Onsen

Onsen
In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 onsen establishments use naturally hot water from these geothermally heated springs.
Onsen may be either or . Traditionally, onsen were located outdoors, although many inns have now built indoor bathing facilities as well. Nowadays, as most households have their own baths, the number of traditional public baths has decreased, but the popularity of sightseeing hot spring towns has increased. Baths may be either publicly run by a municipality or privately, often connecting to a lodging establishment such as a hotel, ryokan, or minshuku.
The presence of an onsen is often indicated on signs and maps by the symbol ♨, the kanji (yu, meaning "hot water"), or the simpler phonetic hiragana character ゆ (yu).
Definition
According to the Japanese , onsen is defined as "hot water, mineral water, and water vapor or other gas (excluding natural gas of which the principal component is hydrocarbon) gushing from underground". The law states that mineralized hot spring water that feeds an onsen must be at least 24 °C/ 75 °F originating at a depth of at least 1.5 kilometers (1 mile), and contain specified amounts of minerals such as sulphur, sodium, iron, or magnesium.
When onsen water contains distinctive minerals or chemicals, establishments often display what type of water it is, in part because the specific minerals found in the water have been thought to provide health benefits. Types include , and .
Mixed bathing
Traditionally, men and women bathed together at both onsen and sentō communal bathhouses, but gender separation has been enforced at most institutions since the opening of Japan to the West during the Meiji Restoration. persists at some onsen in rural areas of Japan, which usually also provide the option of separate "women-only" baths or different hours for the two sexes. Children are usually not limited by these rules.
In some prefectures of Japan, including Tokyo, where nude mixed bathing is banned, people in mixed baths are required to wear swimsuits or , which are specifically designed for bathing.
Etiquette
Ensuring cleanliness
As at a sentō at an onsen, all guests are expected to wash and rinse themselves thoroughly before entering the hot water. Bathing stations are equipped with stools, faucets, wooden buckets, and toiletries such as soap and shampoo; nearly all onsen also provide removable shower heads for bathing convenience. Entering the onsen while still dirty or with traces of soap on the body is socially unacceptable.
Swimsuits
Guests are not normally allowed to wear swimsuits in the baths. However, some modern onsen will require their guests to wear a swimming suit in their mixed baths.
Towel
Onsen guests generally bring a small towel with them to use as a wash cloth. The towel can also provide a modicum of modesty when walking between the washing area and the baths. Some onsen allow one to wear the towel into the baths, while others have posted signs prohibiting this, saying that it makes it harder to clean the bath. It is against the rules to immerse or dip towels in the onsen bath water, since this can be considered unclean. People normally set their towels off to the side of the water when enjoying the baths, or place their folded towels on top of their heads.
Tattoos
By 2015, around half (56%) of onsen operators had banned bathers with tattoos from using their facilities. The original reason for the tattoo ban was to keep out Yakuza and members of other crime gangs who traditionally have elaborate full-body decoration.
However, tattoo-friendly onsen do exist. A 2015 study by the Japan National Tourism Organisation found that more than 30% of onsen operators at hotels and inns across the country will not turn someone with a tattoo away; another 13% said they would grant access to a tattooed guest under certain conditions, such as having the tattoo covered up. Some towns have many tattoo-friendly onsen that do not require guests to cover them up. Two such towns are Kinosaki Onsen in Hyōgo and Beppu Onsen in Ōita.
With the increase in foreign customers due to growing tourism, some onsen that previously banned tattoos are loosening their rules to allow guests with small tattoos to enter, provided they cover their tattoos with a patch or sticking plaster.
Risks
Article 18, paragraph 1 of the Japanese Hot Springs Act publishes guidance on contraindications and cautions for bathing in hot springs, and drinking their respective waters. Although millions of Japanese bathe in onsen every year with few noticeable side effects, there are still potential side effects to onsen usage, such as aggravating high blood pressure or heart disease.
Legionella bacteria have been found in some onsen with poor sanitation. For example, 295 people were infected with Legionella and seven died at an onsen in Miyazaki Prefecture in 2002. Revelations of poor sanitary practices at some onsen have led to improved regulation by hot-spring communities to maintain their reputation.
There have been reports of infectious disease found in hot bodies of water worldwide, such as various Naegleria species. While studies have found the presence of Naegleria in hot spring waters, Naegleria fowleri, responsible for numerous fatal cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis around the world, has not been found to be present in the water at onsen. Nevertheless, fewer than five cases have been seen historically in Japan, although not conclusively linked to onsen exposure.
Many onsen display notices reminding anyone with open cuts, sores, or lesions not to bathe. Additionally, in recent years onsen are increasingly adding chlorine to their waters to prevent infection, although many onsen purists seek natural, unchlorinated onsen that do not recycle their water but instead clean the baths daily. These precautions as well as proper onsen usage (i.e. not placing the head underwater, washing thoroughly before entering the bath) greatly reduce any overall risk to bathers.
Voyeurism is reported at some onsen. This is mitigated in some prefectures of Japan where nude mixed bathing is not permitted, visitors must wear swimsuits.
