Onsens, Sentōs, and Roten-buros

You might already be familiar with term Onsen but how about Sentō or Roten-buro? If not, to help you rid that winter chill, a brief visit to any of these places will surely leave you feeling refreshed and in some of the most beautiful places you've ever seen.

For those unfamiliar with the terms, an Onsen is essentially a hot spring; a bathing facility or spa rather that utilizes geothermally heated water. This natural water is piped from the ground and circulated through one or more individual spas (pools) for soaking. Roten-buro's and Sentō's are essentially variations of an Onsen, which I'll explain further below including how to properly use them and get the most out of your experience.

Traditionally located outside, this style of Onsen is referred to as a Roten-buro, my personal favourite of the three. The most beautiful Roten-buros are typically located in the mountainous regions,though you can find indoor and outdoor Onsen's spread out all over Japan. Most Onsens are located outside of city centres so you may need to travel a bit but is well worth it.

However, you don't need to go far for a relaxing evening on those cool winter nights in Hirakata. I suggest you familiarize yourself with Sentōs, or bathhouses. As Sentōs are much more available than Onsens, this is due to the fact that they utilize tap water rather than hot springs; the experience however, is just as refreshing. Most Sentōs typically have several inside pools, with some offering outdoor pools as well. In Hirakata, there are several Sentōs, and one that I recommend personally which is located about 20 minutes from the seminar houses by bike. Unfortunately, one other Sentō I wanted recommend is now closed.

Gokurakuyu has 3 indoor pools, and two outdoor pools including a steam room too. It should be noted that Tattoos are prohibited here; if you have a noticeably visible tattoo, there is a chance you may be asked to leave. Directions can be found HERE. Try to avoid taking short cuts as it's extremely easy to get lost on Japanese roads.

Onsens and Bathhouses are very clean and relaxing places, as such, there's a few things you should know before visiting any of the above:

• Understand that you may be asked to leave if you have visible tattoos. Research the place before going as some allow it while others don't.
• Lockers are provided free of charge. Tickets are usually purchased at a vending machine and redeemed at the change room entrances.
• You and everyone around you will be naked, no exception. On that note, most if not all places are gender separated. If this makes you feel uncomfortable, go alone your first time. You will notice that it is very normal and not weird at all. Maybe just the first time..
• Before jumping right in, you must wash yourself in the showers provided. This is very important, the pools are not there to wash you but rather to relax in. Most spas will sell little travel size shampoo and soap for around ¥150 if you don't want to bring your own. Do not skip this step, you will likely be stared at.
• Quiet conversation is fine, but avoid loud outburst or rambunctious behaviour, This is not a public swimming pool.
• Grabbing a bite to eat and beer at a nearby restaurant is a perfect way to end the evening.

Relaxing in an Onsen is an age-old tradition in Japan, spanning back thousands of years. While it may feel weird or strange to you at first, see how you feel after dipping in, melting the stress away while taking in some of the most beautiful scenery at a Roten-buro that you'll ever see. Sit back, relax and enjoy some of the world's best mineral water spas.

Further Reading:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sent%C5%8D
• http://www.sentoguide.info/baths/osaka/hirakata

Craving McDelivery... Wait, McDonalds Delivers?

I wanted to share a cool experience I encountered in while in Japan. This might not be new for some of  you, however for most of us, we've never experienced the awesomeness of McDonald's that is McDelivery. Yes, you read that right, McDonald's delivers direct to your door in Japan! And yes, I know you're in Japan and are probably trying to avoid McDonald's at all costs but trust me, after waking up from a long night out, you will not want to leave your place on a cold winter morning; which is when McDelivery becomes your new best friend.

Available in only select few countries, and even then, limited to certain cities, McDelivery is actually available in most parts of Japan. There are however a few requirements for home delivery that I'll explain below first.

• It is only available between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. (23:00)
• There is a ¥300 delivery fee (Approx. $3)
• Minimum order of ¥1500 ($15), or ¥1000 ($10) for morning deliveries
• Maximum order total for delivery ¥12,000 ($120)
• Phone number required - Use the seminar phone number if available

In regards to the minimum order, you could ask your flat mate or dorm friends if they're up to ordering with you and split the costs accordingly.

You will need a phone number that you can be reached at to set up your account and place an order. For those of you who live in the seminar houses, this is not a problem as you can give them the seminar house phone number along with your room number. Oto-San or Oka-San will call you when they arrive. For those of you living in off-campus housing, sorry, hope you have a Japanese cell phone...

Click To Enlarge

To sign-up and order in English or Japanese, you can go HERE. Once you've signed up you will need to enter
your delivery address, I really suggest you ask Oto-San/Oka-San or one of your RA's for help with this. Alternatively, you can try to set it up yourself using the picture to the right. Of course, you will have to make changes such as your seminar house address if you are not living in seminar house 4. Be sure to update your room #, which is also your phone extension.

Note: Your seminar house may be in a different Chome, so be sure to double check your address.

