You made it to Japan! You have decided to take a nice relaxing trip to a hot spring! But you arrive and there are (probably) no signs in English, the staff (probably) don’t speak any English, and you (probably) don’t have a smegging clue what to do.

Jade’s Guide to Japanese Hot Springs

First things first, are you visiting an 温泉 “onsen” or a 銭湯 “sento”?

“What are you blathering about?” I hear you ask. Well, they are two different types of hot spring. “And what’s the smegging difference?” I hear you cry.

Onsen

Onsens are natural hot springs that fling boiling hot water at you from volcanic rock beds and are usually found in slightly more rural areas of Japan.

Sento

Sentos are the manmade version and can be found anywhere and everywhere as opposed to only in the mountains and countryside.

Location, location, location

So, if you are in the middle of Tokyo, chances are that you will be visiting a sento (which are just as relaxing as onsens, don’t worry). And, if you pop off to Hakone, you will find a plethora of lovely onsens.

Tattoos

Please note that unfortunately 99% of hot springs, be they sentos or onsens, deny access to those with tattoos. This is because tattoos are linked to the Yakuza (the Japanese mafia) and are seen badly in the eyes of the Japanese.

However, not all is lost! Check out the section below on “private onsens” to see a glimmer of hope for you walking works of art.

What to do in an onsen or sento

Pay at the front counter and head to the baths. If they don’t give you a towel, you might have to pay extra for one. Your safest bet here is to just bring your own.

Step 1

Enter the lobby and take off your shoes. Onsens and sentos are separated by gender and this should be obvious because of the colour (pink or red for girls and blue for boys). But, in case there are no colours, look out for these kanji:

女 – woman

男 – man

There is normally a cloth curtain that you should pass through to access the onsen.

Step 2

Congratulations! You made it through to the other side! Now you need to get naked! Yes! Completely naked! In front of other naked men or women!

So, there are usually baskets, shelves or lockers for you to put your belongings in. Don’t worry, Japan is safe, and I promise you won’t be robbed by naked Japanese people.

You might want to grab a smaller towel to bring with you through to the main bath area to cover yourself with. Or, you can put it on your head while you are in the hot spring like some Japanese people do. Although, I don’t know why.

Step 3

Cleanse yourself of all your evil smells. Take a shower and wash your hair and body thoroughly before you jump into the baths. Make sure to tie your hair up too if it is long.

You will usually find large communal bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash. In Japanese, they will be written like this:

シャンプー : shampoo

コンディショナー or リンス : conditioner

ボディウォッシュ : body wash

You will find that the Japanese sit on small stools when they wash themselves and often use small bowls to rinse themselves with water. There is also a shower head, and I just use that.

Step 4

Now that you are all clean, jump into the tub and enjoy yourself! I advise you not to literally jump in though because it is very hot and you will probably burn yourself.

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Are there any big differences between the two types of hot spring?

Not really. However, the water in an onsen is generally purer because it comes from a natural source.

At a sento, you usually have more bathing options, though! For example, a larger number of baths available or certain baths that have jacuzzi functions and jet streams too.

What not to do in a hot spring

DO not

• Wear a swimming costume when you enter the water – you must be nude.

• Get in the baths without taking a shower first – everyone shares the bath water, so clean yourself before you enter to keep the bath water clean for all.

• Get offended if Japanese people are staring at you – you are foreign and you are naked.

• Shave your downstairs parts unless you want to be stared at even more – the Japanese don’t shave down there.

• Stare at the naked Japanese people – there will be bush, avert thine eyes.

• Splash around or be loud – it’s a place for relaxation, not a heated swimming pool.

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Private onsens

This option is not usually available for sentos, but at onsens, there is often a smaller bath that couples can reserve to go in together for a set amount of time.
Unfortunately you cannot stay in there all night, however, and you generally must get in and out within half an hour.

People with tattoos can also rent out private onsens for their own personal use. So if you are staying at a traditional Japanese ryokan (hotel/onsen mix), you can enjoy the heat from within your own lodgings. Some of the rooms have private hot springs built into a section of your room, so there is no time span either.

Again, this is shared water, so DO NOT DO ANYTHING DIRTY while in the bath.

That’s a wrap, folks!

There you have it! Jade’s Guide to Onsens! Shout out to my friend, Kasia, for helping me out with the finer details.

Ciao for now!

Jade xxx