Aomori:
Mike’s a super cool, outoorsy ALT in the onsen town to the south called Naruko (see past onsen post). We play hoops every Wednesday now and so we’ve been getting to know each other a bit better. We had a 3 day holiday one weekend so decided to take a trip to the northern most prefecture on the Honshu island… Aomori. Like virually all of Japan, Aomori is very mountainous, and for Mike and I, this provided the perfect environment to do some exploring and have some fun. Mike checked the map and picked one of Japan’s many mountains to climb. We headed north on the Tohoku Expressway on Friday after work. I drove this time and it felt great to be able to get the car up to US speeds once again! Or, “Open ‘er up!” as my Gresham friends say. Mike checked the Japan guide and found that there was an incredible ryokan, or, Japanese Inn just at the base of Hakkoda-san, the peak we picked to climb. Sukayu Inn was incredible! Even though it doesn’t look it in the pictures, it was huge and spacious inside, with ancient hardwood floors worn smooth by bare feet and regular cleaning. The rooms were small, but nice spaces with tatami floors. The fall temps brought a chill to the air and the rooms were crisp upon entering. But the small gas heater in the corner of the room brought the temp up to 80 degrees or so in a matter of minutes, and the warmth also brings out the sweet, dry tatami mat smell, which, to me, is the quintessential “Japan” aroma.

These rooms only have a small table, that’s it. In the closet you’ll always find the bedding: futons, pillows, and thick, fluffy comforters. There were 4 futons, so mike and I doubled up and slept like kings.