Upon completing your order, they may sometimes call to confirm, especially if you've left special instructions. What's even more cool is that you can track your order too to find out exactly what stage your order is at! That's it, you're done, enjoy.

The last leg - Getting to Hirakata from KIX

So you've successfully survived the flight to Japan, Congrats! For the lucky few of you, it was a quick flight but now you need to get to Hirakata. For some of you, catching the Kansai Gaidai shuttle bus from KIX during arrival week may not be an option. Some people choose to arrive early, some late, or couldn't get a flight in during the shuttle times. No worries, there's a few options available I'll point out to help get you where you need to be.

I'll obviously recommend taking the shuttle limousine bus provided by KGU as your first option, you're tired, inexperienced with Japan's public transportation system, and probably have at least 2 pieces of luggage or more. For only ¥2000 ($20), KGU will arrange your pick up from KIX and drop you off directly at Seminar House 4 in Hirakata. However, as mentioned, for some this won't be a possibility.

The easiest way to Hirakata will be via a limousine bus from KIX to Hirakata. This service is offered by Kansai Airport Transportation Enterprise (KATE). As international arrivals are on Terminal 1, to get to the bus stop you will need to go to the main floor. There will be a ticket vending machine outside the doors where you can purchase a ticket for a bus bound for Neyagawa/Hirakata/Kuzuha, it will cost you ¥2050 (approx. $20). The pick up location for the bus should be listed on the ticket (Bus Depot 10). It's important to note that the latest departure from KIX is at 22:45 (10:45 p.m.), arriving in Hirakata at 24:09 (12 a.m.). Just a heads up, you will need to contact Kansai Gaidai to inform them if you will be arriving late as they have a cut off time. They may need to arrange for someone to receive you at the seminar house or else you might end up spending the night at the station which is where this bus will drop you off. From Hirakata station, depending on what time you arrive, you can either catch a local Keihan bus or take a taxi direct to your seminar house/residence.

Your second option is to take the train to Hirakata from KIX. This option can be a little difficult for first time transit riders, especially with all your luggage as well, however, it costs about $5-$6 less with about the same transit time. Upon your arrival, you will want to walk to the 2nd floor and catch the JR Line "Kansai Airport Rapid Service" to Kyobashi station. This ride will take about 78 minutes and with a fare of ¥1190 ($12). Once you've arrived at Kyobashi station, you will then need to transfer to the Keihan line and catch any train bound for Demachiyanagi and get off at Hirakata station. You should avoid taking the Rapid Limited Express as it does not always stop at Hirakata Station. You should take the Limited Express train if it is available. This ride will take you 15 minutes, you're fare should be ¥330 ($3), with your total trip from the airport costing about $15. However, you still need to get from Hirakata station to your dorm, either via bus or taxi.

Links:

• http://www.kansaigaidai.ac.jp/asp/access/
• http://www.kansaigaidai.com/#!gettingaround/c1b1p
• http://www.kate.co.jp/en/timetable/detail/HR#from
• http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/access/bus/index.html

The Beer Park.. Err... Katahoko Park

Whether you've already started your first week at Kansai Gaidai or you're about to, there's no doubt you will receive a lecture and warning about the infamous Beer Park. Located centrally between all the seminar houses and behind the Hirakata Library, every year the Beer Park attracts the seminar house students in the masses. I must admit, many, if not most of my friendships at Kansai Gaidai were started over a beer here.

Due to its prime location and convenient "amenities", the Beer Park no doubt quickly becomes a popular social hub. What could be better than a beer vending machine and a liquor store in walking distance, right? However, while it may be a great place to meet up with your friends from the other dorms for a casual drink, it's important to remember that you are not the only ones living in the area.

The Beer Park is surrounded on nearly all sides by residents of Hirakata, and if you've ever spent a winter in Japan, you'll know just how paper thin their walls are. I have to admit, I've personally spent many evenings hanging out in the Beer Park, whether it be just myself and a couple of friends, or often a group of 10 or more. Either way, one thing I noticed irregardless of how many people there are, North Americans are loud when we start drinking. We may not notice it as we're having a good time, conversating with friends, but between the alcohol and being outside, the level of our voices tend to quadruple. This creates two problems you will frequently encountered:

1. A visit from the Keisatsu (Japanese Police). While they're normally polite and understanding, they will kick out of the park if you're too loud, or even if you're congregating in too large of groups. Remember, you're a guest in Japan and here on a temporary student visa. You don't want to jeopardize this.
2. And then there's the frequent mandatory lectures from the Dean on Campus. You will be chastised for consistent loud behavior reports from the locals. These meetings are made mandatory for all students, as such, you will be scolded by the non-beer park goers. Nobody wants to spend their evenings on campus getting lectured.

Now that I've given you your fair warning, go out and have fun! It's a perfect place for a quick rendezvous and pregame before heading out to your favourite local bar or for karaoke. Some students choose to use it to unwind after a long day, grabbing a beer or two after studying. Most nights, you can usually find one or two people chilling here, if you feel like just getting out for a bit.

