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We left today to drive with Shin and Asako to Shirahone Onsen where we were staying for the night. We left Nagoya and drove towards Nagano to where the Spa was. We made a brief stap in Takayama which was a very cute small town. They refered to it as a little Kyoto, I think because it offers a lot of old Japan. Driving through the mountains was crazy because the roads seemed to barley fit one car yet somehow two cars would be able to pass each other. Maybe it was the fact that we were in Shin`s Landcrusier which took up the entire road but somehow people still were able to get by him. The view was amazing, we tried to take pictures but they just didn`t do it any justice. The trees were all changing colors and we were driving on these windy picturesque roads. We arrived at the Spa later in the afternoon, it was an amazing hotel up in the mountains that had both indoor and outdoor hotsprings. It was a traditional style Japanese hotel where you took off you shoes and slept on tatami mats. It was crazy that we were here with Shin and Asako, basically on their honeymoon, sharing their only time off with us. So, I suspect that because it was their honeymoon and that they did not let us pay for anything that we received the whole nine yards. Our dinner that night in a private room that was separated from the rest of the dinning area by paper screen doors that open and closed on all four sides. The food was amazing and it just kept on coming. I think we had something like ten courses! They say americans eat a lot (which we do) but this was quite the spread. Shin refered to the food as traditional Japanese style where we cooked some of the meet on little personal grills as well as prepared soup on a separate type of cooking flame. Before we ate we experienced the spa, which is separated into men`s and women`s in which you shower and enjoy the hotsprings completely nude. Brandon struggled with this for awhile but a few drinks and he was fine, besides it was not that crowded so we pretty much had the springs to ourselves. The water was so nice and it was a whitish color that I had never seen before.
After dinner, we stayed up talking and drinking and smoking (Shin is a serious chain smoker). Don`t worry Connie, Brandon only had a few. By the end of the night Asako was speaking and understanding english and Brandon and I were so use to speaking broken english that we`re still having trouble talking fluently. The next morning we woke up and went to a breakfast that I swear was just as much food as what we ate for dinner. We tried our best to eat it all but as much as we have enjoyed japanese cusine, eating sashimi, rice, salad and soup and various other things just doesn`t work in the morning. However, everybody always eats every last drop on their plate here and so you feel so rude when you are unable to eat everything even when you tried. We then took advatange of the springs one last time and then headed out of town. Shin and Asako took us to Matsumoto where we then caught a train to Akita. We had to change trains once in Nagano and then again in Tokyo but after seven hours we made it all the way North to Akita where my cousin Brian and his family live.
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