In 2019, Peggy and I came to Japan for a workshop.  We stayed in a guesthouse in the town of Bessho Onsen near where the workshop would be held.  We loved the little hot springs town and our host was the best.

This year, we returned with Wendy and Sally.  They all stayed at the same place for a night before I got there and I joined them for the last night.  Our host was just as wonderful.  Rumi picked me up at the train station and took me to the guesthouse.  She had lunch reserved for us at a nearby restaurant.  The breaded pork cutlet was perfect.  We wandered around town.  The town was very quiet. After massages at the guesthouse we headed out for dinner which Rumi had also reserved for us.  And a last stop at the outdoor foot bath before settling in for the night.

Rumi is a pottery artist and the guest house is behind her art gallery.  Her husband does decorative iron work.  The guest house, rental cabin and beautiful garden in the middle are so artfully and thoughtfully decorated.  The gallery is full of special hand made things from her and other local artists.

Breakfast the next morning (reserved by our host) was at a small restaurant we had been to before where no one spoke English, but they were so happy to serve us.  Actually no one spoke English in the other restaurants either.  After breakfast, Rumi gathered with us in the guesthouse kitchen to make matcha tea for us.  She said it wasn’t an official tea ceremony, but taught us about the different elements of a tea ceremony and how to receive the tea and the sweets that were served along with the tea. 

After wandering around town some more, we were loaded into two taxis and taken to the retreat center.