Atami

Atami is in the Shizuoka prefecture on the central Honshu island, near Mount Fuji. It is a major resort, famed for its scenery and its hot springs. Atami was once the site of a geyser which, according to tradition, wrought destruction on the town until curtailed by Buddhist prayers. After an earthquake in 1923 the geyser stopped erupting.

We stayed the finest five-star hotel that I had ever been to.  The Korakuen Hotel is located on the water.  Notice the way the glass front is for each room.  Each room had a front view and some side-view as well.
Here is just part of the view from our room.  All rooms have about the same view.
This is part of the decor in the massive hotel lobby.

Rickshaw rides along the beach were available, along with just about every other type of service you could want.  I went to get a massage and was told that I had to choose between Japanese style and Chinese style.   Wow, you can choose from two different types of massages alone!  Of course, being in Japan, I chose Chinese style!  Actually, Ichi-san recommended that style since my legs were the main source of trouble from all the walking.
This is the outside of one of the rooms.  It's not only beautifully done, it offers the occupants a little privacy when the door is open.  The door is behind the screen on the left.

Inside the Rooms

After stepping inside the door, there is  hallway to the main room.  Notice the tatami mats for flooring.  These are straw mats and are traditional style Japanese.  You can't wear your shoes on this type of floor.  You should only walk on tatami in your socks.

There is a small tea and sake / beer bar in each room.
Here is a closeup of the tea set.

A refrigerator is hidden in the cabinets, under the tea bar.  It has a couple of sodas, but it's mostly sake (good sake is always cold!), and beer.

This is the door to the bathroom where the sinks, shower, and tub are located.  This is the typical style for this hotel.  Very nice woodwork.
Here is me taking a picture of the sinks.  You can see Theresa and I dressed in the hotel's guest robes.  You can wear these robes all over the hotel.  You do not wear anything under the robes.

Here is a separate room with a toilet and a small sink.  At least I thought it was a small sink.  Later, during dinner I was commenting about the small sink (I washed my hands in), when the ladies mentioned that it's actually a urinal!  David said, "WHAT????  I washed my FACE in there!"  We all had a great laugh.  It will be a good story for some years to come.

Come on now... just between us guys, doesn't it look like a sink?  Funny how the ladies knew and we didn't have a clue.
Here is the living room.
Here is a small area attached to the living room.  I am not really sure what it was for.  Now, where is the bedroom??
Ah, here it is.  The maids come around at bedtime and move the small tables in the living room to one side and put out VERY comfortable futons.

Out on the Town
After we got settled in at the hotel we all went out for some unbelievable food.  This is the place where we at the raw baby squids (whole) among many other things; a lot of which, have no name in English.  So, I asked, "Sumimasen, Kore wa Nihongo de nan to imasu ka."  That means, "Excuse me, what do you call this in Japanese?"

It was all good.  I was stuffed!

Hot Springs

After dinner, all of us dressed in robes and went to the hot springs that actually comes into the hotel in several pools found on the 5th floor (top floor is 18).  There are separate areas for men and women because you wear no clothes at all.  Sorry, the pictures from this activity are classified!  The hot springs come from Mount Fuji (a volcano) and the water is salty and is about 102-104 degrees Fahrenheit.  Very comfortable.
   
After the hot springs we were invited to Ichi-san's room for more sake and beer!  We sat around the table in our robes talking, drinking, and laughing; but we had to be a little careful since we still had no clothes under our robes.

Ichi-san entertaining us.  What a gracious and wonderful host.  He's such a busy and successful person, but he takes the time to show his friends a great time.  We spent a few days with him and his wife, Emi-san.  Emi-san is such a delightful and down-to-earth person.
And since I was taking the pictures of the group in the robes, I realized that you ladies out there might be wondering what I look like in a robe.  So, Theresa got this picture of me, after about 10 sake drinks...  "hey, they're small glasses!"

Sunrise in Atami

Despite the drinking last night, we were up at 5am to enjoy the sunrise.  David, Ichi-san, and Edmun went back to the hot springs.  Theresa and I went for a walk along the water.

Here is the sunrise, as it looked from our hotel window.  That is a large bird that appears above the sun and a fishing boat on the bay.
We decided to head down to the shore and the piers for a walk at while the sun was coming up.
Some local fishing boats.

This is what the sunrise looked like from the pier.
 

I am not sure if I have ever found a more peaceful and relaxing place on earth; but combine that with the company, and it made for the most splendid time one could ever ask for.