The scenery from the tracks seem more appealing than the scenery from the highway. Like the day before, we pass many of the same rivers/streams, villages/cities, and mountains
The train is just the first part of the excursion. At the train station, its still another 30 minutes by bus to Yubatake. Due to the numbers of people who make use of the limited express trains, especially on a Friday, a fleet of buses await the arrival of the throngs to make an organized pilgrimage to the hot spring.
Yubatake is the center of attention in this onsen resort city. It puts on display the waters that well up deep from the earth, carrying with it the intense heat found at such depths.
Its clearly sulfur thats the main mineral in these waters. The smell of rotten egg fills the air. The steam will gag you and cause you to cough should the winds push the clouds of steam your way. In the upper pool, the bed and stones are covered in yellow sludge of sulfur.
Ringing the center is a number of souvenir shops, restaurants, and hotels. It almost looks like an alpine village
The waters are funneled to a lower pool creating more steam as the waters fall. Both poosl are lit up at night. Without accomodations, I was not going to be able to see the spectacle of the lights
This little hut shelters those who come by to set a spell. The heated waters are let into a pool under the protection of the roof
You can sit and immerse your feet into the hot water that people in the area pay to bathe in. Mind you, bring a towel or something to dry your toes with. They dont provide any towels or napkins.
I debated whether I should post this picture. I like to keep my anonymity. I was worried that someone might use Google image search to identify my feet and reveal who I am. Then everyone would know who I am and point me out on the streets. I guess I will have to take that risk. Here goes. So I took my turn at dipping my tootsies into the supposedly soothing mineral water. It was nice on a cold day but I dont know about any other health benefits.
Manhole covers are decorated with the mascot of Yubatake. This female character with a large wooden board represents the ladies who ritually paddle the waters with their boards to cool the super heated water to a manageable temperature
Time for a late lunch at this restaurant near the entrance to Yubatake.
I order the set meal with a bowl of udon noodles in a clear broth with some vegetables and pork
A small bowl of rice mixed with eggs. Deep fried goodness in assorted vegetables, shrimp, and kakiage.
The kakiage, deep fried vegetable fritter, looks deceptively small until you peel away the veggie tempura on top of it. The you get the full scopue of the nearly softball sized mass of batter and shredded vegetables.
So I miss the last limited express out of town heading back to Tokyo. This meant having to take the local part of the way back. The local train is slow but the thing that started to frustrate me was that it had to stop at every single station on the way to Takasaki. This would have increased transit time to at least 75% more than the limited express. Relief at Takasaki in the form of a transfer to the bullet train which only stopped at 2 more stops before arriving back at Ueno. Whew!!
