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Days without rehearsal at night are nice because we usually get taken somewhere. Today, Sekine and a couple Aimachi members we have become friends with went to a public Japanese bathhouse. This place was an amusement park (complete with huge roller coasters), an outdoor mall, and a bathhouse all in one. The weather wasn’t great, so we didn’t get to check out the amusement park. Instead we walked around the mall for two hours and then went to the bathhouse.
The Bathhouse was a really cool experience. It cost about $15 to get in (Sekine treated us), but it was well worth the money. The inside is really nice and they gave us Kimonos to wear after we changed out of our normal street clothes.
Once we got to the hot springs, we all stripped down to our birthday suits. Having been in drum corps, I wasn’t uncomfortable being around so many naked people (thankfully). We went in about 4 different hot springs which varied in temperature from hot to scolding. Some of the water came from 1500 meters (.93 miles) below the surface. The cool thing was all of these springs were outside. It was drizzling lightly but that only enhanced the experience. The landscaping around the springs, which consisted of trees, streams, and lighting effects, also added to the experience.
We finished off the night by going to an Italian, yes, Italian restaurant. The Pizza was not very good, the salads were ok, and the Pasta was pretty decent (although slightly undercooked). Still, it was a great time.
I enjoy spending time with my Japanese friends very much. They think I should marry a Japanese girl and stay in Japan after WGI. Not a bad idea! Maybe I can get a job teaching English and keep marching in Aimachi until I’m 40! Ha ha.
I’m looking to buying a Banzai tree tomorrow. It will be like having a pet and what better place to buy a Banzai than Japan? I’ll have some pictures to share soon!
-Chris
