A 1,200-year-old Spa Village

On a recent Saturday Don Speden (of 3speedtouringinjapan.blogspot.com) and I went to the spa village Deyu, whose name means literally "hot water coming out". We first paid a visit to Seikokan, a spa hotel that was established over 300 years ago (pictured at bottom) and met the gracious English speaking daughter and extended family of the current owner. Don and I then bathed for about 2$ at the nearby public bath, shown in the topmost photo ( an unprepossessing facility, I'll be the first to admit) . There were 13 of us men packed into a 40 degree Celsius (cool for Japan) bath the size of a middling jacuzzi. Most of our companions were retirees, and they did not exhibit any discomfort regarding our presence. I am aware that discrimination exists in Japan-indeed, no country is free of it- but some expats, most notably naturalized Japanese Arudo Debito, go out of their way to meet it. In any case, the second photo shows a fiendishly grinning monk, identity and purpose unknown, outside the main temple in Deyu Village.