Every now and then you arrive somewhere that is so completely different from your version of normal that any kind of similarity is hard to draw. Shibu Onsen is one of those places, where it feels like you’ve not only been transported to a different culture, but a different era.
For some, Los Angeles is the gateway to the USA, a necessary stop before moving east to New York… but for others, it is the destination. I fell into the former category, only budgeting for a few days there upon landing in the States for the very first time. Expecting a tacky, traffic-clogged Tinseltown – I was prepared to hate Los Angeles. But I was too quick to judge and an unexpected like blossomed.
