See what it looks like this is the outside area now this part of the Onsen is co-eds

It's Konyoku, meaning, it's mixed. You have men and women here usually

It's not what you think usually people are modest they cover up

but today

What makes this really beautiful is that you can see the autumn colors are in really?

popping today

That's what makes Onsen really amazing. That's why I like autumn the best if you take a look around

There's some red up here, the some red here this color this tree is gonna be turning color soon

The sky is blue you can hear that beautiful sound of the water running. I'm not talking

Let's get in. My favorite time of the year to visit the Onsen is fall, winter and early spring

Because that's when it feels the best to soak in hot water

Onsens are usually a place with stunning scenery

The water comes naturally from the ground containing loads of minerals good for the skin

It's sometimes mixed with cooler water when the hot spring temperatures are too hot to be comfortable in

For me it's a time I can slow down. There's no swimming or playing here. It's a place to relax

In a large bath like this you can move around to different areas or sit on a rock and take a break to cool down

Let's head to another bath in the area

This is the Onsen

It's got that feeling to it. You know the woody walls and ceiling the old tack to it

Caked on sulfur. The smell of rotten eggs oh

Oh, Yeah

It's really hot

You can see the mineral staining the bath after years of use

So Hako-Yu has public baths for a reasonable 230, yen, or two dollars open to the general public

The bathhouse itself looks like something from an anime resembling Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama, Shikoku

There are two bathrooms here that switch between men and women on different days

this one is open to men today the high ceilings and open baths in the center is really stunning to look at

This is Hanano-Yu at Bandai Atami Onsen, and it has loads of different baths in the same place

My favorite is the big barrel. it fits more than one person nice to share it with a friend or a stranger

We're all equal when naked in Japan

Hadaka-no-Tsukiai

Many Onsen have both outdoor and indoor baths in the winter the temperature change is pretty abrupt

I think you appreciate the hot water more when you have to freeze to get to it

It's still too good!

The cool air is all other than that

Really hot water

I only get up so cold

Here's the indoor bath, it's quite large

So you can find an area for yourself or sit around friends?

You can shower after the bath at the many stools with faucets around the edge of the bath

This outdoor bath is illuminated making it look like it was sent down from the heavens to make you feel like a god

Many new style Ryokans have modern touches like this

Down here

the flow used to be making the view with this

Being outside, surrounded by nature means waterfalls that sound of rushing water is a good contrast to the last bath

Which is a lot quieter?

This bath is at ground level along the river

It's really cold, but that there is Tamago-Yu this back. I want to show you in

Beautiful 360 degree virtual reality video you can see on the left and right of me. This is a river going through here

It's got sulfuric water in it. There's a powder that makes it kind of like a green white

Color and you're gonna see this in the bath, which is really cool

This is always such an amazing experience to be in an Onsen like this

Oh, Yeah

That's it Onsen!

This is called egg bath because of the smell and because it makes your skin feel soft like an eggshell

I love bathing in historic baths like this. Old wooden buildings that have tons of personality

The color of the water makes this bath more curious to me different

More than just being loaded with minerals it stands out with the wood color around it when regular water would just give off a reflection

It's really incredible. You can hear the rushing river going by

Exciting great here!

Tamago-Yu

It's really cold, so this is the outdoor bath Auto door

Yeah

It's about

Two degrees Celsius, it's a little bit freeze, but you can see how beautiful it is

Right now you it's the end of autumn

There's still some of the autumn colors hanging onto the leaves

This bath is really cool because it's layered it steered you have three layers three tiers

Each one is a little bit cooler as you get the other warmer

And this one gets a little bit cooler as you get there, but they're all quite hot, maybe this is at 40 degrees Celsius

But the most impressive thing about this

Onsen not not the architecture the wood covering is

The view the fact that we're at elevation looking down onto the river, and then that sound can you hear it?

