Suwa - A trip to a hot spring

After my husband went home (he couldn't take more than two weeks off), my son and I were vegging at my parents' house in Iida and started to get a bit stir crazy. So I convinced my parents to go on a little trip to a hot spring. Our destination was Suwa, about an hour drive to north from Iida. Suwa is a city located in the very center of Nagano Prefecture and is known for Lake Suwa, a medium sized lake upstream of Tenryu River. The lake shore is dotted with hot spring inns, and we decided to stay at one of them.

Took us about an hour on Chuo Express Way (a toll highway which connects Nagoya to Tokyo through mountain regions) to get to Suwa.  Before we checked in, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Suwa is also known for unagi, or eels, and that's what we had. Eels are split and broiled with soy sauce over charcoal.  They are usually served with rice. Eels are a popular dish in the summer since it is supposed to help you fight heat exhaustion during the hot season.

After lunch and a short stroll by the lake, we checked in at our inn. It was a Japanese style inn, typical of hot springs.  The stay included dinner and breakfast, and all we needed to do other than eating is soaking in a hot spring whenever we wanted to and otherwise getting relaxed in our tatami room.  While I was there, I took a bath for three times, twice at night and once in the morning! Ah, heavenly...