露天風呂(ROTEMBURO) - (n.) The Onsen taken to another level of perfection - outside bathing.
NB. Due to the suicidal nature of mixing digital photography and hot water, I've been forced to turn to the generosity of the internet for these photos...
Great Baths of Japan - Sakurajima - Furusato Onsen
On the far southern tip of what could be called mainland Japan, Sakurajima sits, smoking belligerently. A large and very active volcano, it sporadically sends vast clouds of smoke and ash rolling up into the atmosphere. It used to be an island, but in 1914 a great eruption spilled enough lava to connect it to Kyushu.
As the lumpen black rocks boulder down to the sea, geothermally heated water bubbles up to the surface. And right between this great volcano and the Pacific Ocean, this water feeds a very unusual onsen.
In such a unusual and powerful location, it makes perfect sense that it became the site of a Shinto shrine (the native religion of Japan). From the overhanging cliff, the roots of an ancient tree drop down into mid-air, with heavy black boulders caught awkwardly in its crooked roots hanging over the water. In the crevice underneath this natural mobile, statues stand vigil barely a foot from the water. You can wade right up to them, put your head under the cobwebbed roots and brutal boulders, stand in their shade and hope they don't fall. Certainly one of the strangest temples I've ever been in. Out of respect for the shrine, you have to wear a Yukata (Japanese dressing gown) in the bath.As I lay back in the steaming hot waters, English places of worship seemed a very long way away. How could I even compare the hard, drafty pews of ascetic Protestantism to this balmy experience. Of course, Japanese religion certainly can do ascetic - think Zen monks up at dawn to meditate, with a Master hitting them with sticks whenever they showed signs of drooping, or a Shugendo Monk (allied to Shinto) meditating for hours under a freezing waterfall. But Shinto seems, on the whole, to be rather more keen on appreciating the good things of life.
With your back to the shrine, the Pacific Ocean spreads out before you. When I was there, the rain was heavy, the wind cold, and the waves strong. They crashed onto rough rocks with a huge weight, rendering the 'no swimming' signs rather unnecessary. I took turns between immersing myself in the hot waters until they proved unbearable, and then standing out on the rocks and feeling the heat drain from my skin in seconds. Then back in the water for another 5minute soak. Repeat until beaten by the elements into a heady state of relaxation, as you watch the seabirds fly overhead and listen to the waves barely 5m away.
Two great black rocks lie between the sea and the bath, and between them is strung a thickly twisted rope, on which is hung heavy paper flashes in a lightning design. It combines all the great Shinto elements - water, rock, wood, paper, rope. Only one thing was missing - and then, in the sinking gloom, they lit the braziers, and we bathed by firelight.
