Since October and November are great months in Japan - definitively my preferred period of the year - we plan a lot of day trips during in Autumn. That week-end, we decided to go to Shiobara, a famous onsen resort in Tochigi-ken, a little north of Nikko. This was a suggestion from my co-workers at Central Glass, who know how much I enjoy soaking in a traditionnal Japanese outside bath... Unfortunately, this was a 3-days week-end (another strange Holiday, namely Culture Day), and many Japanese had the same idea. So reaching the place, only located 200 kilometers from Kawagoe, took more than 4 hours and a half...

But Japanese adore koyo, the coloured trees in Autumn, so they don't mind the crowd...

Here are some pictures of the first onsen:

Sorry, but since the second one was a mixed one and since we went there during the night, there is no pictures available - just that one, taken after the bath!