Zao Onsen
Our friend organized a weekend ski tip to Yamgata/Zao Onsen. Sadly, the snow monsters had melted because of the warm weather lately but it was still a great trip. We had some great views from the mountain.
Afterwards, we walked around the town and visited two onsens – a small cedar public onsen and another onsen with a great outdoor bath. Here’s a view of the town at night.
The next day we decided to skip skiing to check out the quaint town during the day and go to another onsen. Hot spring waters flow freely throughout the town. It pretty cool. We also tried a foot bath in town – it was very HOT! See the steam from the onsen water…
The area had some great food, too – edamame and fruits. The edamame was yummy – I think the izakaya we tried put butter in their edamame. Friend, food, skiing and onsen = a great weekend.
Good thing you guys are not letting your snowboarding skills slide! hahaha! Man, we’re having great snow this year in Tahoe! Bummer, we’re not taking advantage of it more, but we’re headed up next weekend. Dude, Maggie got new Northwave boots for $20!