Herpes scars

My husband likes to go to "onsen" or "hot springs" with me.  He doesn't like visiting any hot spring alone because he feels lonely with strangers: he always wants someone to talk with.  He likes hot springs which has a large tatami mat room which serves as a resting place after warming himself up in a large bath tub.   He brings his pillow and lie down on the tatami.

This picture was borrowed from Yoi Onsen website.

Our first visit to the onsen was last March 22 after I had been diagnosed with Herpes last October.  My dermatologist [der-ma-TO-lo-jist] said that it's okay to go to hot springs when my bloody rashes are healed.

But I was still afraid of that the scars of my lower chest and my back make other people feel uncomfortable until these days.  Maybe someone would ask me "What's the scars of your skin?  Have you ever visited any doctor?  Aren't they contagious?"  I didn't want to be asked such questions.

I was not still ready to hot springs in a town because it is usually crowded with people.  But I thought it might be okay to "Yoi Onsen" in the countryside of Shiso city, Hyogo Prefecture.   Compared with  hotspring in a town, Yoi Onsen is less crowded.  Moreover, I believe visitors there are quieter than town people.

When we visited Yoi Onsen a few years ago, we saw an advertisement board telling its good quality.  Someone who had been affected with skin disease was cured after several visits.  They may welcome people like me, that was the reason I decided to visit there again.

While I was in a changing room, there were a few people, but no one told me anything.  I also shared the same bath tub with them, but they did not tell me anything as well.  Maybe they didn't notice my skin clearly because of the steamy air.

The atmosphere of staying in a large tatami room relaxed us even more.  We stayed there for two hours including a 30-minute in a bath tub.  We came back home feeling refreshed and happy!