Tea + Hot Spring = Perfect Combination

Source!

So, in this photo, we have a bunch of women shifting through the tea leaves. The women look worn out and tired as though they have been working longer than a nine to five job (it probably was longer than nine to five). Looking at the skin and faces of the women sorting the leaves, one could easily tell that they are all of different age groups. We have what looks to be an obaasan (old woman/grandmother) in the middle area of the women, but a majority of the women look to be about the ages thirty-five to fifty-something. However, notice that there is a young child (difficult to tell what gender the child is) with the women, and a young adult looking woman at the right closest to the audience. Although the women in this group are primarily older, there are some younger people involved in this duty. The majority of the women's gaze are either down at the leaves (regretting their life choices possibly). Only two of the women are looking up, neither at the audience. The one (closest to the audience) looks as though she is taking a break from the hard work; whereas the other woman is looking straight into the distance. Her mouth is opened so that could be an indicator that she was in the process of speaking to another worker or simply talking to herself. The men, however, seem to be supervising/checking out the women, except the one closest to the women (hands on his hips). That man is staring directly at the audience. Given the man's body position, one could assume that he is the boss or of a higher position compared to the others in the picture. This picture represents how hard the employees in rural Japan worked. All the women look drained of energy but they are still continuing with their work with only one member of the group taking a break. The men are all standing up and not sorting through the leaves; this gives the impression that they are of higher status in this production line. And the child represents the curiosity (based on facial expression) that the younger generation had of the workforce.

Now, let's go take a trip to the hot springs since we are done with sorting leaves!


Sources?

So relaxing, no? This hot spring is located in the Hakone area. It was an ideal location for the foreigners to stay at during their stay in Japan for it was a lavish hotel developed around hot springs, perfect for those long trips to Fuji-san (Mt. Fuji). Notice how the Japanese used the surrounding nature as an influence on the structural design. It was built within the forest to produce the scenic view if the guests were to look out their windows and to give that feeling of privacy. It was away (who knows how far out back then) from the city to add to the feeling of privacy. If you look, only the rooftop of one of the building sections could be seen from this angle. Because this hot spring is surrounded by all the trees with no visual indicator of city nearby, it represents the once isolation of Japan from the outside world. Unlike the many hotels popping up to cater to the globetrotters, this hotel/hot spring stayed true to the Japanese style of architecture to attract the globetrotters, who may have wanted the "traditional" Japanese style instead of the "modern" Japanese hotels.