I enjoyed this morning the open-air bath "Hoshi-Tsuki no Yu" (Bath of Stars and the Moon). The water supply is from Mt. Haruna, which is colorless and transparent.

Breakfast is in the same private room last night.
Various New Year's dishes are arranged on a big plate before me. At a glance I realize they are much more than my stomach capacity. So, I am careful not to be looked dirty on the plate with my leftover. I decline to drink toso (New Year's sake).

We are now ready to join the hotel's annual event of poundng steamed rice.

New Year's Pounding Steamed Rice Festival

This event is planned to start at 9:30.
We appeared here at the large hall a little before. Two staffs are knealing steamed rice with mallets in a mortar as a preparatory job. A considerable number of guests have already gathered here.

Now, the actual performance.
A staff wearing a traditional short coat continuously swings a mallet over his head and down with a heavy sound each time. The hall is immediately filled with a cheerful atmosphere, and most of many guests press a shutter button of each smartphone.

Whoever is the lady with kimono working as a side arranger? She is really the owner hostess! She carries it through while a pounder is often replaced.

Just surprising to me! She is doing this hard work both for body and concentration with a frank and relaxed manner.
This may be another simple appearance of Tsukagoshiya Shichibee Hotel.

After pounding, it is the turn for the guests to eat.
A lot of small plates are piled up and arranged side by side on the long table. A chunk of pounded steaming rice cake is brought to the table. Lady staffs make lots of a bite rice cake quickly with practical hands one after another.

Various bites of rice cake on the plates
with sweetened soybean powder
with azuki beans
with grated daikon (Japanese radish)

The guests straight in line take their favorite plate each in succession.

I have another room for rice cakes in stomach. I surely tasted every three cake.
I have actually expected that the home-made cake is special compared to machine-made, but have got lost for words to be honest. Thanks a lot to all the staffs of Tsukagoshiya Shichibee. ... Look at my wife below.

Ishidan-gai (Stone-Step Street)

We just got a glimpse of this slope yesterday. Today after the taste of rice cakes, the mini shuttle bus of the hotel brought us nearby.

This stone-step street was originally built in 1576 during the Warring States period in Japan, by Takeda Katsuyori for the therapy of his many injured soldiers.

By the reconstruction for five years from Showa 55 (1980), the slope now has 365 steps with 300 meters long up from Ikaho Shrine down to Ikaho Checkpoint.
Typical as a street in the hot-spring town, there are souvenir shops, hotels, restaurants, manju-cake stores and shooting galleries alongside.

The following waka poem of Yosano Akiko, a famous waka poet, is engraved on the way. (Sorry for obscure letters.)

It is among Japan's three major stone-step sites. The other two are Yamadera Temple in Yamagata Prefecture and Kompira Shrine in Kagawa Prefecture. I have now left my footprint on all of them.
Yamadera Temple with over 1000 stone steps gave me a deep impression, when I visited it joining the tour following the famous haiku poet Matsuo Basho's travelogue "Oku no Hosomichi" (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) 11 years ago mid summer in 2008. While going up the steps taking a rest, I felt this haiku very good on this temple.

閑さや 岩にしみ入る 蝉の声		How still it is here..... Stinging into the stones, The cicadas' trill.

How I wish Basho would have stopped over here at Ikaho then!

- - - - -
Back to Ikaho.
I hear the Doll Festival on the stone steps this year is held on March 2 (Sat.) and 3 (Sun.) As one of the charms, it will probably color Ikaho of early spring.
Like the following picture, nursery school children in various bright dresses and with a touch of make-up line up on a tiered stand arranged on the steps.
I may stay one night in "Kounkan" (the annex of Tsukagoshiya Shichibee) and have fun.

Provided by Ikaho Spa Inn Cooperative

Ikaho Shrine

This shrine on the hill was built long ago in 825, and is among the Three Shrines of Kamitsuke Country with Nukisaki Shrine in Tomioka and Akagi Shrine in Akagi.
To my surprise, it is a very small shrine, making me anticlimatic. But anyway, this is my first visit of the New Year to a shrine, so I worshipped with my head on one side.

- - - - -
Ikaho is said to be the birthplace of onsen manju (onsen sweet bun) : called here as "Yunohana manju" (flowers-of-sulphur manju) imitative of the reddish-brown hot water color.
I bought one box at Seiho-tei, a famous brand.

Leaving for Home

We left the couple and mama at Takasaki Station, and got on the Shinkansen train of 13:00. Though we prepared for standing for 30 minutes until Ohmiya Station, lucky! We found two vacant seats side by side.
While talking about the happiness of the two days, the train arrived at Tokyo Station.
Our Heisei 31 (2019) has refreshingly started blessed with warm atmosphere.

Tomorrow is already the 3rd day of the New Year. Shall we visit the 3 shrines in our town Urayasu City, or be relaxed at home, ......