Japanese Hot Spring

Japanese Hot Spring

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Japanese Hot Springs
Wednesday, February 16, 2022 Updated

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Featured Experience on our Group Japan Tours vacation packages.

Natural hot springs (onsen) are numerous and highly popular across Japan. Every region of the country has its share of hot springs and resort towns, which come with them. There are many types of hot springs, distinguished by the minerals dissolved in the water. Different minerals provide different health benefits, and all hot springs are supposed to have a relaxing effect on your body and mind. Hot spring baths come in many varieties, indoors and outdoors, gender separated and mixed, developed and undeveloped. Many hot spring baths belong to a ryokan , while others are public bath houses. An overnight stay at a hot spring ryokan is a highly recommended experience for any traveler or vacation in Japan.
Below is a description of the most common way of taking a bath in a hot spring or public bath in Japan. The actual rules may differ slightly between baths, but if you follow the instructions below, you should be alright most of the time. Typical layout of a small indoor hot spring bath:
1: Take off all your clothes in the changing room and place them into a basket together with your bath towel. Coin lockers for valuables are often available.
2: Japanese hot springs are enjoyed naked. Swimming suits are not allowed in most places. However, it is the custom to bring a small towel into the bathing area, with which you can enhance your privacy while outside of the water. Once you enter the bath, keep the towel out of the water.
3: Before entering the bath rinse your body with water from either a tap or the bath using a washbowl provided in the bathing area. Traditionally, just rinsing your body is considered sufficient (and many older baths do not even provide showers and soap), but particularly among younger bathers you will find an increasing number of people who insist on taking a shower before entering the bath these days.
4: Enter the bath and soak for a while. Note that the bath water can be very hot (typical temperatures are 40 to 44 Celsius degrees or 104 to 111 Fahrenheit degrees). If it feels too hot, try to enter very slowly and move as little as possible.
5: After soaking for a while, get out of the bath and wash your body with soap at a water tap, while sitting on a stool. Soap and shampoo are provided in some baths. Like in private Japanese bathrooms, make sure that no soap gets into the bath water. Tidy up your space after you finished cleaning your body.
6: Re-enter the bath and soak some more. After you finished soaking, do not rinse your body with tap water, for the hot spring water's minerals to have full effect on your body.
For More information on how to enjoy a Japanese Hot-Springs , check out Japan Deluxe Tour's How to Properly use an Onsen Blog Post!
There are many types of hot springs to enjoy. The conventional hot spring is a hot water bath. Depending on the hot spring, different minerals are dissolved in the water, giving it different health benefits, colors and scents.

Hot spring water baths come indoors, outdoors and in many different sizes. Outdoor baths are called rotenburo . While some baths are wooden or stone tubs, others are built to resemble or are actually natural hot spring pools. Some outdoor baths are spectacularly situated in the mountains, valleys or along rivers, lake or sea shores.

Besides conventional hot water tubs, a popular feature of larger baths are so called waterfalls, which comfortably massage your shoulders if you sit below them. Other bath types include sand baths, where bathers are buried in naturally heated sand, mud baths and steam rooms.

Ashiyu are shallow hot spring pools for bathing just your feet. They are found in the streets of many hot spring resorts and can be used free of charge.

Increasing in number are modern hot spring complexes, which offer a range of baths, massage services, saunas and sometimes conventional swimming pools, water slides, etc. In Tokyo, where there is a shortage of natural hot spring water on the surface, some new hot spring complexes are retrieving their water from a depth of more than a kilometer below sea surface.

The ultimate hot spring experience is spending a night at an onsen ryokan , a Japanese style inn with hot spring baths. This is not only one of the most popular holiday activities among the Japanese, but is also highly recommended to any foreign visitor of Japan.

Onsen ryokan are found in various sizes in hot spring resorts across Japan. A typical onsen ryokan visit starts with a bath before dinner. The beautifully arranged Japanese style dinner , featuring local specialties, is either served in your tatami room or in a dining hall. Many guests like to take another bath before sleeping and before breakfast in the next morning.

You do not need to stay overnight at a ryokan in order to enjoy its baths. Many ryokan open their baths to the general public, typically during daytime only and against an admission fee of a few hundred yen. Besides ryokan, most hot spring resorts also have some public bath houses with hot spring water.

Hot springs in Japan are enjoyed naked, even though there are a few exceptions. While a majority of baths are gender separated, some are mixed. Mixed baths are usually found in more remote areas.

Furthermore, some establishments have both, gender separated and mixed sections, for example, in the case that there is just one spectacular outdoor bath, which the owner wants to make accessible to both genders.

For obvious reasons, many Japanese women, especially younger ones, avoid mixed hot springs, and it is not unusual that mixed pools are almost exclusively used by men.

