Plainly put, simply grand(2)
'As soon as the water touches my skin, all stress melts away'
Asaba Ryokan's outdoor hot-spring pool has a sign that says, "No swimming suits".
Intimidated at first - it is too embarrassing to strip down in front of a bunch of strangers - I decide to have a go early in the morning.
I'm up at 6 and head to the pool. It is raining and a little bit cold, but the pool is absolutely empty.
Perfect! Actually, even better than perfect. The thin drizzle shrouds the garden and the bamboo grove around the pool in a mist, even as steam rises above the piping hot water, creating a magical, dream-like scene.
I lower myself gingerly into the water and as soon as the water touches my skin, I feel all my stress melt away.
Bathing is serious business in Japan. The Japanese insist that their springs, located in one of the most volcanically active zones on Earth, can ease everything from arthritis to skin disease.
"We Japanese find few things more relaxing than taking a hot bath," says Airi Asaba, executive manager of Asaba Ryokan.
The hot springs in Shuzenji, where Asaba is located, are one of the oldest in the country. According to folklore, a Buddhist monk Kukai magically transformed the rushing waters of a river from cold to hot, some 1,200 years ago.
For centuries, legions of stressed-out Japanese have traveled to this small town to take a curative dip.
Sitting alone in the steaming pool, I close my eyes and let the water work its magic. Barring the steady plop of raindrops, nothing breaks the silence as every muscle in my body goes limp with contentment.