Selected onsen
Akagi, Gunma
Akayu, Yamagata
Arima Onsen, Kobe, Hyōgo
Asamushi Onsen, Aomori Prefecture
Aso, Kumamoto, a famous onsen area alongside Mount Aso, an active volcano
, Atami, Shizuoka, major onsen resort town near Tokyo
Awara Onsen, Awara, Fukui Prefecture
Awazu Onsen, Komatsu, Ishikawa
Beppu Onsen, Beppu, Ōita Prefecture, famous for its multi-coloured baths
, Nihonmatsu, Fukushima
Dōgo Onsen, Ehime Prefecture
Funaoka Onsen, Kyoto
, Gero, Gifu, famous for its free open bath on riverbank of Hida River
Geto Onsen, Iwate Prefecture
Ginzan Onsen, Obanazawa, Yamagata
Hakone, Kanagawa, famous onsen resort town near Tokyo
Hanamaki, Iwate
, Takayama, Gifu
, Shizuoka
Ibusuki Onsen, Kagoshima Prefecture
Iizaka Onsen, Fukushima
, Ikaho, Gunma
Itō, Shizuoka
Iwaki Yumoto Onsen, Fukushima Prefecture
Iwamuro, Niigata, famous for onsen since the Edo period
Jigokudani, Nagano Prefecture
, Hokkaido
, Yonago, Tottori
, Nagano
, Shizuoka
, Kaga, Ishikawa
, Tanabe, Wakayama
Kindaichi Onsen, Iwate
Kinosaki, Hyōgo
Kinugawa Onsen, Tochigi
Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma Prefecture
, Misasa, Tottori Prefecture
Nagaragawa Onsen, Gifu, Gifu
Nanki-Katsuura Onsen, Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Nanki-Shirahama Onsen, Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture
Naoshima, Kagawa Prefecture
Naruko, Miyagi
Noboribetsu, Hokkaido
Nuruyu Onsen, Kumamoto Prefecture
Nyūtō Onsen, Akita Prefecture
Obama Onsen, Nagasaki Prefecture, the hottest Japanese hot spring
, Hokkaido
Ōfuka Onsen, Akita
Ryujin Onsen, Tanabe, Wakayama, one of Japan's famous three beautifying onsen
Sabakoyu Onsen, Fukushima Prefecture, the oldest community onsen in Japan
Sakunami Onsen, Miyagi
Sawatari, Gunma Prefecture
, Niigata Prefecture
Shima Onsen, Gunma Prefecture
Shimabara, Nagasaki
, Yamanashi Prefecture
, Tochigi Prefecture
Shuzenji Onsen, Shizuoka Prefecture
, Hokkaido
Sukayu Onsen, Aomori Prefecture
, Shizuoka Prefecture
Suwa, Nagano Prefecture
Takanoyu Onsen, Akita Prefecture
Takaragawa, Gunma, one of the largest outdoor mixed baths in Japan
Takarazuka, Hyōgo
Tara, Saga
Tōyako, Hokkaidō
, Niigata - famous for its free open mixed onsen
Tsuchiyu Onsen, Fukushima Prefecture
, Niigata Prefecture
, Kanagawa
Unazuki Onsen, Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture
Wakura Onsen, Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture
Yamanaka Onsen, Kaga, Ishikawa
Yamashiro Onsen, Kaga, Ishikawa
, Okayama Prefecture, one of the largest mixed baths at the foot of Yubara dam
, Nagano Prefecture
Yufuin, Ōita Prefecture
Yugawara, Kanagawa Prefecture
Yumura Onsen, (Shin'onsen, Hyōgo)
Yunogo Onsen, Okayama Prefecture
Yunokawa Onsen, Hokkaido
Yunomine Onsen, Tanabe, Wakayama, site of the UNESCO World Heritage Tsuboyu bath
Yuzawa, Niigata
Zaō Onsen, Yamagata Prefecture
See also
Ashiyu
Balneotherapy
Furo
List of hot springs in Japan
Public bathing
Sauna
Taiwanese hot springs
Three Ancient Springs
Turkish bath
Onsen portal at the Japanese Wikipedia
Notes
References
Further reading
Hotta, Anne, and Yoko Ishiguro. A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs. New York: Kodansha America, 1986. .
Fujinami, Kōichi. Hot Springs in Japan. Tokyo: Board of Tourist Industry, Japanese Government Railways; Maruzen Company, Ltd., 1936.
Neff, Robert. Japan's Hidden Hot Springs. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle, 1995. .
Seki, Akihiko, and Elizabeth Heilman Brooke. The Japanese Spa: A Guide to Japan's Finest Ryokan and Onsen. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2005. . Reprinted as Ryokan: Japan's Finest Spas and Inns, 2007. .
External links
Onsen Tipster A database of genuine onsen in Japan
Sento Guide Guide to public baths in Japan
OnsenJapan.net Interactive Google map with easy-to-read icons, pictures, and reviews
Secret Onsen a database with more than 125 onsen all around Japan
Japan Onsen A mountain onsen guide of the Japan Alps
Japanbased Onsen guide A guide on how to onsen in Japan
Bathing in Japan
Public baths in Japan
Articles containing video clips