Strawberry Picking and Ganbanyoku in Izu

Yesterday I met up with an old friend, Naoko, who I haven't seen in a few years. We have kept in touch, and decided to finally get together yesterday for a day of anything. She suggested strawberry picking followed by trying out a ganbanyoku (hot stone slab) in Izu-Nagaoka (Izu).

Strawberry picking here is an interesting experience - not the same as apple picking in Canada. Here, we paid 1500 yen each at the strawberry "office". We were given a slip of paper with the number 31 on it, and told to wait in our car behind the white truck #25, and to follow that same truck which, when a few cars were waiting, led us trough the neighborhood and to the miniature greenhouse number 31. In this little greenhouse were four longish rows of neatly groomed strawberry bushes. Each person (eventually about 25 people) was given a little plastic cup with a bit of sweet dip in it for the strawberries. People walked around picking and eating the berries. It was all you could eat, but you couldn't actually take any home with you. I had about 15 strawberries in total - worth it for the fun we had in the "berry bushes".

Naoko and her Strawberry - you can see the little plastic dishes she is holding (one is mine):

After we'd had our fill of strawberries, we drove a few kilometres to the "Guho no Yu" onsen/ spa, where we spent a couple of hours in the bath and ganbanyoku. The ganbanyoku was fabulous. I'm not sure whether these are popular in North America, but they've quite taken off here. A ganbanyoku is a room with hot stone slabs that you lie on - the heat seaps into your body, warming you almost from the inside out. You sweat profusely, but it is somehow a different quality of heat than in a sauna, and it's very relaxing. You can see the spa with the ganbanyoku here:
http://www.4115.co.jp/2617/bathroom.html

We also did a little shopping at a new Uniqlo that had opened up and stopped for a very filling pasta dinner at Cannery Row in Mishima. By the time I parked my little Pajero Mini back in its usual spot and climbed up the stairs to my apartment, I was relaxed and at satisfied. And very, very sleepy:-)