Soaking it up…

We spent yesterday morning wandering Osaka in 35C heat and glorious sunshine. But after a few hours of walking and exploring, the weather began to take its toll.

After we got back to the hotel, @TheFrankFlyer headed to the pool for a swim while I, counterintuitively, headed for the sauna! I know, I know – out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Well usually, except this being a Japanese spa, it also had a freezing cold plunge pool to accompany the hot bath. So I spent a very lovely 90mins alternating between sauna, plunge pool and hot bath. By the time I was done, I felt like I was walking on air and my exhausted feet were a thing of the past.

I previously wrote about my body confidence issues. Well, while I had the spa to myself for some time, I was eventually joined by two Japanese men and two European guys. Instead of bolting out the door, like my mind was suggesting, I stayed where I was and even ended up having a conversation with one of the guys – who turned out to be from Finland.

We were sharing the quite-too-small-for-two-men cold bath, so it was hard to ignore each other! After initial pleasantries, we shared out observations on Osaka as a city. I didn’t probe, but my guess was he worked for Finnair. He regularly flies to Osaka but only stays for a day or two – which sounds a lot like cabin crew.

Anyway, the conversation took my mind off what others might think about my body and I was half-way back to our hotel room before I even remembered about the whole issue.

So thank you, random Finnish man, for taking my mind off it.

I slept for 8.5hrs last night, which I really, really needed. I felt like a new man when I woke up this morning. We had a leisurely breakfast in the lounge, finished packing and we’re now at Itami airport, waiting for our flight to Tokyo.

I can’t wait to get there – it’s my favourite place on earth, no doubt about it. I’m looking forward to so much, especially catching up with friends. But also the food, the nightlife and the onsen experiences.

Yes, more soaking and sauna-time. I think I’m over caring what others think of how I look in the buff. For now, at least.

(Photo by Tore F on Unsplash)