My few days in Narugo flew by. I loved the Yusa family I stayed with, who I mentioned earlier own a hotel with hot springs in the small town. I got to stay in my own room in the hotel and have breakfast served to me every morning. Each night, I would join the family for dinner, with the mom serving huge spreads of food.
The pace of the time I spent there was much slower than our previous stops. We started late in the morning and kept a flexible time schedule. They even allowed me nap time in the afternoons. I made sure to take full advantage of all three types of hot springs near the hotel. I think I went in them three times a day while I was there.
On one of my trips to the outdoor pool, my host father, Masanobu, caught me walking through the lobby wearing a Yukata, which is a Japanese bath robe. He was so excited, he had me pose for pictures with an umbrella.
I also got to paint a kakeshi doll, a trademark art of the area. They're everywhere: standing at the sides of bridges, adorning store windows, set up in hotel lobbies. A gentleman who owns one of the shops let me watch him shave the wood down to the proper shape, then supervised my painting the doll. It was so great.
My final night we took a walk together through the town in the dark. They wrapped me up in a sleeping bag-like coat (they were always very concerned that I was warm enough here).
Leaving was hard. The family had definitely grown on me. We've all realized that saying goodbye to the many people we meet is something we sort of have to grow thick skin to on this trip. Still, it's never easy.
Lesson learned: There are nine kinds of hot springs, each with different qualities that help the human body. I can testify to that.
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