That's the river the rapids they're about 250 meters away, and the color is beautiful

You know it's really cold. I'm just gonna get in

He's been amazing feeling

So cold outside. We're here in the water you look perfect

the different shapes styles and views from the baths make each Onsen experience special

All right, so this is Toryu-Kan

They have a normal bath, and they have one in the room a private bath, but they also have one. That's outside

So let's go check that out you have to change into

these wooden sandal so or "Geta" and

Down we go

Onsen baths are sometimes separated from the building meaning you have to walk outside to get to them

Your sandals or get to here

These baskets down here these buckets are for your Yukata to put it in and there you are very

impressive and beautiful

So there you have it, this is Toryu-Kan beautiful Onsen

The trees are bare in the winter meaning the view is different by season

Now let's look at the traditional Japanese Inn, it's called Ryokan here in Fukushima although each Ryokan is different the rooms have many similarities

Lots of the Japanese Rhokan

This is a room in a Japanese-style hotel with your call a Ryokan and

The first thing you notice when you come in here is it's a Tatami. It's a very traditional

Flooring here. There's 16 - Tatami mats, which is quite large. It's just me staying here. This is too much space for one person

Usually a family of four will be here, which you can see with the seats

It is enough to accommodate four people at Ryokan you always pay per person not per room

Each person is getting that incredible service and of course two meals which you should never skip

All right

Unless pretty cold, you have a

Really big cushion and the chair is on the ground like this. It's pretty comfortable Japanese-style

Usually in the Ryokan rooms you'll have a little complimentary snack sometimes. It's a

Confection from this local area as well as it's cheap way. If there are four people

There's gonna be four of them around the table

And then you have a tea set they put it on the floor in front of the table

That's right this here is green tea

And you put one into the kettle and the pot

Wait a couple of minutes and put it the tea in there and here you go you have hot tea

Very very nice. No coffee if you're a coffee drinker bring your own. That's what I do every time

I come to Ryokan I bring my own coffee because yeah, they don't have it here

This is another room with a similar set up. Table in the middle, small tea lounge set by the window

Now let's move to the food "Kaiseki Ryori" or cuisine

Alright, so this is a dinner at a Rhokan

This is a really good one

This has all been set up usually they'll bring out the course is one by one

This is the starter and then they'll bring out these dishes

This is the likes of fire for the Sukiyaki and the soup

later on but I asked them to bring everything out at

Once so you can get a sense of the scope of the size of this meal we got some really nice Japanese sake here Kampai

This is Sukiyaki

This is Fukushima beef and

You dip the Sukiyaki into the egg like this

Sukiyaki, I can't even start straight to explain what all of this stuff is but

This one's from me, and this one is for you

So thanks for joining me. I hope you enjoy this meal because it's really special each meal at a Ryokan is seasonal

There are four seasons in Japan

Spring, summer, fall and winter. This is the fall set up. It's really good, Bon Appetit!

Itadaki-masu

This is the Onsen's Yukata.

They have Yukata in the closet it almost always this

Just like you're getting used to there's to set the towel, jacket

Coat hangers you know

The light is made out of Washi paper on the table, there's a snack that's complementary

Information packet with Wi-Fi and TV remote control with the TV it's kind of the same setup in everybody, Ryokan

I think you're getting used to it

The closet has a bath set with razor, tooth brush, wash towel and extra amenities

This room is luxurious and beautiful.

Here's the living room

The Futon is in its own room for sleeping

Come on let's keep moving there's more to see like the other rooms. There's a lounge area for tea by the window

And unlike many other rooms there's this private Onsen bath

very very cool

It's great for families really shy people and people with tattoos who can't bathe in public areas

Oh yeah, so nice

Come on in here

Now you can really see

If you look up on the ceiling you can see the condensation of

All the steam just sticking to the roof and now collecting and totally

gonna start to rain in here looks like it anyways and

The bath is wonderful this the water is coming out of here

This looks like a little birdhouse

Take the top off you can see it is just the pipe but

It's better if it looks like that oh wow I want to get it

It's nice and warm

There are all sorts of Onsen rooms and meals available and any trip to Japan must include an Onsen and Ryokan stay

Check out the other in-depth videos on Fukushima's Onsen and Ryokan culture to see what makes this a must when visiting Japan

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