If you do not feel comfortable naked in front of other people, you should inquire about "kashikiri" (private) baths , which are available at some ryokan. Private baths are sometimes also known as "kazokuburo" , lit. family baths.

Tattoos are also a big issue when it comes to entering a public hot spring.

Although hot springs in the bigger cities are loosening up their restrictions, there are still many places that will not allow those with tattoos to enter the hot springs.

The alternative option, if available, would also be to use the "kashikiri" bath or "kazokuburo" mentioned earlier.
This way, travelers will still be able to enjoy the hot spring water without worrying about other guests.

As a standard on all of our fully-guided Japan tours packages and holiday vacations between Tokyo & Kyoto , immerse yourself in Japanese culture with an authentic hot-spring onsen trip. Enjoy a Japanese-style hotel with a hot-spring for you to enjoy during your vacation. For guests with tattoos, some hot-springs may offer private rooms you can use during your travels. Experience a quintessential part of Japanese culture with a visit to a hot-spring in Hakone , Matsuyama , Tokyo, Kyoto, or along the way on a custom Japan tour package.
View Tours with Japanese Hot Spring (Onsen) Experience
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The amount of natural hot springs is the largest in Japan. The spring quality is strongly acidic and has high bactericidal activity. The famous hot spring stirring (Yumomi) was devised to lower the temperature without diluting the efficacy of the hot spring.

One of the 3 famous springs in Japan
The quality of the spring is an alkaline simple spring, which is characterized by a smooth feel. You can enjoy the scent containing sulfur.

Number of sources and amount of springs are the largest in Japan
Beppu Hachiyu is a general term for hot spring areas in Beppu City. With good transportation access centered around JR Beppu Station, you can enjoy a day trip bath.

The stage of the Japanese famous novel "Bochan"
One of the three ancient hot springs in Japan. It is also depicted in Natsume Soseki's novel "Botchan" and is a typical tourist destination in Ehime prefecture.

17 large and small hot springs
The amount of hot water in "Hakone 17-yu", which has different spring qualities, is one of the best in Japan. One of Japan's leading hot spring towns, blessed with tourism resources such as Lake Ashi.

Jigokudani that raises the eruption is the symbol
A hot spring area with 9 types of spring qualities and many spring sources. The largest source, Jigokudani, can also be walked along the promenade.

One of Japan's three largest old hot springs
A brown hot spring called "Kinsen" that contains iron is characteristic to this area. A famous hot spring resort that is recorded in the Nihon Shoki and is one of the three largest old hot springs in Japan.

Famous "Sand Bath"
One of the prefecture's leading tourist destinations consisting of hot springs such as Ibusuki Onsen, Surigahama Onsen, and Nigatsuden Onsen. The sand bath also has a detoxifying effect.

A popular hot spring resort at the foot of Mt. Yufu
There are many fashionable shops and restaurants. In recent years, many tourists from overseas such as Asia have visited.

Spring quality with abundant salt
"Sea hot spring" containing abundant salt. Their unique hot spring "Teyu" is popular among women. The "Shio Ontama (salty egg)" is also a popular speciality.

