Tokyo Travels: Day 7 (Part 2)

One of the things that I knew I wanted to do in Tokyo was to..... *drumroll* get an onsen experience!

So after a cute little morning with cute kitty cats during the first part of the day, Saliheen and I took a train down to Odaiba, where Oedo Onsen Monotagari is located! The weather was nice and cloudy on that day, and it was so refreshing to be able to see the ocean in the Odaiba area, and feel the breeze on our face and hair :)

By the way, before I post the rest of the pictures, can I just show my appreciation for this lovely vending machine right here??? We first saw it in the owl cafe we went, and we discovered that the drinks (which come in cups instead of cans) from this vending machine is sedap seh! We saw it again while on route to the onsen. It's like those vending machines we had in hospitals back in the good old 80s and 90s, you know, but fancier and tak melekit at all so no semut infestation.

Ahhhhh, the Japanese. As always, doing it right when it comes to cleanliness, you guys.

Anyway, berbalik kepada kisah pasal onsen. Honestly kan, we would have preferred to go to a proper onsen at a ryokan in Kyoto or Osaka, but we had to look for alternatives since we didn't want to move or travel for hours out of Tokyo. And that alternative came in the form of Oedo Onsen Monotagari! I don't know if I'm right but it feels like a more commercialized type of onsen...? I didn't really care la, I just wanted to veg out and experience some form of Japanese onsen.

They have private rooms as well (I read about the existence of its private rooms here) but when we arrived just after 2.00pm, the counter staff told us we'd have to come before 2.00pm to secure a private room. Was quite disappointed to hear that at the counter but it turned out good for us in the end hehe

Not sharing picture of myself in the yukata because nanti I dapat flak for wearing my sash/belt in front instead of the back. Because God forbid you wear it wrongly, people familiar with the culture will call you out as a prostitute! Haha.

(I wore it backwards because a lot of other female patrons wore it that way and I found the front tying method to be more comfortable. Should have known better than to practice monkey see, monkey do! I just didn't think of researching how to wear the yukata, but will definitely tie it at the back when I return to an onsen la since I tau already)

Useful leaflet on what to expect when you are in Ooedo Onsen Monogatari!

You can click on the picture above to enlarge the text and pictures. 

Since we couldn't take pictures or videos of the interior of the onsen (obviously), I've lifted pictures from the Internet below to share! Didn't even take pictures at the public dining area (even though we could) because we were such ~jellies~ already lepas mandi kat onsen and couldn't be bothered to carry our cameras around hehe.

To be honest, I was a liiittle nervous going into the onsen all by myself (Saliheen obviously cannot be with me). I mean... I've always been fairly comfortable when it comes to my own body, the female form and sexuality la - I don't mind getting dressed/undressed in the presence of my female friends, I have no qualms with Brazilian waxing, and I have no reservations whatsoever receiving massages where you bare breasts to your masseuse. But those sessions, especially, are with one other single female stranger who is doing her job and has her clothes on, you know?

This is a totally different ballgame altogether seh. You'll be walking around and scrubbing your body and floating in pools with a bevy of other women who are also in the nude! Haha. It might be normal or natural for other cultures/societies, but I was brought up in a community that jelings even when your kain terselak sikit ok hahahaha

And because I've never willingly done something like this before, I just wasn't sure whether I'd be comfortable, you know?

Turns out I had nothing to fear, and nothing to worry. 

Because the minute I entered the female changing room (in the onsen) and saw the female strangers (in various stages of dress/undress) minding their own business, the worry and anticipation of feeling embarassed just dissipated into thin air. 

I felt free, I felt comfortable and I felt like..... I was at home. HAHAHAHAHA.

I should have given myself credit and and known that I would enjoy a public onsen! Good thing the private rooms were unavailable and I was "forced" to experience the public onsen firsthand hor? I was at absolute ease at every point in the onsen - I was happily showering at the open-air tempat mandi, I was confident going into the various pools (even when there are other ladies in them), I loooooved the mist showers and I had a nice quiet reflective time in the hot sauna. I strutted out of the onsen (with my yukata on) feeling like a new and energized woman :D

I don't want to go into great detail about the whole onsen experience la, especially not what I saw because it wouldn't be appropriate to discuss such things on a public platform but if you're my friend in real life, please ask me privately if you're interested to know, and I will be more than happy to share ok.

I think as long as you can shed your inhibitions, jangan jakun, and know when to discreetly avert your eyes as and when needed, I think you'll be A-ok in an onsen. I also watched a ton of Youtube videos on Japanese onsen to mentally prepare myself and learn about onsen etiquette prior to the trip, you can watch the do's and don'ts here and here and these videos here, here and here if you want to specifically know how it looks like in Oedo Onsen Monotagari. 

It was an amazing experience, and I can't freaking wait to do it again ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Hopefully at a proper ryokan with an onsen overlooking mountains/hills/rivers next time :D

We spent around 4+ hours in there - enjoying the onsen, dipping our feet into the outdoor hot springs, chatting and napping at rest areas (with tatami mats) and sharing snacks and drinks when we got peckish. I almost didn't want to leave T.T Tapi CPF payments on my rumah kat Tampines masih jalan so angan angan taik ayam je la eh nak duduk bertapa kat onsen.

Left the onsen after that and walked all the way to the Rainbow Bridge. It was a bit of a letdown because...........

............. TAKDE RAINBOW COLOUR PUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. Hahahahahaha

I don't know whether there was some kind of coordinated timing that we missed ke atau the bridge just didn't feel like lighting up in rainbow colours that day haha. We left after 20 minutes of chilling by the riverside, I think? Too malas to walk over to the Gundam statue in front of Diver City so kita tengok from a distance aje ah hahaha.

Took the train back to Shibuya to makan dinner at............ that's right, GYUMON, YOU GAIZE!!!!! By this time dah pandai dah, dah tak sesat lagi hahahahaha (This was when Saliheen and I took pictures for the pictorial guide to Gyumon heh).

We were supposed to go to Tanden Yoyogi (halal barbecue meat resturant recommended by my sister's boyfriend) but kita macam sooooooo lazy to figure out the directions (I tell you, we were so JELLY lepas mandi manda kat onsen sampai semua benda pun malas) so kita terpesong to Gyumon instead. Tried and tested, hehe.

Got seated at the first level this time round, which was better for us because we got to sit on proper chairs instead of bersila kat lantai. Penat you know duduk bawah lama lama when your perut boncet is in the way haha! Sambil makan daging barbecue sambil tu started to feel reluctant to leave (both Gyumon and Tokyo) but what to do........

CPF payments for rumah masih jalan, remember. Hahahaha!