After I finished working as an engineer at the chemical plant, I was offered a short stint to work as a contractor in China. The hotel I stayed was in a beautiful remote mountain setting. However, the hotel was popular for the hot springs that was natural to the setting.
The hotel did a great job capitalizing on this wonder of nature by enclosing it for the hotel and other paying guests. You did not need to stay at the hotel to purchase entry, but it was remote enough I doubt they received many local day visitors
The hot spring was located a short walk from the hotel.
Hot springs are thermally heated by the volcanic activity underground. As a result, it is rich in natural chemicals that are excellent for the skin.
I have a bad case of rosacea at times. When my facial skin flares up I can get large postules on my face. It can get bad enough I can resemble the elephant man! Ok, slight exaggeration.
When visiting a Japanese hot springs once (they're called onsens in Japan) I was in the middle of one of those flare ups. The next morning my rosacea completely cleared up! Later, when I spoke to my dermatologist about it he told me sulfur was a great natural Anti-inflammatory and the waters were likely rich in sulfates. Since then I've used elemental sulfur on my face at night and no more issues! Great lesson learned from these type of waters.
Preparing for my experience in hotel robe.
I was happy I was allowed to wear a bathing suit here. In the Japanese onsen no clothing was allowed. I probably would not have entered that one except it was off season and the hotel nearly empty. I was fortunate to be the only one in Hokkaido, Japan at that time .
Ok! It's go time!
Although these hot springs looked pretty empty of people, at times they could be quite crowded, usually on the weekends. I enjoyed these more private moments better as I did not have to worry about bumping into people.
The springs is enclosed and a changing room provided with lockers. The admission is free for hotel guests but a small charge for visitors.
I was accompanied by one of the people at the plant where I was working. He was a very courteous host during my stay. I was never alone except to sleep. He would show up for breakfast in the morning and stay with me until about 9 pm each night.
That's a big difference from how we treat foreign guests at the US plant I worked. At the end of the work day here the visitors were left to fend for themselves. We (or at least I) have a lot to learn about courtesy from the Chinese,
Comments