Small hot-spring resort in the centre of the Akan National Park, Hokkaido
The best spa resort in Shikotsu-Toya Hokkaido National Park
Collection of the world's most exceptional Hot Springs
A water park themed park and spa resort famous for its hula show
A classic Japanese hot spring spa village in Tohoku Region.
The collocation of ryokan in the mountain. Tsurunoyu has over 300 years history.
Part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and famous for Hot Springs
A Japanese traditional hot-spring town in Gunma famous for its high-iron water content
Known as a hot spring of high-quality milky-white water in Gunma
Bathe in Wine, Green Tea, Sake, and Coffee
Hot spring theme park where every day is festival
One of the Top 3 Hot-Springs in all Japan!
Famous for its snow monkeys that bathe; free foot baths in town
Hot spring resort with 1,300 years of history
Hot Spring Resort and Popular Spot for Cherry Blossom
One of the top onsen destinations in the Kansai region
One of Japan's oldest onsen resorts; great day trip from Kobe
Major amusement park in Mie featuring a water park and onsen
Beautiful Open-Air Traditional Japanese Hot-Springs in Kyoto
Onsen Open 24 Hours featuring Hot Springs From Around The World
Hot spring famous for its sulfate water for great effects on skin
Japan's oldest and most famous hot spring
Relax muscles in the warm sand bath on the beach
Collection of Hot Springs and Sunamushi
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Hot water percolates up out of the ground from one end of Japan to the other. The Japanese word for a hot spring is onsen, and there are more than 3000 of them in the country, more than anywhere else on earth – it’s like Iceland on steroids. In Japan, it is not an unusual or even decadent way to pass time soaking in a tub of bubbling hot water. Here are some that are considered to be the holy grail of the onsen world.
1. Best Riverside Onsen Takaragawa Onsen ( Gunma , Central Honshū) Japanese onsen maniacs often pronounce Gunma-ken’s onsen to be the best in the country - and it's difficult to argue this point. 'Takaragawa' means 'treasure river', and its several slate-floored pools sit along several hundred metres of riverbank. Most of the pools are mixed bathing, with one ladies-only bath. The alkaline waters are said to cure fatigue, nervous disorders and digestive troubles.
2. Best Inner-City Onsen Ōedo Onsen Monogatari (Tokyo) Located on the artificial island of Odaiba out in Tokyo Bay, this giant super onsen is modelled on an Edo period town. There is a huge variety of tubs, including outdoor tubs, as well as restaurants, relaxation rooms and shops. You can even get a massage and spa treatments. You can easily spend a whole day here soaking away your cares.
3. Best Island Onsen Jinata Onsen (Shikine-jima, Izu-shotō) The setting of this onsen couldn’t be more dramatic: it’s located in a rocky cleft in the seashore of lovely little Shikine-jima, an island only a few hours’ ferry ride from downtown Tokyo. The pools are formed by the seaside rocks and it’s one of those onsen that only works when the tide is right. You can spend a few lovely hours here watching the Pacific rollers crashing on the rocks. And, there are two other excellent onsen on the island when you get tired of this one.
4. Best Onsen Town Kinosaki (Kinosaki, Kansai ) Kinosaki, on the Sea of Japan coast in northern Kansai, is the quintessential onsen town. With seven public baths and dozens of onsen ryokan, this is the place to sample the onsen ryokan experience. You can relax in your accommodation taking the waters as it pleases you, and when you get tired of your ryokan’s bath, you can hit the streets in a yukata (light cotton robe) and geta (wooden sandals) and hit the public baths. It doesn’t hurt that the town is extremely atmospheric at night, and the local winter speciality, giant crab, goes down pretty nice after a day of onsen-hopping.
5. Best Rotemburo Sawada-kōen Rotemburo Onsen (Dōgashima, Izu-hantō ) If you like a view with your bath, you won’t do any better than this simple rotemburo perched high on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Early in the day, you can have it all to yourself. Of course, if you don’t mind a crowd, it’s a great place to watch the sunset.
6. Best Hidden Onsen Lamp no Yado (Noto-hantō, Central Honshū ) The Noto-hantō peninsula is about as far as one can go in Central Honshū, and the seaside is about as far as one can go on Noto-hantō. A country road takes you to a narrow path, from where you have to climb down a switchback hill on foot. No wonder this property has been a refuge for centuries of Japanese seeking to cure what ails them. Even if one night here now costs what people would have once spent over weeks here, it’s a worthy splurge for a dark-wood and tatami room on a cove, with its own rotemburo and Sea of Japan views through craggy rocks.
7. Best Semitropical Onsen Urami-ga-taki Onsen (Hachijō-jima, Izu-shotō) Even in a country of lovely onsen, this is a real standout: the perfect little rotemburo located next to a waterfall in lush semitropical jungle. It’s what they’re shooting for at all those resorts on Bali, only this is the real thing. Sitting in the bath as the late-afternoon sunlight pierces the ferns here is a magical experience. It's also free.
8. Best Onsen/Beach Combination Shirahama (Shirahama, Wakayama-ken, Kansai ) There’s something peculiarly pleasing about dashing back and forth between the ocean ad a natural hot-spring bath – the contrast in temperature and texture is something we never tire of. At Shirahama, a beach town in southern Kansai, there is a free onsen right on the beach. And Sakino-yu Onsen is just spectacular.
9. Best Onsen/Sand Bath Combination Takegawara Onsen (Beppu, Kyūshū ) Sometimes simplest is best. This traditional Meiji Era onsen first opened in 1859, and its smooth wooden floors transport you back to a Japan of neighbourhood pleasures – unpretentious, relaxing and accessible to all. There are separate (and very hot) baths for men and women. Takegawara also offers heated sand baths in which, wearing a cotton yukata , you are buried up to your neck with hot sand for 10 to 15 minutes, followed by a rinse and a soak in an adjacent onsen bath.
10. Best Mountain Onsen Takama-ga-hara Onsen (Northern Japan Alps, Central Honshū) High, high up in the Japan Alps, if you want to soak in this wonderful free riverside rotemburo, you’re going to have to hike for at least a full day. It’s located in a high natural sanctuary with mountains on all sides. To tell the truth, even if it took three days of walking to get here, it would be worth it. Some Japanese say that this is the highest rotemburo in Japan. You can spend the night nearby in a creaky old mountain hut.
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