Nathaniel Sharratt reports on the road from the Zen of Spirit retreat to rural northern Japan with John-Roger & John Morton and 58 participants.
Today was a day of leisure touring. The morning began with the option of bathing in the hot spring water at our hotel in Nyutou, which was situated in the snowy mountains. Then the daily group session of spiritual exercises, after which we ate breakfast and said goodbye to our friendly hosts.
The first stop was at a lake in a caldera called lake Tazawa. As legend has it, a long time ago there was a woman who prayed every day to one of the Japanese gods for eternal youth and beauty. She saw this lake and started drinking the water. She couldn’t stop drinking the water because it didn’t quench her thirst, until she finally realized that it had transformed her into a dragon. She is said to live in the lake as a dragon to this day.
Our brief visit to the lake’s shore was a nice opportunity to stretch and take advantage of the photo op before the long drive through the mountain countryside.
Much of the day was spent on the buses as we meandered through the mountainous regions and valleys of northern Japan. There were times when the snow banks were higher than the bus and the fog was so thick that one could barely see the car in front of them. At other times, the scenery was so beautiful that one of the highlights of the day was actually riding in the bus.
We then arrived at Tamagawa Hot springs, which is known especially for the healing qualities of its rocks. Many people go there who have cancer and other various health conditions to bathe in the hot springs, lay on the healing rocks and breath in the sulfur air. Our group had the option to go on a small hike, and bathe in the hot springs before departing for more bus touring.
It was such tough work riding on the bus, that we just had to stop at another hot springs. This time it was Goshogake Hot Springs, where the group had even more time than the previous springs for a relaxed lunch and more bathing. One of our women participants shared that there were little kids with their mothers in the women’s hot springs, and she said that it was a very beautiful experience to take part in.
For the latter part of the day, we listened to J-R seminars while traveling on the coaches through more wonderful countryside.
We passed Iwate volcano, which is active to this day, and stopped on the side of the road on a bridge to take in the beauty of some waterfalls.
Then we proceeded directly to our hotel in Hanamaki City. It is vogue in Japan to have a western style wedding, and thus our hotel had a chapel situated on its roof.
It was here that the great day was topped off with an after dinner sharing session with John and J-R.
And, of course, the hotel had a hot springs for those who didn’t get enough during the day.
