Mammoth in Churui
Who would have expected a Mammoth? If you did, 10 points to Gryffindor！ No but seriously, in 1969 they found a huge fossil as an agricultural road was being constructed. Soon a mammoth of type Naumann Elephant was excavated, a museum plus park were built, and Churui gained some prehistoric street cred. I found out all of that after arrival, as my initial goal was simply to check out another nice onsen. That day, the outside temperature exceeded 30° C, so only hardcore onsen addicts and mental people would think of visiting an onsen. Naturally, my onsen buddy, Hide-san, picked me up and we were on our way to suffer in the boiling heat.
There we have it, Mammoth Onsen in all it’s glory. The exterior is dominated by fashionable concrete curves, reminiscing of some super hero’s bio shelter. I have to say, the onsen was actually quite nice. Very wide spaces and modern feel. I wouldn’t say they have too many features, but everything is rather solid. It’s also always nice when onsen implement proper air flow systems. Otherwise, the air inside can become so wet and thin that breathing is not the same anymore. If you’re in the area, I would definitely advise you to check it out and relax in their nice and cozy rotenburo. If I had to review my onsen experience under the glistening sun, I’d say it was actually quite refreshing and definitely worthwhile.
Our next stop was the Michi no Eki, which is only a few steps away. On our walk I found this depiction of Churui’s mascot, PAO-kun the mammoth. In the background you can see a flower garden, which also contains a golden bell in its center. Somehow, bells are everywhere in Churui. Hide-san told me that Churui was a popular spot among newly weds because there was a train station, which promises never ending happiness. This is supposedly because of some unintended kanji magic in the station’s name.
There you have it, another example of the kind of serene park atmosphere that I have tried to show you. I know that if I was half the size I am now, I’d be stoked about the slide and water playground. The play area extends far beyond the photo on both sides. There is also two park golf courses, one for beginners and one for advanced players. So there’s also something for the aged children among us.
Lastly, I wanted to show you these concrete plates with intricate prints on them. Actually, there’s probably a dozen of these in the same place, but you’ll have to check those out during your own visit to Churui. Besides the mammoth part of history there is several other plates about agriculture and the town. Aight, that concludes my day trip to Churui. Be well and dream big. Dom signing out, Pax!
