I would pay a substantial portion of my travel budget for the prize of cleanliness and zen.

Located 2 hours away from Kyoto, Kinosakionsen is a delightful town that - as its name implies - is full of onsens: seven public onsens, in fact, if you don't include the onsens that are located within the individual ryokans in town. As an added bonus, if you stay in town at a ryokan, you get an "onsen pass" that can be used as much as you want at the public onsens. If you can only go to one, however, Goshonoyu Onsen in the centre of town is a wise choice as it features an amazing outdoor bath facing a rocky waterfall. And good news for those with tattoos: the seven public onsens are very tattoo-friendly!

So imagine this: after showering off the toxins of the city and your filthy, filthy sins, you take a step into the outdoors where a brisk 0 degrees Celsius wind greets you. All of you. Your full naked body. In front of you is a rocky hillside covered with maples holding onto the last remnant of autumn leaves. As the wind picks up, the leaves fly off the tree and fall gently into the pool at the base of the hill. The pool could comfortably fit 20 or 30 people, but luckily it's early in the morning and only one other person is already in the water. The water is steaming and you're not quite sure what to expect when you dip your feet into the water. No, it's not scalding, but it is hot, though in comparison to the cold chilling wind, the hot water invites you to submerge your entire body to protect you from mother nature's elements. First your legs, then your waist, then your chest, and finally your arms. You're not quite sure if the water is *too* hot, but you eventually give in to the heat as you lie back on the edge of the pool. Your eyes scale the rocky wall in front of you, climbing all the way to the top where the glow of sunrise peeking from behind the hill. The muscles in your body, initially tense from the intensity of the heat, give in to the warmth and relax. First your legs, then your waist, and then the chest, and finally your arms. You take a deep breath in and sigh.

And then it hits you.

You've reached that moment of zen.

Mogami-gawa.