wineshark: 2019 Tochigi Vacation (Day 2)

After getting up refreshed, we took a bath at our private onsen before going for breakfast. I liked the appropriate portion size, making us full and not overly so, in particular the congee with the marinated plum was a nice alternative to the rice.

We checked out from Sanraku and proceeded to our first stop of today: Sesshoseki 殺生石. Very close to the ryokan, the folklore told of a nine-tailed fox taking the form of a woman, which came to the Nasu district and had been abducting young women and girls in the area.

The Imperial Court sent in an army to fight her and cornered her here before a soldier shot her with an arrow. The fox then had turned into a giant rock and emitted strong poisonous gas, killing all living things nearby.

Finally, a priest decided to fight the rock. After purifying himself with the hotspring a fierce battle ensued. In the end a white string of smoke dissipated from the rock and it broke into three pieces, with two flying away and one remaining, from which it is still emanating toxic gas nowadays.

In the area there is also a field with 1000 Jizo 地藏, a collection of statues spread across. The story told of a boy who came here but was caught by a lava flow and died. Because of his evil deeds in life, he was destined for hell and later people brought jizo here to comfort him in the afterlife.

The sulphur smell was detectable when we walked up the footpath, but when we arrived at the stone it was surprisingly less intense. The place is quite eerie with the patch of slope all rocky and barren around that big piece of rock, with no vegetation as from the folklore.

Then we drove to the second stop of the day: Nasu Animal Kingdom 那須動物王國. It is famous for having many animal shows, including Bird Performance Show, Cat Show, New Zealand Farm Show, and Aqua Friends.

There are also areas where visitors can interact with animals closely, such as Capybara Forest, Alpaca Hill, Tropical Rainforest. We had a good time in the park, with the opportunity to interact with the animals, many we had not seen before let alone be in such close proximity.

During the visit, one can also experience the nice ambiance of the Nasu Highland. Approaching noon we decided to have lunch at the Yamaneko Terrace, going for a soy sauce ramen while enjoying the gorgeous view in the backdrop.

After lunch we went to Nasu Garden Outlet. With more than 100 different brands offering different products, there are a number of restaurants as well as a supermarket selling local produce. We spent a few hours shopping and bought something to bring back home.

A number of the items was purchased for our dog, and my wife also managed to buy some sportswear at great discount. We stopped at a shop selling freshly squeezed juice. The lemon squash and peach smoothie we had were both very good in taste.

After a really winding road with signs showing the number of sharp turns along the way, we arrived at Kai Kawaji 界川治, the first of the three Kai ryokans we would be staying in Tochigi. It is a riverside hot spring ryokan that pays homage to pastoral Japanese scenery.

Large windows offer scenic views of nearby hills and a river that runs past the ryokan's outdoor baths, while the traditional kaiseki dinners highlight unique Tochigi cuisine and the cultural activities offer an inside look at the customs of the past.

Rooms are designed to allow guests to fully soak in the area's majestic scenery. Each room features a custom-built sofa that invites guests to lie back and enjoy the views, looking out from the room's spacious windows like a private art display.

We had booked the Signature Room 野州麻紙の間 featuring Yashu Hemp paper ornaments. With only seven such rooms located on the top floor of the ryoakn, each showing different scenery of the four seasons of Satoyama 里山, like the image of the rice ears during the village’s harvest.

The paper is made by hemp grown in neighboring farms, with the strong fibers interwoven to become the paper. It is dyed with natural material to illustrate the gentle flow of the Oga River flowing into Kawaji Onsen.

The Kai ryokans are famous for its cultural experience to the guests. We were also invited to use a small rotary quern to grind a variety of soybeans—red and green, small and large—into a flavorful flour called kinako 黄粉, which is used in Japanese confectionery.

There is also a workshop showing how to make paper from different materials, such as fallen leaves picked from the ryokan courtyard. The final product is then provided as a souvenir for guests. Unfortunately, we arrived the ryokan too late and missed the workshop.

Before dinner we decided to go to the public bath. There is a spacious indoor bath hall and another riverside outdoor one fed by the Kawaji onsen. The outdoor one is made from natural granite called 御影石 offering a warm ambiance, with the hotspring style being Simple Onsen 単純温泉.

The hotspring is said to be particularly effective for healing wounds, with the history saying Toshizo Toshikata 土方歳三, the famous vice captain of Shinsengumi 新選組 in the Bakumatsu era 幕末, came here to take care of his war wounds after the Utsunomiya battle 宇都宮の戦.

After the bath I took a rest at the Yuagari Lounge, which is located between the men’s and women’s bath halls, providing complimentary cold tea and refreshing popsicles to cool off from our dip. Returning to the room, we took a short rest before moving to the dining hall for dinner.

The dinner is served in semi-private booths, where we had a great meal with dishes prepared from locally sourced ingredients, such as river fish and konjac—a type of yam that is grated and then jellied to create a local delicacy.

We had pre-ordered a special main dish 和牛の味噌土手鍋, prepared in a mashiko-yaki 益子焼 pot. The hotpot was heated with miso, and then adding the vegetable and beef ‘shabu-shabu’ style. The miso brought up the intense flavors and rich texture, and we both enjoyed the dish very much.