Fuji Five Lakes: Camping and First Trip to an Onsen

Last weekend we went camping in an area called Fuji Five Lakes.  As you can probably guess, it's located close to Mt. Fuji and boasts beautiful views of it.   We were supposed to go for 2 nights, but because of the curfew (Yes, that's correct, curfew.  A couple of Navy guys down in Okinawa raped a Japanese girl so all military in Japan have to be in their place of residence between 23:00 and 5:00.) we had to come home after one night (or so Bryan's department head told us).  We got there Friday evening, had a lovely campfire, made some friends to hang out with for the evening,  made some s'mores (new friends weren't interested in s'mores, but did like toasted marshmallows) and other campfire goodies, and then did some exploring and went to an onsen.   I should explain more about an onsen, as we definitely don't have them in the States.  Actually, I'll let my friends at Wikipedia explain a bit first:

An onsen (温泉^?) is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth. Onsen were traditionally used as public bathing places and today play a central role in directing Japanese domestic tourism.
Onsen come in many types and shapes, including outdoor (露天風呂 or 野天風呂 roten-buro or noten-buro^?) and indoor baths. Baths may be either public run by a municipality or private (内湯 uchiyu^?) often run as part of a hotel, ryokan or bed and breakfast (民宿 minshuku^?).
Onsen are a central feature of Japanese tourism often found out in the countryside but there are a number of popular establishments still found within major cities. They are a major tourist attraction drawing Japanese couples, families or company groups who want to get away from the hectic life of the city to relax. Japanese often talk of the virtues of "naked communion" (裸の付き合い hadaka no tsukiai^?)^[1] for breaking down barriers and getting to know people in the relaxed homey atmosphere of a ryokan with an attached onsen. Japanese television channels often feature special programs about local onsens.

I did some googling, just for you all, and found the one where we went! 

It only cost about $12 to enter and you can stay as long as you wish.

 So that's the main idea, but I'm sure some people are wondering more.  In case you didn't understand from the above info, you are naked when inside, so I was not able to take pictures.  However, if you google "onsen" I know that some more beautiful pictures of them will show up.  We've only been to one, so I can't speak for all of them, but here's what I do know: The one we went to had a very spa-like environment.  Tattoos are prohibited, because traditionally in Japan, the only people with tattoos are members of the Yakuza, or mafia.  I covered my little one up and was thankful they didn't kick me out.  Also since you're naked, there are two separate areas for guys and gals.  (However, you can rent a private onsen in some places to share with your lover.)  There's a locker room, like you're at a fancy gym, and then you have to shower before getting in any of the water. 

That's right, you just sit your naked self down on that  little stool and give yourself a shower while someone right next to you does the same thing.  This is an image from google, but I understand they're all pretty similar to this. 

 They give you two towels--one is the size of a wash cloth and the other was just barely big enough to wrap around myself.  Being a conservative American, I kept myself covered when not in the water, especially at first.  Onsens are very normal to Japanese, so they mostly walked around completely naked from room to room and upstairs.  Some did cover their front, but most didn't. 

Where we were, there are several different bathing areas.  There's the outdoor pool shown in the picture above, a steam room, a sauna room, an inside small pool, and a couple individual soaking tubs (They kind of reminded me of the Teacups at Disney World, only filled with water, and a bit smaller.  And they didn't spin, so on second thought, they're nothing like the Teacups.)  The water was like a hot tub, although I hear some onsens have reeeeally hot, and often unbearable temperatures unless you're used to them, especially if they're natural hot springs. 

Although it was of course awkward at first, I really enjoyed the experience and we'll definitely be checking out more throughout our time here. 

Okay, now for some pictures of camping and exploring:

This is where we camped.  We were able to rent the tent, sleeping bags, and some other things from Outdoor Rec on base.

Us chillaxing by the lake at the campground.

Directions!

 After packing up the tent, we headed out to explore some caves.  Fuji's past eruptions and resulting lava flows have created multiple caves in the area.  They've been developed a bit and are open to be explored.

We visited a Bat Cave.  There are no longer any bats that live there, but it was cool to walk/crawl around it.  On the way to the cave entrance, Bryan decided to pretend he was a bat and tried out flying.   Turns out gravity still rules his body :-(

You can't see much, but maybe you get an idea??

At the bat cave entrance.  He was still trying to be a bat.   I had no idea this was such an aspiration.

After the bat cave, we moved on to the ice cave.  In case you don't understand the above sign, it means that before modern refrigeration, large ice blocks were kept frozen in the bottom of the cave, rode on a horse to the Emperor and then given to him.  For real.  And I'm pretty sure other people used it too.

I thought the picture would be more authentic if a real Japanese gal were in it rather than me.  The bottom of the cave  stays below freezing year round.

Us with the map of the area.

After the morning fog lifted, we found Fuji-san!!

Reminder:   I'm a badass and have climbed that volcano.

I desperately wish I remembered the story about this sculpture of a man with a very large penis.  There are places that sell small souvenir size versions of him too! Sorry I forget!!!

Teaser:  I hope to update more in the next couple days on my trip to Korea, Sports Festival and celebrating Halloween in Tokyo by dressing up as the Blue Man Group *hysterical!!!*

Sayonara!!