Yugawara: The Great Escape

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Desmond Campbell

While Harajuku, RoppongiAn area of Tokyo very famous for its high concentration of nightlife and popularity among the foreign population. , and ShibuyaOne of Tokyo's 23 wards and a center of business, fashion, and nightlife. are nice, sometimes I just need to get away from all the skyscrapers, the people, and the noise. I need to see some trees, breathe some fresh air, and have a little peace and quiet. At the same time, I don’t want to spend a long time traveling or pay an arm and a leg.

Only about an hour from YokohamaJapan's second largest city and the capital of Kanagawa prefecture. on the Tokaido line, Yugawara is a great place to take a deep breath and slow down. I visited there recently to escape the city life for a couple days. I even enjoyed the train ride. It may have been because it was a weekday, but the ride was quiet with plenty of available seats for napping or luggage. I wasn’t complaining. After about a half hour, the scenery out the train window changed from houses and buildings to hills covered in orange trees and the ocean.

The hotel I stayed at had a private onsenA hot spring, often used for bathing. Bathing facilities are often, but not always, communal. May be outdoor or indoor. (I am the shy type and don’t enjoy being naked with strangers). The hotel itself wasn’t so nice not worth mentioning, but there are plenty of other excellent hotels where one can enjoy onsen, both public and private. If you, like me, feel more comfortable being naked alone or with people you know, you too may wish to stay at a hotel with a private onsen. The usual amount of time allotted for guests ranges from thirty minutes to an hour and is included in the price of the room. If it’s not too busy, some of the kinder hotel owners may let you reserve more than one time-slot. If sitting in your birthday suit with strangers is no problem, the public onsen are available to guests without any reservations, usually at any hour.

There are a variety of restaurants to be found, ranging from cheap to expensive, French to Japanese. If you are a pizza lover, Charly’s makes the best handmade pizza’s I’ve had in Japan, and it’s reasonably priced. The rest of the menu is a little spendy, but I found everything to be delicious. To find Charly’s, keep going up Miyaue street (which follows the Chitose river) up the hill towards Hakone. It’s about half a Kilometer past the turn off for Yugawara Koseinenkin Hospital, just off the road to your left.

Before I left, I spent several hours just walking the streets and exploring. The small town feeling was comforting and I got plenty of the alone time I was craving. Just above the station I found an old temple with a great view of the ocean and the surrounding hills. The plum trees were in bloom and I sat under an ancient and gnarled Cedar tree that was at least 500 years old. After an hour or so, I climbed back down the hill to the station to board a train bound for home, refreshed and ready to face another week in city!