Takahashi-san giving his seminar at Taki no Yu.
日本温泉地域学会関係で知り合った温泉ソムリエ高橋祐次さんが信州高山村の松川松川渓谷温泉郷の滝の湯さんで温泉のセミナーを開催しました。前泊は私ども亀清旅館に泊まってくれて、私がそのセミナーに参加する為に松川渓谷まで追いかけました。
セミナーの内容は温泉の基本の事でしたが、非常に参考になりました。「温泉」の世界が深い中で一番のポイントは「温泉のマナー」とか「入浴ルール」とかはどこに行ってもしつこく書いてあるけど、実はそれは自分自身の体を守る事にもなる。
・入浴前に掛け湯をする
衛星の面はもちろんあるけど、お湯の温度に慣らす事によって、血圧上昇で心臓に負担かけを防げる。
・浴室で十分身体に付いた水滴をとる
脱衣場を汚さない為にもなるけど、気化熱で体冷えも防げる。
など。
でも、一番はやはり、水分補給だと、高橋さんが言っていました。先日、亀清旅館のお客さんでお酒を飲んでからお風呂に入って、上ったら血貧になったせいか、たおりました。お風呂とお酒で水分が飛ばしたでしょう。
高橋さん、良いアドバイスを有難うございました。
Mr. Yuji Takahashi and I originally met through the Japan Onsen Regional Science Association. He came back to Nagano to give a seminar on onsen basics at Taki no Yu in Takayama Village. He spent the night before here at Kamesei Ryokan, and I followed him up to Takayama Village to listen to his presentation.
Takahashi-san's talk simplified many of the sometimes confusing details about onsens. His main conclusion was that many of the "Onsen Manners" and "Rules for Onsen Bathing" actually serve the dual purpose of protecting our bodies. For example:
*Pour water on your body before entering the bath.
Not only does this allow you to enter the common bath with a clean body, but it gives your body a chance to adjust to the temperature of the bath, avoiding a spike in your blood pressure.
*Towel off before leaving the bath area.
This helps avoid making the changing room slippery, but it also means your body will have a less chance of developing chills due to evaporation.
One of Takahashi-san's constant points was to drink lots of liquids. Bathing in an onsen actually dehydrates your body. We recently had a guest here at Kamesei Ryokan that took a soak in our onsen bath after drinking too much sake. When he got out of the bath, he passed out since the sake and onsen bath left him too dehydrated.
Takahashi-san, thank you for all of your great advice!
