Travelling is about embracing new experiences. In Japan that can mean leaving your clothes, along with your comfort zone, in a neat pile far behind. Japanese onsens, or communal hot springs, adhere to ancient traditions which include bathing naked. While some visitors find it challenging, the enticements are hard to resist. Hot springs are an enormously pleasurable way to relax — especially after a big day of skiing.
Essential Guide to Onsen: Naked Etiquette for Japanese Hot Springs
The naked truth: a non-nudist’s guide to using a Japanese onsen | Intrepid Travel Blog
In fact I think the best time to be nude is when you have a lot of clothes on, and maybe a coat. So to strip off and bathe in front of a bunch of old Japanese dudes, not to mention a few of my fellow travellers with whom I shared miso soup earlier and would have to make small talk with for the next 10 days, filled me with the sort of apprehension that weirdly manifests in hearty bravado ie. It was great! You must have gone in afterwards.
An American Girl in a Japanese Onsen: Adventures in Nudity, Self-Confidence, and Public Bathing
Yes, a good portion of the classmates I had been singing karaoke with on the bus just a few short hours ago would soon be sharing a really big bathtub full of totally naked people with me. Strange, no? Communal public baths, or onsens, have a rich history in Japan, from serving as inherently weapons-free meeting places for Yakuza gang members quite the challenge to be packing heat in the nude , to facilitating spiritually important Buddhist cleansing rituals and providing numerous purported health benefits. However, the Japanese attitude to nudity is radically different from Western views.
No towel, no problem. Catch this traditional Japanese experience of a mixed-gender host spring bath before it slips away With Japan being a highly volcanic island, the Japanese have harnessed and perfected the art of onsen , or hot springs , for centuries. Today, mixed-gender onsen, or konyoku, are hard to find, with places like Tokyo having bans on such establishments.