Falling in Love with Japan Onsen 2-2
Falling in Love with Japan Onsen
In spring 1999, determined to understand the ins and outs of a successful spa resort, I traveled to Tsukioka Onsen and Senami Onsen in Niigata and Kusatsu Onsen and Ikaho Onsen in Gunma Prefecture to learn the tricks of this traditional trade. I left behind my pen and ink to join a life of staff dormitories, serving, and bowing and kneeling to customers, as is the age-old tradition in onsen ryokan. Could I, accustomed as I was to viewing this life from the other side and living in luxury when I visited ‘Onsen’, successfully fill the roles of nakai-san (waitress) or okami-san (female proprietor)? I had my doubts. Even my Japanese friends, who knew my fierce determination to succeed, were afraid that I would not endure the long hours and grueling work that this life involved. Born a Gemini, a group not known for their love of hard work, the odds were stacked against me but I proved them wrong and proudly worked the double shift!
The first hurdle I encountered was the Kimono. I had only vague notions of how to assemble the complicated garment and now I was to wear it all day as I worked. The intricate folds and complicated ties of the fabric somehow reflected the life I was studying. As the two-month special training period progressed, I learned to be graceful and demure on only four hours sleep and draped in clothing that was more suitable for a life of leisure. I was beginning to learn what it took to make the onsen ryokans what they are.
My only request was to be allowed to use the public spa twice a day, as to be in a resort with no access to my beloved onsen would have been more trial than the twelve-hour workday. This was no small request. Most resorts prohibit staff from using guest spas. The guest is viewed as God, a money god that will bring good will and fortune to the hotel and they are treated accordingly. Would I upset the money gods if I bathed in their tub? I promised not to and I still believe that this was my savior. I bathed in the morning and started work invigorated and full of energy, in the evening I entered the bath and all the exhaustion, aches and pains would drain away.
Some thought, perhaps, that my nickname should be changed to ‘Slightly Mad Spa Lady Windy Yang’ and some thought I was brave but all were intrigued. Why did I want to leave my comfortable existence to study a life that I was unlikely to find a lifelong career in? I did it out of love and respect for onsen. I did it to learn how the surroundings and the service are an integral part of the onsen ryokan. I learnt that quiet and attentive service in a relaxed environment creates the onsen experience and I realized that this is attained by the quiet dedication of staff who endure hardship to create this magic. Once again, it appeared that onsen were finding themselves as the catalyst for writing. On this occasion, the stories were unlikely to be tenderly written down and cherished for their literary content. Instead, onsen and in particular my relationship with them became the focus of a flurry of newspaper articles in local prefectural dailies and in the nationally circulated ‘Asahi’ and ‘Yomiuri’. In total, my experience of life as okami and nakai-san, the successes I had and the progress I made appeared in more than twenty newspaper articles. I had come to learn about a life different to mine, yet sometimes I felt like a star pursued by the media demanding to know the details of my daily life. I hoped that through the attention, the Japanese onsen could grow in popularity and become as important to others as they were to me.
Onsen is not only my beloved lover and friend, but also a powerful hot spring that offers me endless power, energy, inspiration and vitality. It is little wonder that I fell in love as I did and fall deeper and deeper with each onsen visit. It has a powerful hold that refuses to give.
