Aizu-wakamatsu Shi

This morning my sister and I decided to finally try the outdoor onsen. It was a beautiful experience. We had the whole place to ourselves and it felt like a private onsen with the views of lake Inawashiro and some mountains over the distance and on top of some mountains there stood some windmills. I watched the sun set into the clouds and thought of the twilight scene in the anime film Your Name.

We then had some light breakfast and ensured there is enough space for the upcoming late lunch in the cafe across Inawashiro station. We have affectionately called the proprietress "grandma" or "oba-chan" in Japanese.

We booked the hotel shuttle at 1130 in the morning and when we got to oba-chan's place she had a sign saying she will be back at 1pm. We then took that opportunity to shop at 7-11 and obtain our groceries for breakfast tomorrow.

In the convenience store parking lot we encountered some very cute cars that can only be found here in Japan.

In oba-chan's place we marvelled at the dried flowers and plants hanging on her table next to the window where she had some charcoal heated kettle setup ready for cooler days.

We ordered some plain toast and to our surprise it came with a squeeze dispenser that already combined butter and jam altogether. Mom and dad also enjoyed the Neapolitan pasta. They also loved the brown sugar jelly that came with the matcha drink that I ordered. We then ordered some takeaway for dinner. Oba-chan was startled when when we asked for four curries to take away when she served our pastas. She asked us to wait for so she can check her stock and then she gave us the go signal.

There were a few more people who came in as we were having our meal, and we waited til things quieted down a bit before paying for our bill. We thanked oba-chan for the delicious meal. Secretly my sister and I were excited for our dinner even though we were very full from the late lunch. Later on we found out the literal translation of her establishment's name is "Optimism Outside of Inawashiro Station."

When we returned to the hotel, we checked for the closing hours of the Inawashiro Herb Garden just across the road and it turns out we only have 45 mins left to spare. We hurriedly tried to capture some photos of the room filled with Japanese umbrellas with mirror effects, as well as of Hotel Listel Inawashiro behind rows of canola flowers. There were also some carp windsocks (called Koinobori) flapping in the wind in preparation for the upcoming Children's Day festival in 5th of May. The carp symbolises courage and strength because of its ability to swim up a waterfall.

After the photoshoot, mom and dad headed back to their room whereas my sister and I visited the grove of cherry blossoms near the cemetery close to our hotel to say goodbye to the sakuras of Kannonji river and to thank them for their spectacular show. We didn't stay long though as the bees were swarming us. We guessed it was that phase of the blossoms where the bees are most attracted to.

Back at the hotel my sister had another dip in the onsen followed by a family portrait where all of us are wearing a yukata to commemorate our stay at Hotel Listel. We then planned for our itineraries over the next few days as we enjoyed our dinner and then we turned in for the night.Read more