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本帖最后由 violinlearner 于 2025-6-17 01:10 编辑
今天的心情是想写点英语,于是就写了. 配图以后在游记里写到再上。
这就当是今天的更新吧。
When I called Yamata Ryokan in Otari Village of Nagano Prefecture from Australia, the lady who answered the call sounded noticeably nervous.
Are you sure? We are located in a small village faraway from Tokyo.
I know, I answered, this is what I am after.
That was not enough to reassure her: We don’t have anyone who can speak English and everything is in Japanese.
Don’t worry, as you can tell, I do understand and speak in Japanese as I am speaking right now.
It is not convenient to come by public transport.
I know, I will rent a car from Nagano and drive from there.
But she was still hesitant. You know how to drive here? We are faraway and there is nothing in our hotel that a foreign tourist may find appealing . Only hot spa bath from long long ago…
Perfect, that would be my dream destination.
This conversation might sound unwelcoming at first but it turned out that the hostess (女将さん)is very nice and the only reason she was worried was that the vast majority of her guests are locals and she was a bit uncertain as to how to manage my expectations.
And what an incredible ryokan she and her husband have been operating . There are four buildings, three of which are listed as national heritage. Her husband’s family has been operating the ryokan for 600 years (the same lineage) . Although the buildings were destroyed and lost in history over and over again, the three oldest buildings still standing today date back to 150+years, 110+ years and 100 years respectively.
There are no other ryokans or hotels or really anything else around , only the ryokan and its onsen (natural spa) surrounded by mountains. On the day of my stay, there were only six groups of guests including myself, probably because there are only limited workers who can cater for limited number of guests. All the other guests are Japanese.
We were all arranged to stay at the newest building (about 36 years old) , the only building that is not listed as national heritage, presumably for modern facilities that the historic buildings lack. At dusk, when walking from the front desk to my room, I had to pass through the three historic buildings one by one. It literally felt like walking into history.
When the corridors and the rooms were lit up from within, the view from outside was surreal. In this middle of nowhere, I was lost in thoughts. It is fundamentally different from the ultimately famous and classic city Kyoto which I visited before turning to Nagano and it is basically a different world from the city I call home in the southern hemisphere. When I am typing this from a small study in my house in suburban Melbourne at a cold winter night, the memories of Yamata Ryokan seem distant, almost light years away. It is for this extreme contrast to our boring daily life that we travelers pack our bags and board onto one plane after another .
Oh , and the onsen(natural spa). The indoor motoyu( 元湯)meaning the original onsen is the same as it was about 120 years ago. Though some may find it old, even a bit scary, it fascinated me. The efforts it takes to keep as it is for 120 years is beyond my imagination. The hard work day after day, the dedication, the sacrifices… all by the same family generation after generation .And the opportunity to see something from 120 years ago still operating, well and alive… When I soaked myself into it and looked up to observe the onsen configuration, I felt both serene and excited, like going back to a home that I hadn’t been for ages.
It was raining hard the next morning. As a tourist with limited time for traveling, I can't say I like rain a lot. However the rain made Otari village and the surrounding mountains even quieter and calmer, as if all the worries in life were trivial and all the meanings we pursue were paled to almost non existent. The outdoor onsen (露天風呂)faces the mountain, whose roof and structure came from an old and abandoned temple (薬師堂)I have seen quite a few fancier onsen but nothing compares with the outdoor onsen of Yamata in terms of its originality and serenity in a raining morning of May.
When I loaded my rental car and was ready to go, the hostess rushed to my window in rain to give me a present, which is a piece of cloth used to pack anything you like (風呂敷). She pointed to herself, indicating the pattern of the cloth is the same as the kimono she was wearing . How lovely and thoughtful. I expressed my gratitude. But then in heavy rain she gestured for me to wait again. She rushed away and came back with two packs of Japanese snacks in her hand. You can’t go without taking some kawaii Japanese stuff, she said. Rain was dripping from her hair and her smile bright and sincere.
Sayonara, Yamata ryokan. I may or may not come back, but I will not forget the beautiful buildings, the original onsen, the wonderful mountain view in spring rain, the surreal atmosphere of walking back into history in a quiet mountain village far far away from Tokyo and Kyoto, but most importantly I will not forget your authentic Japanese hospitality - in this world ruled by AI, influencers and algorithm, I value the sincerity from bottom of my heart. |
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