Traveling in Japan: Hot Springs in Gunma-ken Part II

Here are some hilarious knickknacks we found at Yamada-ya :

What the...?




It's a penholder!


That screams!


And in the bathroom, there is another obscene trinket:


Anyways, with its great service, good, fresh food, free private baths, and infinitely entertaining trinkets all around the hotel, Yamada-ya lived up to the highest hotel standards.

We left there at 10 a.m. the next morning (the check-out time) and they drove us to the station where we took the express to Ikaho, the famous hot spring district, to hunt for one of the Three Udons of Japan, Mizusawa Udon (水沢うどん)(the other two being the Sanuki Udon （讃岐うどん）of Kagawa Prefecture, and the Inaniwa Udon (稲庭うどん）of Akita Prefecture).

Ikaho is about an hour south of Manza-Kazawaguchi by express (1750yen). Once we got there, we decided on the fly to stay there for the night.

Stay tuned for incredible Mizusawa Udon and UNREAL mushroom tempura, plus a cool hotel called Tenbo.