Day 37: Pilgrims Bathe for Free

Steps: close to zero

Temples: None

We are not a on a tight budget for this trip and most days we’re not even close to reaching our daily spending’s limit.

The only times we get close, are rainy days like today, when we are staying put in a big city with eight extra hours on hand and nothing to do with them but eat (a favorite pastime of ours).

Today we tried two Uwajima specialities: Taimeshi, which is sea bream sashimi mixed with raw egg and served over rice, and jakoten, a fried fish cake made from puréed fish.

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Both were delicious, and since the restaurant we ate at for lunch had so many good things on the menu, we ended up going back for dinner. We figured, if it ain’t broken, why venture further from your hotel in the rain?

Red sea bream, as far as we could understand, is a fish eaten at celebratory occasions, and believed to bring luck. I don’t know if it’s true, but we at least felt very lucky to be eating it.

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We also had time for a dip in the local onsen, where we were just about to pay for entry, when the manager asked us if we were pilgrims?

“Hai, yes, ohenro desu”.

“Ah okay, then it’s free”

“Oh really? Thank you! Arigato!”

Before going on the trip, I’d been anxious about the small tattoo I got for my 30th birthday, because tattoos are often looked down upon in Japan (historically they were only for the yakuza) and even forbidden in some onsen. However, I haven’t had any problems whatsoever, and one older lady even told me she thought it was かわいい (cute).

This onsen clearly wasn’t that discerning either because when Jonas came back from the men’s section he told me there had been not only one but two men in there with giant dragon tattoos down their backs and arms. I wonder if they got a discount too 😅