s-p-l-a-t

Going to the Feelies

all dressed up and ready to go

     I hadn't been to a cinema theater in some years, so I was surprised recently to find that I had a choice of theaters, 2D and 3D screens and type of seat selections all within the same cinema complex for the latest Episode of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Naturally the ticket price varies according to your selection. The most expensive ticket included a private lounge with its own drink and food concessions—something like the VIP lounge in airports.

view from the moving seats

        We chose a less expensive theater with a 3D screen and seats that sway and shake you up coordinated with the action on the screen. Readers of Science Fiction, especially older ones, will no doubt be familiar the Aldous Huxley's 1932 sci-fi cum distopic novel Brave New World. In contrast to another dystopic novel of the same period 1984 by George Orwell, which controls by fear, Huxley's work controls through total gratification of desire. Given the choice most people would prefer Brave New World to 1984. In place of threats and surveillance, promiscuity and pleasure. One of the pleasures available to the inhabitants of the brave new world was a cinematic experience called “The Feelies”. The feely palace was so wired that all of the physical senses were employed in the enjoyment of the film.

red seats sway and jostle you

anticipation

        After seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 3D and being swayed and jostled by the seat it occurred to me that the real world was catching up to the sci-fi predictions in Huxley's novel. Adding the sense of scent and a little fine tuning in the tactile and you could participate in a passionate on screen kiss and more.

        Well, it was kind of fun having planets blow up in your face and fighters whizzing by just outside of touching range and disappearing behind your ear. After being jostled around in your seat in time to the cannon blasts and crashes a brief respite of tranquility was very welcome. The volume of of the ultra Dolby system left my ears ringing for a few hours (if not days) and I could feel the tension in my neck and shoulder muscles from being tossed around in my seat for over two hours.

         As for the story and plot line it was pretty standard for the Star Wars episodes. If you've seen one you've seen 'em all kind of thing. Dragging Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher out of retirement was a mixed success at best. Older Han Solo tried to be the sarcastic/cute young Solo, but it doesn't really work in a 70-something guy. Carrie Fisher seems mostly weary and depressed. You are left wondering whatever happened to Princess Leia, that spunky wisecracking young ingenue. All in all Hollywood hasn't really been able to overcome the nostalgia and affection people have for the original three Star Wars (IV, V, VI) episodes. Except for the evolution of the wonders of technology it makes you question the wisdom of making sequels—great for box office, so so great for creativity and quality.

        After being thrown around in our seats for over two hours we were rather hungry and had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in the same mall as the cinema complex. It was a rather warmish evening and pleasant for a walk to the parking lot to pick up the car. All in all, a nice change of pace and evening out. 

Lake Yubara and Katsuyama

LAKE YUBARA

Yubara Dam

     There is a dam visible from the thermal pools at Yubara Onsen which make a dramatic backdrop when you consider all the water being held back behind that dam. In spite of the relaxation induced by the hot water there is always that little what if (as in what if the dam breaks) in the back of your mind—not enough to induce paranoia but just enough to give a little spice of apprehension to the experience.

        In all the years since we started going to Yubara we had never gone up to the dam or seen the reservoir called Lake Yubara formed by damming the river. The dam is very high and consequently the lake is extensive. A satellite or map view looks like a monster with a long pigtail. We learned that there is a road across the dam and a long winding road that parallels the southern shore of the lake as well as a nature park. We decided to drive up to the dam and have a look at the lake and do some walking in the nature park after checking out of our ryokan.

Map: Lake Yubara

nature park entrance
and spattered Demi

Lake Yubara

        After a rainy previous day the weather was improving and the sun was breaking through the clouds promising a nice day. We crossed the dam and drove to the nature park which is situated on a peninsula and has a nice viewpoint. The park was deserted and the walking path proved to be very hilly but doable. As we climbed up towards the end of the trail we saw a viewing platform sitting on the crest of a rather steep incline that had to be negotiated on steps that were covered with wet slippery leaves. The view from the platform wasn't particularly dramatic or spectacular, just a nice mix of air, earth and water with an occasional touch of fire when the sun peeped out from behind a cloud. Coming down the wet slippery steps proved dicier than going up, but accomplished without mishaps.

platform with a scenic view
(if you can reach it)

the view from the platform (we reached it)


