GlobeRovers Magazine, Dec 2019

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ZAO ONSEN SKI RESORT 708-1 Zao Onsen, Yamagata-City YAMAGATA, 990-2301 JAPAN Tel: +81-23-694-9328 Fax: +81-23-694-9327 A Cool White Powdery Playground Zao Onsen is located in Yamagata City in the northeastern region of Tohoku. It is one of Japan’s most renowned tourist destinations, standing about 800 metres above sea level and among splendid mountains. This traditional hot spring village is surrounded by nature. 18 Globerovers · December 2019
Japan - A Winter Wonderland THE ONSEN OF ZAO After a full day on the ski slopes and an evening with the “snow monsters” where the winter wind is bitterly cold, there is nothing better at Zao than an evening soak in an onsen. In fact, any time of the day or night is a good time for a soak in an onsen. Zao Onsen’s sulphuric waters are among the most acidic in Japan with a pH value of close to 1 on the scale of 1 to 14, with 1 being the most acidic. These waters are reputedly very effective with rejuvenating and strengthening the skin and blood vessels, and therefore popularly known as “the beauty maker” or “springs of beauty”. More precisely, the steaming hot waters are said to aid with the healing of incised wounds, chronic skin diseases, diabetes, hypertension, muscle pains, joint pains, physical exhaustion, and a lot more. If we can believe all these claims then there is no better way to rejuvenate our tired and ageing bodies than right here at Zao’s many onsen. Zao has several onsen which range from small, old-fashioned community baths to modern facilities with various pools. The absolute highlight of Zao’s onsen is the Zao Dai Rotenburo (rotenburo means “outdoor bath”) located at the highest point in Zao Onsen town. This genderseparated outdoor bath is located right in the hot and highly sulphuric mountain streams, surrounded by lush forests. In line with Japanese onsen etiquette, you place your clothes in a black plastic bag and leave it unattended in the wooden changing room, then walk down the wooden path to the pools, totally in the nude. Make sure to take along your small white facial towel available in the changing room, which is used to cover your private parts when outside the bath. While this open-air onsen is officially closed from December to March, I was very lucky that it opened for a single day when I visited on a very snowy day near the end of January. While sitting in the natural baths, my head got covered in a thick layer of snow within minutes. What an incredible experience! Zao Onsen also offers other resort attractions including a Family Snow Park and a Snowboard Park. The resort has easy to understand signs in English, Korean and Chinese as well as Japanese, and the friendly people in the small village are always very welcoming to guests from overseas. ZAO TRAVEL TIPS Most ryokan and many hotels and pensions in Zao Onsen offer their staying guests access to their own onsen. A few of them also open their onsen to nonstaying guests for a small admission fee. Zao Onsen can be reached by air, car, train or bus. Flights from Tokyo’s Haneda airport to Yamagata airport take about an hour, followed by a one-hour bus ride. By car, the journey takes about fi ve hours, while the train from Tokyo via the Japan Rail (JR) Yamagata Shinkansen takes two and a half hours to Yamagata station from where the bus shuttle to Zao Onsen takes 40 minutes. The town has ample restaurants and several choices of accommodation such as resorts, hotels, inns, ryokan, lodges, pensions, and private homes. One of the highlights of Zao is the Dai Rotenburo outdoor bath located at the highest point in Zao Onsen town. It is open once a year! Feature • Japan | 19
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Page 5 and 6: Editor‛s Message “Not all those
Page 7 and 8: Thanks to our Contributors In this
Page 9 and 10: Follow us.... Don’t hesitate to f
Page 11 and 12: SVALBARD ISLANDS Page 60 OMAN Page
Page 13 and 14: JAPAN A WINTER WONDERLAND While any
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Page 19: THE SNOW MONSTERS Zao is one of onl
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Page 25 and 26: THE PRINCESS I came to this lake es
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Page 37 and 38: ESSENTIAL INFORMATION Getting There
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Page 43 and 44: walk to the ends of the earth with
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Page 47 and 48: Gjirokastër Defined by its imposin
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Page 53 and 54: Ksamil Located at the bottom of an
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Page 57 and 58: Butrint About five kilometres (3.1
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Svalbard Islands - North Pole Adven
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Article • Svalbard | 75
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5 Ice Caving 6 Northern Lights 7 Gl
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To achieve this win-win when we tra
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to travel lightly and respectfully.
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Island LIFE Mauritius, Indian Ocean
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In October during Diwali, take a ni
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Pont Naturel Mauritius at Le Souffl
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waves gently lapping at the shoreli
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P.G. Melville Public Beach on the o
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Shopping in Mauritius There is no s
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Oman - Arabian Peninsula Muscat Mus
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exchange money with hosting organiz
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to ommby ... Lizzy Mommy Ciao Mom,
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GlobeRovers Magazine, Dec 2019

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