Today was a day of relaxation; we spent a few hours at a spa in Takarazuka.
For 800 yen, you can spend pretty much the entire day bathing. Another 800 yen gives you an hour's access to the stone bath; a sauna where you can lie down on a sheet of stone (clad in a special outfit and a towel prevents you from burning yourself) and bake yourself to a crisp, but don't forget to drink some water every 15 minutes or so.
I only brought my compact camera with me and I'm glad I did. You see, in Kyoto, we went for kimono-clad girls as well as temples, but due to the cold weather, everyone did their Hatsumode in ordinary clothes.
So I was glad to spot a girl in full kimono at Takaruka Station. I told her I liked her kimono and asked her whether I could take a picture of her.
She agreed, and the result is shown below:
And yes, the picture has been edited to protect the innocent. ;)
I failed to ask her whether I could use the picture for my blog, so the Laughing Man was kind enough to hack your eyes in order to protect her identity.
Tomorrow is going to be a busy day; we're going to Tokyo to shop till we drop (or something like that).
Cheers, K.