Otaki Fudoson is a Buddhist temple.  Outside the temple people light incense and wrote prayers on paper or wooden tablets (called ema) and tied them to trees or hung them on posts.  Some people stood in front of the temple, rang a gong (to get the gods' attention), and prayed or made a wish.  People also stuck coins in this tree.  In Japan sacred trees have thick ropes around their trunks. This sacred tree has a special wishing wall surrounding its trunk.


Someone burning incense in front of the temple



These people rang the bell (to get the gods' attention) and then bow in front of the temple to pray)

Written prayers hung around and near the temple. Some even hung on trees.

The Japanese people are, for the most part, not very religious.  They practice rituals and traditions of Buddhism and Shintoism (ancestral worship).  But we've learned that they "go through the motions" with the rituals of these faiths and are more correctly identified as agnostic than Buddhist or Shinto.  But more people participate in worship and traditions and rituals at shrines because of the earthquake and tsunami.  I wish and pray that they would turn to the one true God and that their faith would be placed in the reality of who He is, and not in superstition.

After walking past the temple, we made it to the falls.  At 55 meters high and 6 meters wide, it was very pretty and rather impressive.  Kris and I wanted to drive to another parking lot where you could hike a short distance to get a better, closer view of the falls, but the others were ready to hit up the onsen.

Akiu Otaki

We went to the onsen inside the Ryokusuitei.  It was only 1000 yen (about $12) and well worth the money for being so relaxing and beautiful.  Going to an onsen in Japan is a bit awkward your first few times, as these public hot spring baths require that you bathe nude.  Yes, completely in the buff.  Thankfully there are separate bathing areas for men and women!  Adding the the awkwardness is the lack of diversity in Japan.  We get stared at enough in the grocery store or on the street from being white -- so you can imagine how much worse it is when you are naked!  Luckily there were 3 larger African women there to take most of the stares.  It is also awkward because you are supposed to keep your eyes averted from everyone's naked body, but as a foreigner who has never been to an onsen before, I am looking around to try to figure out what I am supposed to be doing and what I am not supposed to be doing and where the door is to the outdoor bath and if any showers are open, etc, etc.  And while it was awkward at times, the water and outdoor bath were so relaxing.  I will definitely go to onsens again!  (Besides, those that know me well know that I fully embrace public nudity in situations where it is socially acceptable and people of the other gender aren't around).



Picture of the Onsen from the Ryokusuitei website

(PS Thanks to Barbara for these pictures!)