Onsen John: August 2010

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Bistro Miyoda

This is a nice little noodle shop that specializes in homemade wavycut noodles.This shop has a nice selection of fresh noodle soups and whiteboard specials.

This noodle house reminds me of the ones in Japan. All the staff is Japanese and most of the background chatter is Japanese. The radio is playing old rock hits from the 70s/80s, just like in Japan! I stopped in for lunch and had curry ramen. It took awhile for it to arrive at my table because they had to take time to make up a fresh batch of noodles. The beef was nice and tender and the curry had just enough spice to give it a very nice flavor.

The waitress brough a nice starter of bean sprouts and tofu.

Oiishi desu!

The food has a very light taste and didn't leave a heavy feeling in my stomach.

They have a nice selection of adult beverages, beer and sake

You can see the chef making noodles. This place used to be a sushi bar, which explains the sushi cases at the counters. This is located on Western, just a few blocks south of Redondo Beach Blvd on the West side of the street. If you want a different and freshly made noodles give this place a go

Onsen John

About this blog

This blog is to document my travels to variuos onsen (hotsprings) in Japan. I will also ramble on about different Japanese resturants I've been to in Southern California in the LA area and in Japan.

An onsen (温泉, onsen) is a Japanese hot spring. Many springs are developed, having an associated outdoor bath (rotenburo (露天風呂, rotenburo) or notenburo (野天風呂, notenburo)) and/or indoor bath. Baths may be either public run by a municipality or private (uchiyu (内湯, uchiyu)) often run by a local inn (ryokan (旅館, ryokan)) or B&B (minshuku (民宿, minshuku)).

Onsens are often found out in the countryside, and are a major tourist attraction drawing Japanese couples, families or company groups who want to get away from the hectic life of the city to relax. Japanese often talk of the virtues of 'naked communion' (裸の付き合い, hadaka no tsukiai)) for breaking down barriers and getting to know people in the relaxed homey atmosphere of an onsen inn. The presence of an onsen is often indicated on signs and maps by the symbol ♨ or the Chinese character 湯 (for hot water).

People often travel to onsen with work colleagues, as the relaxed and open atmosphere helps to break down some of the hierarchical stiffness inherent in Japanese work life. However, most visitors to onsen are not work groups but friends, couples and families. It is not unusual to see a father or mother introducing a small child to the onsen for the first time. Very small children of either gender up to about 10 years old can often be seen in both male and female baths. Mixed-gender bathing is a tradition that persists at onsen in the more rural areas of Japan, although these days there is usually a separate bath for women only in addition to the mixed bath, or a time period designated for female-only bathing.

Onsen etiquette

Ensuring Cleanliness

At an onsen, as at a sento, guests are expected to wash their bodies and rinse themselves thoroughly before entering the hot water. The indoor baths have faucets with removable shower heads and little stools to sit on, for showering and shampooing.

Swimsuits

Many traditional onsen out in the countryside have rules forbidding wearing swimsuits into the bath, saying that these make it harder to clean. Some modern onsen in larger towns though have more of a waterpark atmosphere, and actively encourage the use of swimsuits, especially in their mixed baths.

Towels

Onsen guests generally bring a small towel with them to use as a washcloth. The towel can also provide a modicum of modesty when walking between the washing area and the baths. Some onsen allow one to wear the towel into the baths, while others have posted signs prohibiting this, saying that it makes it harder to clean the bath. In this latter case, people normally set their towels off to the side of the water when enjoying the baths. However, some people place their folded towels on top of their heads.