public nudity

after a big fiesta last sunday, a friend and i decided to go to the onsen. well, we actually planned this ahead but i was never sure if it would push through. but yeah it did. lucky! i never planned to invite male colleagues and i strived very hard to get them out of the plan. i am not in my perfect shape to be seen naked just yet. oops... i guess i should have mentioned first that people get naked once inside the onsen. it is not a rare practice: getting naked that is. japanese people get naked even in the dressing rooms, how much more inside a public huge hot bathroom. there goes my queue for what an onsen is (^o^)

after getting lost for about 3 minutes, we found the place. i wasn't expecting it to be on the 3rd and 4th floor of a mall though. who would have thought this is possible? my first onsen was near a waterfall, my second was on a spacious almost desserted part of the city. and now, on a mall? how convenient! and how varied these places are in.

1500 for the onsen and another 700 for the rock bed sauna, not bad for high priced tokyo living. men and women have separate rooms for the onsen. though there are others which have mixed bathing, people usually don't get naked in these cases. so that means that i'll be seeing lots of dangling objects for this one.

it was my first in this place so my friend and i decided to meet back outside (with full clothes on) after 15 minutes. deal! when i went in the men's, first thing that came to view was the dressing area with all the lockers for the clothes. along with the lockers were the naked men. i was expecting this much. it really has something to do with the custom i suppose, i was carefully slowly getting off my clothes while people around me are rushing to get them off. peeling off my clothes but my undies, i inspected the towels received from the front desk. one big, for drying self after getting wet. and another small, the only piece of cloth allowed inside the wet area. i can still remember the first time i went in in an all naked onsen; my japanese colleagues told me that the small towel is usually soaked in cold water and placed on top of your head to keep your head cool, at least. they even said that those who walk in covering themselves with the towel usually gets stared at. knowing this, i took off everything and walked in proud. in all naked glory... not before a little panic attack earlier when i couldn't lock my closet. ;)

nostalgia

nostalgic.

at this very moment last year, i was preparing for departure back home.
had a big echo karaoke session till a little past midnight.
spent my last remaining days in the company of friends.
so nostalgic...

japan has been good to me.
it gave me lots.

tomorrow is my anniversary.
anniversary for my return to the philippines.

somehow, i wonder.
will i ever be back in the land of the rising sun?
and if i will be, what new wall shall i break?
japan allowed me to break some shell i hid myself in.
it is easier to do that when you are away from the prying eyes of most people you know.

somehow, i think.
are the bonds i shared with friends left back there strong enough to withstand time?
i really hope they are.
for if not for them, i couldn't imagine what misery i could have experienced.

i couldn't be thankful enough for the whole package.
for the whole 2 years and 3 months stay, i would still opt for the same ride when asked now.
that chapter of my life has closed and a new chapter has been written.
but chapters can be revisited and even relived.
and revisiting memories is what i am doing now.

happy 1 year stay back home!

below are the recollections of a past that will never be forgotten.

first time in onsen (hot spring bath)

first time watching live baseball

first ski experience

first time seeing japanese emperor live

enjoyed the beach and realized those at home were better

and was it love?!? i don't know

first fishing trip ever. caught lots of fish including seastars

first major trip (aquarium-strawberry-boat)

first hanami

first time away far away on our own (hachijoujima)

climbed mt fuji (first mountain climbed)

in a huge philippine crowd

went hanabi in a yukata

first day road trip (nanadaro)

and first night bus

first in a sunflower field

and first time to a bbq party

how high can they jump

and how good the nights can be

how great colleagues i got

and how great scarfs i have :P

even tried ice skating

or rather ice walking

with the golden leaves of fall

and the magic of izu

went down south to kyoto

and nara, osaka and kobe

even tried betting on a horse

and overnight drills to boot

saw big things

and jdrama landmark of ebisu

and buddha himself in kamakura

first hanabi in tachikawa

even frequented ginza though never for shopping

frequented aquariums

and dolphins

lady liberty in odaiba

and the great imperial palace

the ever lovely sakura

and the fast subways

and even faster rides

reached the tokyo tower

and these neon lights

the nonstop karaoke sessions

and the surprise of snow

will always keep me wanting for more, more of my exciting, powerful future