• Japan Through My Eyes
• Japan - No Problem
• Travels to the South: A Trip to the Other Japan
• Omiyage - Art of Gift Giving
• Ukiyoe: "The Floating World" Revealed
• Seto: Japan's Porcelain City

The Joys of Japanese Hot Springs

Lucky is the traveler who can step into a Japanese hot spring bath after a long day on the road. As you stretch out and are engulfed by the hot water, your aches and stress disappear. And in so doing, you participate in the sensuous custom of communal bathing which has been practiced in Japan for over a thousand years, and is still very popular today. It is a manifestation of the admirable Japanese preoccupation with cleanliness and purification.

The elderly, the young, adolescents, and middle-aged people all love to go to onsens (hot springs). There are over 2,000 volcanic hot spring areas in Japan, covering the whole country, from the northern island of Hokkaido to the main southern island of Kyushu. Hot springs can even be found in the metropolis of Tokyo.

Perhaps the most pleasurable way to experience the hot springs is while staying at a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn). A cotton robe (yukata) and slippers are provided in your room for perambulating about the inn and for going to the baths. The etiquette for taking a communal bath is not complicated but must be observed. For some foreign visitors, the first rule may be the hardest, namely stripping down by taking off your yukata or clothes in the changing room and putting them in a wicker basket on a shelf. Those who are not comfortable parading around naked in front of strangers - albeit of your gender - may find this challenging. You are expected though to drape the provided washcloth modestly in front of your body.

Entering the bathroom, you typically come to a row of faucets and shower hoses placed close to the floor. You take up your position at one, squat on a very low wooden stool (this too can be a challenge), and apply the liquid soap and shampoo from the dispensers to the washcloth, and proceed to vigorously scrub every part of your self. You rinse off thoroughly with the shower hose, or, more dramatically, by using the traditional method of filling the small wooden tub near your stool and pouring its contents repeatedly over yourself. It is very important to rinse well, as bringing any trace of soap into the bath is the most serious breach of protocol.

When you are completely rinsed, you proceed to the bath itself, whereupon you lower yourself in gingerly, as the water is sometimes so hot it requires some getting used to. Once in, the feeling is ecstatic. You stretch out in the water, which is usually not much more than knee-deep, resting your head against the side. For the all-over experience, you may place your neatly folded (and previously thoroughly rinsed) washcloth on the top of your head. Then you soak for as long as you want. Some bathers get out, wash again, perhaps asking a neighbor to scrub their back, and then go back in for another soak.

In the men's section at least, the atmosphere is tranquil, almost mystic. There is never any splashing or roughhousing and there is very little conversation. In the women's section, it is understood that there are often animated discussions among groups of friends. Being non-Japanese is not a problem (despite some urban legends among foreigners that baths clear when one of us arrives). It naturally helps if you are aware of bath protocol and make a point of emulating the locals. Then, Japanese politeness prevails. Bathers keep to themselves or their group and show no particular interest in others including any non-Japanese in their midst. The mellow ambiance is sometimes enhanced by the beer and sake that are almost universally available. (The alcohol and hot bath can make for a dizzying combination for the uninitiated.)

Most indoor baths are granite or marble lined. Some more traditional ones consist of large cedar tubs. There is usually a stream of hot water pouring from a spout or gushing from a fountain. The sizes of baths vary greatly, accommodating anywhere from a few bathers to facilities that are proudly advertised as handling hundreds. Many are rectangular and others are fancifully curved. Often indoor baths have a wall of glass with a view outdoors of a small Japanese garden. Some also boast an outdoor bath, or rotemburo. These are greatly appreciated by bathers. The water is usually contained in an artful series of large volcanic rocks; a "waterfall" may add to the allure, sometimes emerging from a bamboo tube. The outdoor bath is often partially covered by a masterfully constructed rustic roof supported by smooth cedar posts.

Some rotemburos are made into large ponds, set along mountain streams. Takara Gawa Onsen is a ravishing example of this. Set in a mountainous area two hours by train north of Tokyo, this hotel offers four oversized rotemburos set on both sides of a verdant ravine. One is reserved for women, and others are mixed. You walk along a narrow path following the rushing mountain stream, coming to the first mixed rotemburo. In the change hut (with separate women's and men's sections), you remove your yukata and slippers. If a woman, you wrap yourself in a huge towel, which you keep on throughout the bathing experience, but the men have to make do with the regulation washcloth. Somehow decorum is maintained and a good time is had by all (groups, couples, and singles).

The setting of the Takara Gawa Onsen rotemburos is spectacular. Dense green forests on both sides of the stream enclose the ravine, and the mountain stream consists of a series of rapids. A few carefully placed Japanese stone lanterns and a long bamboo trough from which hot water splashes into the first bath make the scene even more picturesque. Birds flit around. You wade into the clear hot water walking over the smooth stone floor to take up a soaking position at the rotemburo's rim, which consists of boulders gathered from the streambed. Then you sink down into the wonderfully hot water to stretch out languorously. You are so close to the rapids that you can almost touch them. All you hear is their muffled roar. You feel in complete harmony with nature. This feeling is reinforced when you amble, clad in your towel or washcloth, from one rotemburo to another. For uninhibited patrons, a strut across the suspended footbridge to the newest rotemburo, on the other side of the stream, is a piquant experience.

And after sundown, the scene is even more exotic, illuminated by lights from the stone lanterns. In winter, deep snow everywhere, including on the boulders protruding from the stream, makes for an otherworldly scene.

For those visitors who prefer a more intimate experience, some onsen resorts offer private rotemburos in front of each suite. A more affordable variation of this is where the hotel has not only "public" rotemburos but also one or more small ones, which are available for rent by the hour - for groups up to five. (Doing things by couples seems not to be the rule.) The most affordable Japanese bath experience, albeit the least intimate, is provided by sento, neighborhood public bathhouses. Many have survived to this day even though homes of course now have their own baths. Nozawa Onsen, a mountain village north of Nagano, still has 11. They are open long hours and are free. The oldest is built entirely of wood and is an outstanding example of traditional Japanese carpentry.

The variety of Japanese hot springs is endless. There is even a rotemburo for monkeys. At Jigokudani Onsen, near Nagano, in the middle of a forest, a primitive rotemburo has been constructed along a stream which is popular with wild monkeys. During the winter, with snow all around, they like nothing more than soaking in the water to keep warm.

The views from rotemburos are one of their most appealing features. And you seem to appreciate the scenery more than usual, while lounging in hot spring water au natural. An unspoiled panorama of mountains and a valley is offered by a hotel in Nikko (site of the Shoguns' mausoleums). And just outside Shimoda (where Commodore Perry forced an end to over 200 years of Japanese seclusion in 1854), you look through palm trees and over a cliff for a breath-taking view of the seacoast and rugged islets. At Shikine Jima Island south of Tokyo, you are right at the ocean's edge. And at Shikotsu Lake in Hokkaido, you look across a wide lake to a surreal view of a perfectly conical volcano.

After reveling in the joys of the bath, you should do what the other customers do, return to your room or the restaurant of your inn where a copious traditional dinner of numerous courses of small portions will be served. In advertising their attractions, hot spring hotels give the photos of their meals at least as much prominence as the bath facilities. Good bathing and good dining are inextricably linked and during dinner, there is no need for even the uninitiated to hold back on sake or beer. After the meal, unless you are with a group indulging in karaoke, there is nothing better to do than collapse on your futons, which are spread out on the tatami mats. You deserve a good sleep, after the "exertions" of your hot spring experience!

Copyright David Paget, 2004