Aso Hotel
16 Feb 2006 |At the end of the first day we arrived in Aso Town. Aso is a small town that is famous for spring water. In fact, I was shocked to find that the bottled water I buy at 7-11 every morning is bottled in Aso. It’s printed right on the label. As soon as I got over my momentary shock we arrived at our hotel, the aptly named Aso Hotel.
Aso Hotel was a mix of Japanese and western style. The lobby, hallways and gift shops were straight up Holiday Inn, but the guest rooms had tatami floors, futons in place of beds and shouji sliding doors. Very Japanese… The hotel also had it’s own built-in hot spring, so Azusa decided to go and relax for a little while. I opted not to go because I had seen enough naked dudes for one day… Instead I stayed in the room, drank orange Nachan and wondered if the fine citizens of Aso were lucky enough to have private hot springs in their houses as well.
When Azusa returned to the room we ate some birthday treats. We didn’t exactly have a proper cake, but we bought some brownies and pudding at a shop near the Kurokawa Hot Springs. They were super yummy! Soon after we finished eating, it was time for bed. It felt really great to relax in the evening and celebrate Azusa’s birthday, but the busy day had taken its toll on us. I think we must have fallen asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow…
The morning view of town complete with refreshing Aso spring water.
Next stop: Takachiho Gorge