Tips:

• The liquor store tends to close around 9:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. unless their hours have changed. So grab your specialty booze early if you prefer something other than beer, chuu-hai, or sake.
• The liquor vending machine shuts down about 12:15 a.m. so make sure you buy your nights worth before then.
• You need a TASPO card to purchase cigarettes from vending machines in Japan. If you need smokes, buy them from the liquor store before it closes, or may have to walk to the nearest Konbini.
• My advice is, keep your gatherings small (or at least spread out) and relatively quiet and you won't have any trouble. For some of you, this will become a regular nightly hangout, it's a great place, let's keep it that way!

This is the liquor store and infamous beer vending machine. Located directly in front of the Beer Park and just around the corner from Seminar House 1. There are plenty of trash/recycle bins around so there's no excuse for not cleaning up after yourselves.


There's a few other hidden spots close to the Beer Park I can recommend, message me if you'd like to know. Contact Here

Feeling Lucky? Strike it Rich in Japan

Looking for a way to fund your exchange? Ok, maybe not the best way, but hey, they're cheap and it's fun to day dream! Welcome to Takarakuji, Japan's prefectural lottery. Similar to our lottery systems in North America, the Takarakuji lottery tickets work on a randomized numerical matching system, though there are scratch version as well. Tickets generally range between ¥100 - ¥500 ($1-$5) are with draws taking place weekly, with year-end jumbo lottery draws that attract hundreds of millions of sales from people all vying to win a piece of the action. Typical jackpots from regular draws can reach up to ¥100 million depending on the ticket you purchase. However, the year-end jumbo lottery for 2015 contains a prize pool of more than ¥73.5 billion, approximately $617.3 million US dollars! Of course, this is broken down in to several first place and secondary prizes. Still not a bad take for a secondary prize worth over ¥20 million.

While most forms of gambling in Japan are illegal, Takarakuji draws are one of the few that are legal, among others such as pachinko. Though one of the stipulations with running these draws are that the main prize pool cannot exceed 50% of the total sales. This of course leaves a significant amount left over, but it's not all withheld by the lotto company. Most of it in fact is split among local government organizations and charities.

Takarakuji tickets can be bought at just about any major station including many numerous locations around major cities. The booths are easily recognizable like the one in the picture to the right. You can usually find them around Hirakata Station, and literally all over Osaka and Kyoto. Purchasing tickets is simple process, usually all it takes is walking up and either pointing to the specific ticket you want while saying "Takarakuji "x"-mai onegaishimasu", replacing X with the number of tickets you want, ex. ichi-mai, ni-mai, etc. They may want clarify with you which value of ticket you want, at which point you should respond with something like "San-byaku-en desu", or "Go-hyaku-en desu, etc."

Try out your luck, you never know, you might just get lucky! On average, one in every nine tickets win a prize. Wouldn't that be a nice surprise for your study abroad. Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, it's all tax free! Good luck!

Wild Japanese Snow Monkeys

 Japan is home to one of few places where you can actually see and interact with wild monkeys! Though, while this may already sound exciting, how many of you have ever seen a monkey taking a bath in a hot spring (Onsen)? The place is called Jigokudani, a world famous national park visited by thousands of tourists every year in the heart of the Nagano prefecture.

The Japanese Macaques, or more commonly referred to as Snow Monkeys, live in the surrounding forests of Jigokudani Park. They descend during the day to lounge in the hot springs, literally appearing just as if humans were to be taking a bath. I can say personally, it's one of the weirdest though exhilarating feeling to witness this. Depending on the day, there can be as many as 100 or more seen gathered around the pools. Due to the growing popularity, the Snow Monkeys have become very use to their human visitors. This close relationship allows for plenty of interaction and awesome up-close photo shoots.

Getting to Jigokudani can be a bit of a challenge but is well worth the effort. There are several options to get there from Osaka area, so depending on how much you're willing to spend will determine your travelling time.


Here's my recommended route from Osaka:

• Book a day bus from Osaka (or Kyoto if available) to JR Nagano station. I suggest using Willer Express but ask an RA for help with this.
  Approximate Cost: ¥2500-¥3000 ($25-$30)
  Approximate Travel Time: 3 Hours
  Take the earliest bus possible if you're planning on returning the same day.

• From JR Nagano Station, catch the Limited Express Line to Yudanaka Station.
  Approximate Cost: ¥1160 ($12)
  Approximate Time: 47 Minutes

• From there, catch the NagaDen, (Nagano Dentetsu bus) to Kanbayashi. This is kind of like your base camp. This bus is bound for Shiga Kogen, exit at the Kanbayashi stop.
  Approximate Cost: ¥1300
  Approximate Time: 30 Minutes

Once you've reached Kanbayashi, there is only about a half hour scenic walk through the forest to reach the hot springs in Jigokudani Park. Entrance fee to the park is costs only ¥500. Arriving early gives you plenty of time to spend in the park and catch the return buses if you don't plan on spending the night in the area.

Useful Links:

• http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/english/html/top_e.htm
• http://willerexpress.com/en/
• http://www.hyperdia.com