What followed was a stunningly beautiful scenic ride through mountains, dense forests, quaint little villages, and rice fields.
The Japanese have always been known for their deference and hospitality. These qualities became truly noticeable on this day.
Our train arrived in Toyoka with a four minute delay, which had been caused by a car accident.
As soon as we descended, we were greeted by two employees who apologised for the inconvenience and asked us where we were heading to. One of them then ran off to tell the train driver to wait for us while the other guided us to the platform, constantly apologising for the trouble they had caused us.
Without any further incidents we eventually made it to Kinosaki Onsen, where a uniformed driver was waiting for our arrival. He drove us to our hotel and thus spared us the ten minute walk.
When we entered the hotel, the receptionists bowed and welcomed us with a warm smile. At the check-in they told us that they had upgraded our room free of charge, asking if that was okay and thanking us for our consent while bowing deeply.
Instead of the small, western-style hotel room with a double bed we received a an elegant and spacious japanese-style room with a ton of extras. We even had a personal room maid to our disposal!
After donning the yukata and putting on a pair of getas (traditional Japanese wooden sandals) we declined the chauffeur's offer of driving us and got on our way to the town's centre.
We quickly regretted our decision however, as it was extremely difficult and strenuous to walk in those getas (traditional Japanese torture instrument!!!).
Exhausted and in pain we finally reached Kinosaki after what felt like an eternity.
Kinosaki is a small town that is famous for its natural hot springs and high density of onsen baths.
We decided to check out all of the seven onsen, thinking it would be a fun and relaxing way to end the day.
Never have we been so wrong!
It only took two onsen spas to put us in a state of complete exhaustion and to break our spirit.
With the steaming water having sucked up all of our energy, we staggered from onsen to onsen, not willing to give up and wavering between desperation and delirium.
After the fifth onsen we gave up, agreeing that we had already achieved more than any mortal man could have ever dreamed of.
As it seems an onsen marathon has a lot more in common with a regular marathon than one would think.
This was undoubtedly the most tiring day of our holiday!
At the moment we are on our way to Tottori, where we'd like to see the sand dunes and, if possible, do some refreshing paragliding and kayaking.
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