<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

KATSUYAMA

antique sewing machine

Mickey D inspiration? noren

         After leaving the nature park we drove along the lake for several kilometers and then veered south to return to the Asahi River and along the river to the city of Katsuyama which has preserved an old merchant area. The area is interesting for a couple of reasons: the unique (暖簾) noren* on the shops, and an old boat canal that was used to supply the merchant's shops. The shops therefore back onto the river and front onto the street that parallels the river.

auto repair shop noren

bicycle shop noren

post office noren

tea shop nore

*Noren are traditional Japanese fabric dividers, hung between rooms, on walls, in doorways, or in windows. They usually have one or more vertical slits cut from the bottom to nearly the top of the fabric. Noren are rectangular and come in many different materials, sizes, colors, and patterns. Exterior noren are traditionally used by shops and restaurants as a means of protection from sun, wind, and dust, and for display of the shop name or logo. [Wikipedia]

Katsuyama preserved merchant street

rear of merchant shops on Asahi River boat canal

A Room with the Ultimate View

     “Your room has a beautiful view; depending, of course, on what you think is beautiful,” the room attendant joked as she ushered us into our 旅館 [ryokan] room at 湯原温泉[Yubara Onsen].

        In Okayama Prefecture, a river called the 旭川[Asahikawa] runs more or less north to south from the mountain divide in the north of the prefecture to the Inland Sea. It is a rather scenic river with, Yubara, one of our favorite onsen 温泉 (hot springs) with thermal pools in the river in the northern part of the prefecture. The same river flows through our city and, in fact, you can drive along the river all the way to the hot spring. It is a very scenic drive that takes about two to two and a half hours of pleasant country driving to get there.

Map: River Road to Yubara Onsen

thermal pools and Asahikawa, Yubara Onsen

        The unique thing about Yubara is the open air thermal pools in the river that are free of charge and feature mixed bathing, both a rarity in Japan these days. Nudity is de rigueur when using the pools although they are in plain view of anyone passing by. Public nudity is commonplace in Japan in the popular hot spring culture that the country enjoys. Japan is blessed, thanks to its volcanic geology, with a large network of natural thermal springs, and the Japanese have developed a culture built around public bathing. Nowadays the sexes are separated in the hot spring hotels' communal baths. But Yubara upholds an older tradition of mixed bathing in the town-run thermal pools in the river. Naturally, there are many ryokan with their own spas, but they conform to the more modern separated baths. Many onsen ryokan, however, feature private baths for mixed bathing on a reservation basis. 

the ryokan lobby, Asahikawa through the window

        We decided to take an overnight trip for an early celebration of Xmas and my birthday and booked a room with breakfast and dinner included at a ryokan overlooking the public pools—the circumstance that led to the room attendant's quip about “the beautiful view”.

THE "BEAUTIFUL VIEW"

notice the woman wrapped in a special wrap

in the roof bath

        After checking out the “view” we decided to soak in the hotel's roof bath in the rain before dinner. The roof bath is open air and there was nobody else in the men's bath. I could hear Road Buddy on the other side of the fence in the women's bath so I suggested she come over to the men's side since there was no one else there. She did, no other men showed up, and we enjoyed a relaxing soak together until it was time to get ready for dinner, which included a birthday cake for me after the meal.

EINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIK

        It was still raining after dinner but we decided to go out to the open air thermal springs in the river (a must) anyway. The hotel provided umbrellas for guests but, to our surprise, the rain had let up as we left the lobby of the hotel and the umbrellas were unnecessary but we carried them anyhow. There was only one other man in the bath when we arrived so we moved to an empty pool and, being alone, took out the camera and had a lot of fun taking pictures in the light of lamps around the pools. I will say that although mixed bathing is the rule at Yubara, most of the bathers tend to be men who seem to be less shy about taking it all off. Women are allowed to wear a special towel in the pools, although swim wear is strictly prohibited. So, you will rarely see women in the pools in daylight. (We went to Yubara with a couple from Spain last summer and the women were the only ones in the pools surrounded by admiring lads in the afternoon. Naturally, they loved the attention.) In general though, for the ladies, soaking in the outside pools is more comfortable at night. That is why we especially like Yubara at night. It is very special when you are there on a snowy night in winter. It didn't snow this time around, but it did start raining again while we were in the pool. And that is third best. Second best is when the moon breaks through the clouds on a snowy evening. 

under a lamp post - ryokan in the background

Happy Holidays