The Bath in the Sky

Solitude and Clarity: a bath in the sky?

The sense of pure calmness has become more elusive as the years flow by. That emotion of pure peace where our thoughts become physical words that we can speak and share with ourselves and ourselves only. Where can we cleanse our mind, and where does this peace of isolation exist? It’s up in the skies…literally.

The idea of a Japanese Onsen (Hot Springs) brings confusion to a lot of people unaware of the culture. It is a public bath where facilities for showering are available as well as a variety of hot baths to suit different needs. High up on the prefectures of Gunma and Nagano in Japan, the Manza Onsen has been officially declared as the highest Onsen in the whole of Japan. The area attracts tourists mainly in the winter months due to its powder snow and ski slopes surrounding the area. Traditionally, the Onsen is used to relax and to cleanse the mind. 27 different origins of water enter the hot springs, and many have claimed that certain physical afflictions and problems get cured as a result. It’s a place of peace, solitude and quiet high up in the mountains.

I was fortunate enough to Journey to the Manza Onspring when I was only 15 years old. A school trip led us trekking up the mountains before finally resting at the Hot Springs to ease our aching bodies. The quaint and quietness of the area was what surprised me away from my home in Central Tokyo. The noise disappeared and the wind took over all the sounds around me. The place was miraculously clean and ready for use, and the owners were pleased to see travellers. We were treated as guests of honour with food and drinks all provided to us before and after our baths.

It may be off the beaten path, and high up in the sky. But could Manza Onsen be the place to bring solitude to our lives, and a sense of self back? It’s an experience I will never forget, and I hope to revisit soon.

Those Cobbled Streets...

“Rome is the city of love”

I’ll never forget hearing that sentence repeatedly upon my journey to Rome over 5 years ago with my family. A simple family holiday to a place with, history that is so complex and full of adventure and questions, seems so strange. I was much younger when I visited Rome, but the image of entering a place full of amphitheatres and the Colosseum preserved and unmoved is very hard to forget. The one image I never seem to forget is the cobbled streets that lay throughout the city. The sign and tradition of importance is what it told me; a place full of history even in its streets that were built upon centuries ago. These images appear in my dreams at times, just randomly reminding me of how lucky I am to have had the ability to enter a place of so much wonder.

I hope to re-visit Rome in the future, and travel further around Italy as a result. There are many things I want to re-discover in my memory, and one of these places being The Vatican City. We did enter its hallowed areas upon visit, but the memory is so vague. I don’t want to simply reaccount something from simple research from the internet. I want to give my memory out of how I remember it unfold, and the emotions that struck me. Let me think…yes…it was sacred, very sacred indeed. A place that had me shaking a bit inside of disbelief that we had entered it. The centre of the religion I had grew up learning and understanding, and it all centred here. Only years later did I understand the relevance of this place, and its importance in a Christians follower’s mind. It was the centre point of all pilgrimages, and the place to visit upon travel.

It must be so interesting growing up in Rome. How do you live around so much history that is just outside of your window each morning, and on your way to school. Its just how obvious it is that shocks me, as to where I live now in Perth. It is less obvious, and you have to dig deep to uncover the history of how Perth and Western Australia began. It’s the historical nature from every angle that takes you aback, but something that remains in your mind forever. I wish I could give a more accurate representation of this place, and maybe when I next travel there I will write again about it’s beautiful cobbled streets and history. 

What is a Liveable City?

We all want to feel safe in our houses, safe in our streets and safe in our towns or suburbs. That sort of safety and tranquillity is all a part of the scale of Liveability of an area or place. Every year, surveys are completed as part of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s: Global Liveability Survey, and these explain where in the world may be the nicest and more adequate place to live in based on several factors. These factors include: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and also infrastructure. These categories are compiled together to gather a score out of a 100 to see how liveable a place may be to live or habituate within.

Stability

The stability has several indicators like the other categories, and these include: crime, violent crime, terror, military conflict and civil unrest.  Now at first glance, stability doesn’t seem to relate at all to crime rates and violence. In society, stability can also be related to economic and financial causes and if someone is able to live a stable life where employment is available and the space to grow a family. However for this survey it is dependent on crime rates, and the severity of violence. Does this mean the aspects of economic stability and similar aspects are forgotten? Well the survey is all about hardship and the lack of, and is based around the ability to live safely (if possible) in an area, and so forgets aspects that will lead on from living in a decent place, such as employment and opportunities. It’s about if a place provides certain things such as a low crime rate in this case.

Does the particular place have conflicts that will harm living stage? That is what stability is based around in this context.

Healthcare

This is obviously about the ability to get medical attention, and takes into account the two different sides of medical care: public and private. Are both available, and what is the quality of these areas. Interestingly, the availability of over-the-counter drugs is also regulated and surveyed as well. This can explain a lot about a place, if they have the ability and money to fund and sell medicines and drugs that are expensive but effective. It adds up to how available medical assistance is of a place. Healthcare is a prime concern to many places in the world, especially third world countries which lack the money to afford adequate health care to cure disease and illnesses.

Education

This is a smaller section that is surveyed, and explains about the availability of private education and also public. However the survey does not look at the quality of public education which is different, and questionable. Is it saying that the quality of public education is unimportant, or doesn’t add to a places liveability? Surely if the local education that was public was at a high level it would produce a much smarter population in the long run, as not many children are able to study at private institutions due to financial reasons. Interesting stuff!

Culture and Environment

This is always an important section, and covers the most in all of the survey. Its all about how available certain aspects of a community are, and these can include sporting events and cultural activities, food and drinks and ability to buy and consume goods and services. The area that is the most strange is how humidity and temperature/climate is also measured in comparison to discomfort of travellers. This pretty much says that any country who has high humidity levels will score a very low result in this area. Maybe a more clear and better way of measurement can be seen through how a place responds to these conditions to make the place liveable. That would be a much more accurate response that really shows how a place is liveable is how they respond to natural environments that may cause discomfort.

Infrastructure

Basically just the quality of transport and provisions of services such as water and energy. This is clearly all money based, and the place who is able to place enough money into the area for transport and planning will succeed in this area easily.

Overall, the survey hits a lot of important areas of how liveable a city is, but lacks in how responses to discomfort is not measured. A place may not have the best transport facilities, but its their response as a result to their issues of lack of money or resources. I think a more in depth look into how a city continues with the