When I found myself recently on the West Coast of Japan, I took advantage of the downtime for some much-needed body maintenance. You can easily take similar steps where you live or wherever your travels take you. How do YOU handle body maintenance?
Step one, look good. Haircut, shave and massage for roughly $15 and only minutes away by bike from my in-laws’ home.
Step two, exercise. Of course! Niigata city is protected from the Japan Sea by a pine forest or matsubayashi. The trails inside are perfect for running. I had a great time running here and stopping to check the local plant life. I never travel without my Salomon Speedcross trail runners.
Step three, massage. $30 per hour was a great deal and I got my back and shoulders done over several sessions. The clinic was clean and comfortable, the girl was cute and my Japanese language skills were good enough to negotiate everything.
Step four, hot springs. This is a must for every visitor to Japan. The hot water baths feel awesome and when the heat starts to get to you, sneak outside to the open air bath or rotemburo pictured below. For obvious reasons the female bath is discreetly walled off.
Step five, eat well. Japanese food rocks, from sushi and sashimi to a quick bowl of ramen. A $7 bowl of ramen always hits the spot and ramen shops are everywhere. Trying different versions of ramen is great fun.
Nicely recharged, I am now back at work! Don’t forget about your body maintenance.
There is still time to join a free online soils course called Soils: Introducing the world beneath our feet, starting July 6, 2015, and taught by Dr. Carly Stevens from Lancaster University. It’s an online course with videos, articles, audio, discussions and assignments. Students will take part in activities that explore the soils where they live. No prerequisites or experience required, the course is open to all.
