Golden Vacation

At the begging of May, Japan has what is called Golden week. Basically there are a bunch of holidays in a row so most companies give there workers the whole week off. Because of this, everywhere you go is super crowded. I even heard that Seatle, San Francisco and New York feel the impact during that week of Japanese tourists.
Still, I wanted to get away for a few days. A co-worker off mine sent me a link about this place called Aizu-Wakamatsu. On this link it said how its a great place to visit but for what ever reason, its not a popular Golden Week destination. Perfect!
So Naoko and I went there for three days and two nights. We stayed at a modern Japanese Inn(pictured above) with a natural Hot springs or Onsen as it is called here. It was great. The stay at the hotel included breakfast and dinner each day, and they were able to make vegan meals for me. And those meals where huge! We ate like kings and then soak are tired bodies in the Onsen. Because of my tattoos, we decided to reserve private sessions at night in the Onsen. (They don't usually allow people with tattoos in!)
During the days, we explored the town and its many historical sights including a huge castle, a museum, a crazy spiraling temple, and more. We even toured some sake breweries. Its also the birth place of Hideyo Noguchi, a famous bacteriologist who is also pictured on the 1000 yen bill. Overall it was a wonderful trip and great to escape the business of Tokyo for a few days. I highly recommend this place, especially during Golden Week.