Onsen (public hot spring) plays a major part of Japanese culture and lifestyle. There are around 3,000 onsen facilities in Japan and Japanese people enjoy Onsen to heal, relax, rejuvenate body and mind, as well as socialize with friends and family. Onsen water is believed to have healing powers derived from its mineral contents.  There are different types of Onsen, such as Salt spring, carbonate spring, sulfur spring, acidic spring, etc.

If you go to Japan, don’t miss visiting one of Onsens.  It is a true cultural experience. 

You won’t complete the trip without it.

To fully enjoy Onsen, read through the basic info and etiquette below.

Now, you are ready to go!

★How to Use Onsen

1.       Enter the changing room through the appropriate door: 女 for women and男 for men.

2.       Remove your clothes and put them in the basket or locker provided. Some Onsen will lend you a towel and some won’t.  So bring a small towel with you to use as a washcloth.

3.       Enter the bathing area while covering your private with the washcloth if you’d like. Do not bring your large bath towel into the bath area.

4.       First, wash or rinse your body briefly before entering the tub.

5.       Soak in the tub. Be careful not to get too hot. Try pouring hot water from lower parts to upper parts of your body before soaking in the tub to get your body used to the hot temperature.

6.       After soaking in the tub, clean your body and hair using the small towel at a faucet.  Faucets usually have removable shower heads.  Basins and little stools are also available.

7.       Soak in the tub again, but do not rinse after the last dip in order to effectively absorb minerals, then go back to the changing room.

★Onsen Etiquette

·         Do not wear bathing suits or any article of clothing in the bath.

·         Never use soap or shampoo in the bathtub. Washing is done outside of tub (at the shower/faucets). Rinse suds completely before returning to the bath.

·         Avoid making loud noises. Onsen is the place for quiet relaxation. But, it is also a socializing space. Thus, no problem with talking, but talk quietly.

·         Do not wash clothes in the Onsen

★What is “Onsen”?

Hot springs may be volcanic in origin or simply ground water that has seeped deep into the earth’s crust and become warmed by the rocks near the mantle. Some contain “fossil water”, water that has been trapped in an aquifer for over 1000 years, and is often highly saline. According to Japan’s “Hot Spring Bill”, passed in 1948, a hot spring must have at least one of the following properties. (Source: Info Map Japan).

1)      The water temperature exceeds 25 degrees centigrade at the source.

2)      The water contains at least one of 19 compounds or minerals as listed, in requisite amounts per 1kilogram of hot spring water.