Day trip Isawa Onsen

It was a 3-day weekend. I didn't make any travel plans but I didn't want to spend the entire weekend without going anywhere, so I found a deal for a day trip to wine country. It was to a winery that I've never been. The deal included the express train and free wine tasting.

I did some googling and found a hotel run by the same group that run a chain of shops offering a variety of cakes and ice cream. The review of their restaurant was positive and lunch comes with a sweets buffet. Plus, the hotel also offers their onsen (hot spring spa) for day use, not just for overnight guests. Sold!

Since all the early morning trains were fully booked, I had to book a train later in the morning, which got me to the onsen town called Isawa Onsen at noon. Even that train was fully booked by the time I got on. I guess I'm not the only one making last-minute bookings for seats on an express train. Fortunately, I didn't experience any serious delays to get to Shinjuku, where the express train departed from. FYI, Shinjuku station is a total nightmare if you don't know your way around or didn't do any research beforehand. If you took the wrong set of stairs or escalators up to ground level, you'll end up at the wrong side of the station from the platform you want to catch the train from, so you either have to navigate the maze underground or get a ticket from the attendant that will allow you to leave the station, cross the highway, and enter from the other side.

The weather was overcast with threats of rain. The forecast said 60% rain with warnings of the possibility of heavy rains. It rained buckets a couple of days before bringing unexpected flooding in parts of Tokyo and other areas. It also rained the following day, so I tossed my raincoat and umbrella in the backpack. The umbrella came in handy since it did rain for a bit while I was roaming around, but fortunately, it didn't rain for long.

I got to Isawa Onsen ready for lunch. The hotel was only a 10-minute walk from the station and the winery I wanted to visit was only another 10-minute walk from the hotel. I decided on the steak box, which came with an appetizer, salad, Japanese pickles, and miso soup. The box was a layer of rice with cut pieces of steak on top. Man, was it good! The meat was tender and flavorful. I was kinda full from finishing all that, but I was determined to get some dessert. I had a slice of strawberry shortcake, chocolate cake, and caramel crepe cake. Mind you, these slices are half the size usually sold at cake shops, so it's not as much as it sounds. There were a few other types of cakes in the display case, but I'm not a fan of blueberry. I . was . stuffed! There was no doubt that I had enough in my belly to absorb any alcohol that I may be consuming. LOL

The walk to the Monde Winery was pretty easy. This particular winery was the first in the world to install a bottling line that could handle both bottles and cans. The little bottle-shaped cans of wine make for great little somethings to bring back to give to friends. I paid for an option to taste wine that wasn't included in the free tasting but there was a bit of a hiccup on how to redeem the option. I thought I'd be sent a QR code or URL but turns out that I had to scan a QR code at the winery. It would've helped if the confirmation email I got said something to that effect. Anyway, I got a glass of a 2022 cabernet made from grapes they grow in their own vineyards. It was surprisingly light and soft in tannins. It was a pity that they didn't offer a tour of the winery on weekends and holidays.

After I finished the cabernet, I wandered off to the shop to enjoy free samples of wine. They had a sweet new wine made out of Delaware grapes. I really like sweet Delaware wines. This one was really good, too. They have a wine serve set up in the middle of the shop where all people had to do was push a button and the machine will squirt out a sample. There was one white wine that I wasn't impressed with. It was lacking in aroma and flavor. But I did fall love with a sweet rose that was a blend of Delaware and Black Queen. Most roses I've had before were on the dry side, but this sweet one was to my liking. I also liked the red made with Muscat Bailey A (a hybrid grape developed in Japan). It had a strong grape flavor and soft in tannins. There was an orange wine, gaining popularity in Japan, that was the best I've tasted so far. This wine also bottles a wine made out of wild grapes that's native to Japan. This wine is on the heavy side, but wasn't too bad. In the end, I picked up a bottle of the rose and a sparkling red made out of the wild grapes.

Since I still had a bit of time, I did some roaming around, I saw a light that blinked red on one side, yellow on the other side (reminded me of the light in Michigan where my sister lives), came across a quaint park, and eventually winded up on a road that runs behind the winery I just visited and they had kiwi growing in their back yard aside from grapes. Then I headed back to the hotel to enjoy a nice soak before I headed home. I ended up taking a wrong turn but lo and behold, what do I come across? A gelato shop! Selling gelato made out of wine! I asked for a double, one scoop of wine gelato and on scoop of yogurt. Yum, yum, yummy! The gelato was the perfect treat after doing some walking around. My taste buds were moaning in delight while I was heading to the hotel.

Guess who forgot to pack a towel, extra shirt and undies? Yup. Yours truly. I remembered to pack an umbrella but not things I need after taking a bath. I bought a face towel from the reception. I was disappointed that it was just a plain white towel that didn't bear the hotel's name. The bath water isn't the free flowing natural hot spring water directly pumped up from the well but still natural hot spring water but circulated and heated. I spent most of the time I was there in the open-air bath. Although the water was on the hot side, I still enjoyed a good soak. Now, since I didn't have anything to change into but wasn't about to put sweaty shirts back on, I wore the light jacket I brought with me and went commando under my jeans.

OK, the next time I go to wine country, I'm totally taking a wheelie bag. I didn't take one this time since I wasn't sure about the terrain, whether is it was relative flat or if there were a bunch of steps and stairs on the way. My shoulders and back were sore by the time I got home after hauling a couple of bottles and a few cans of wine home in my backpack. I collapsed on my bed and totally passed out. LOL

It was a good day trip. I liked how I had the flexibility of choosing train times and visiting places without feeling rushed. I'm glad I found this type of deal. I'll have to keep this in mind I plan to go on a day trip.