For the Love of Ritual: Onsen in Japan
This post is part of the subscriber archive of Letters from Japan, my monthly Japan travel newsletter. A free preview is available below.
Good afternoon,
Just a few days ago, snow was falling in Tokyo, possibly making the experts at the Japan Meteorological Agency rush back to their desks to update the sakura forecast. Only last week, the latest predictions had pointed to March 18th as the start of the season in Tokyo, earlier than usual. But after weeks of uninterrupted sunshine, mid-March has brought not only the expected moody, cloudy skies but also low single-digit temperatures, which may push the cherry blossoms well into April, as it did last year.
The sakura season and the rush it brings will soon be followed by Golden Week in early May, marking the country’s busiest period for domestic travel.
Things will then slow down a little, starting in June with the arrival of the rainy season, which will be despised at first but then dearly missed once the real summer begins, brutal in the cities but a little more tolerable up in the mountains.
But despite all this seasonal talk, and after last month’s letter, Hiking Japan: From Okinawa to Hokkaido, which covered some scenically rewarding trails across the country before the hiking season begins in late spring, this month’s letter turns to a topic, an activity, an experience, perhaps even the very meaning of life itself (certainly for the Japanese), that is largely independent of the calendar, the seasons, and even the weather: hot springs, in other words, onsen experiences in Japan.
One of the most thrilling aspects of living in Japan has, somewhat ironically, been the mundanity of everyday life and the ritual-driven rhythm that brings a great deal of calm with it. And when it comes to everyday rituals in Japan, few things are more defining than its onsen and sento culture, the latter of which was recently in the spotlight with its striking appearance in Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days.
Differences between onsen and sento
Before we go any further, it may help to briefly clarify the distinction between the two. Sento refers to public bathhouses served by heated tap water, and it is written using the kanji for “coin” (銭) and “hot water” (湯). These neighborhood baths can be found in abundance across the country, including many here in Tokyo. What separates them from the onsen is not only the source of the water used but also the distinct aesthetic, with tiled bathing halls and large painted murals, most famously of Mount Fuji, behind the baths.
Onsen, the topic of this month’s letter, literally means “hot spring” in Japanese (it uses the kanji for “hot/warm” (温) and “spring/water source” (泉)) and refers to naturally heated spring water that meets criteria set by the country’s Hot Springs Act. While some may have aesthetics similar to a sento with painted tiles, the visual atmosphere usually relies more on the surrounding nature than on the interior design. The term onsen is used rather generously in travel writing and may refer to the hot spring itself, a bathing facility, an entire village, or even a simple natural pool filled with hot spring water.
Onsen culture in Japan
It is difficult to overstate the role of onsen in Japanese culture. Strongly linked to many of its defining aspects, such as omotenashi, the unique form of Japanese hospitality, and ideas of purification rooted in Shinto and Buddhism, references to onsen can be found everywhere in the country, including in literature and even anime, such as Spirited Away, which takes place in a haunted old bathhouse.
Perhaps the most captivating, and for many visitors, a little intimidating element of the onsen experience is the notion of “naked communication” – hadaka no tsukiai – that these facilities gently reinforce.
You might have heard that a visit to a Japanese onsen requires one to strip off all clothes (most are gender-segregated, with a few exceptions, more on that below). It can feel a little daunting at first, but not too hard to get used to (speaking from personal experience as a rather shy person).
In addition to hygienic considerations, the concept of naked communication is based on the idea of leaving all signs of social status at the door and sharing the space on equal footing, often leading to more open and meaningful conversations. And I have rarely felt as welcome in this country as during the quiet early morning hours in a rural onsen, where elderly ladies often show nothing but adorable enthusiasm at seeing a foreigner enjoying a part of their culture, even if that foreigner sometimes looks as though she is sitting in fire rather than in hot water.
Celebrating public baths as communal bonding spaces is, in fact, not entirely unfamiliar to someone from my culture, which has its own hamam – better known globally as the Turkish bath tradition. While the practice differs in the details (you are expected to wear a peshtemal in a Turkish bath, the marble interiors are quite magnificent, and a vigorous body scrub is part of the ritual, highly recommended), hamams have also long served as communal spaces of relaxation and socialization, dating back to Byzantine and later Ottoman times, and are now going through quite a revival period with some astonishing renovation work. Yet in my country, the experience is often approached more like a treat, something akin to an occasional day at the spa, rather than a weekly, and for some even daily, habit, as it is in Japan.
After all this talk of communal nakedness, in the service of barrierless communication, let’s turn to some specific destinations across the country where you can experience the ritual for yourself.
Situated in one of the most volcanically active zones on earth and home to 111 active volcanoes, Japan’s onsen menu is extensive. With around 27,000 hot spring sources across the country, serving about 3,000 onsen areas, these healing baths, in addition to daily use, also remain one of the leading drivers of domestic tourism.
“Onsen-hopping” trips, covering several hot springs in a single trip, are a beloved concept that has also been lovingly adopted by many of the country’s foreign residents.
Kyushu Island, the “hottest” island in this land of fire, is home to roughly 35% of Japan’s hot springs. But with more than 27,000 sources nationwide, you are rarely far from one wherever you are in Japan, and below are some of my favorites, grouped by category: wild onsen, rustic baths, onsen villages, and resort-style retreats.
Wild onsen in Japan: riverbed, mountain-top, oceanside hot springs
Wild onsen – known as notenburo in Japanese – are natural, undeveloped hot springs that you can find in nature areas like riverbeds, mountains, and even oceansides. With minimal infrastructure around those and certainly not a resort-type development, you will often need to hike to reach one.
Among the wild onsen experiences I had in Japan, one of the most visually striking ones was Hirauchi Onsen in Yakushima. Sitting right inside the ocean on the southern coast of the island, the hot water in Hirauchi flows up from under the sea into natural rock pools. Accessible only twice a day, during low tide, the atmosphere becomes particularly gorgeous around sunset. Stargazing at night, listening to the ocean, while the hot water warms your body, is another option that will likely turn you into an onsen maniac immediately.
More from the subscriber archive:
Hiking Japan: From Okinawa to Hokkaido
Shibu Onsen and the Snow Monkeys of Nagano
Tohoku Onsen Hopping: Four Nights, Four Hot Springs
Tokyo Eateries: the Non-Gourmet Version
Autumn Colors Trip to Aomori: Itinerary Suggestion
Cycling the Shimanami Kaido in Two Days
Japan Trip Planning Q&A Series (three posts)
Winter Trip to Biei in Hokkaido (four posts)
Hiking the Kyoto Trail (five posts)
Walking Goto Islands (eight posts)
For more Japan travel stories and resources, Letters from Japan includes a new monthly letter as well as a growing paid archive of travel diaries, walking itineraries, and trip-planning resources. Paid subscriptions are USD 5/month or USD 50/year (which includes a one-to-one trip-planning session). Explore the full archive here or subscribe below.
Letters from Japan:
