Ultimate Lifehack Guide to Soaking in an Onsen

Onsen (温泉, Hot Spring) is the Japanese term for hot springs, naturally occurring springs of hot water piped up from the earth to the surface. These are typically located in onsen towns, where there is an abundance of natural occurring hot springs, or occasionally in city suburbs where there might be a single spring.

Sentō (銭湯, Sentō, Public Bath) is the term for a public baths, these typically consist of a single central bathing area daiyokujō (大浴場, large bathing area), and typically use normal bathing water. Sentos were popular bathing options before showers were a common amenity in homes. The most common image of a sento is a large bath with a huge mural of Mount Fuji in the background.

The most popular bathing facility might actually be the Super Sentō (スーパ銭湯, Sūpa Sentō, Super Public Bath) that are commonly found in large cities, offering a variety of indoor and outdoor baths in modern facilities. We recommend looking out for these super sentos as the variety of baths and facilities makes for a good first-time experience, and the crowdedness helps to alleviate the awkwardness.

Outdoor baths are typically called rotenburo (露天風呂, Outdoor Bath), literally baths exposed to the sky, and indoor baths are called uchiburo (内風呂, Indoor Bath), literally inside baths. Some bathing facilities, like sentos, will only come with indoor baths. We generally recommend going to a facility with outdoor baths as it has better ventilation as well as better scenery for a more enjoyable soaking experience.

Additionally, at places like super sentos there are a variety of other types of baths. These can include iwa-buro (岩風呂 baths encircled by rocks), hinoki-buro (檜風呂 baths in cypress wood), tansan-furo (炭酸風呂 baths in carbonated water), jeto-buro (ジェット風呂 jacuzzi-like baths), denki-buro (電気風呂 baths with light amounts of electricity), nekorobi-yu (寝ころび湯 lying down baths) and more.

There are usually chairs, sun beds, benches and more outside each bath for people to sit on and cool down with. It’s important to cool down in order to prevent yourself from getting light-headed, you can usually pick up a pail to scoop water and splash them on these chairs in order to clean them off before use.

For first-time visitors, you might be worried whether you need to bring shower amenities, towels, a fresh change of clothes, etc. In general, these bathing facilities are designed for you to visit empty-handed. Most facilities will provide shampoo, body soap, and also hair-drying facilities. Towels are usually not included, but you can either purchase a face towel or rent a bath towel at a small cost at every facility. Most people re-wear their same set of clothes after the bath as well, so there’s nothing in particular that you need to bring with you.

Pricing at almost every bathing facility is the same, there is usually a single entrance fee (different for adults and children) and that’s the base cost. Depending on weekdays or weekends, entrance fees can range from ￥800 to ￥1,500 depending on the facility.

The most common add-ons are for towels. Purchasing a face towel typically costs around ￥200 to ￥300, while a bath towel rental can cost between ￥300 to ￥500.

For most places, you will buy your ticket from a vending machine and then pass it to the staff at the counter. If you got a towel, the staff at the counter will pass it to you.

Some facilities do post-payment, in which you will be given a rubber band tag with a barcode on it, you can use this barcode for payment within the facility, and when you leave, the staff will scan the barcode and charge you the amount.

As you enter the bathing facility, you might be rather worried on what you need to do, what you need to watch out for, and inundated with the tons of signs and posters on onsen etiquette. The process is really quite simple, and here is a simple guide on how things will go:

Once you enter the changing room, just take any of the empty lockers available. Depending on each facility, the lockers might just be an empty basket on a shelf, or they could be a proper locker with a lock and key. For the latter, you can use any locker with a key attached to it.

Place all your personal belongings in your locker, and make sure you don’t have any foreign objects on you as you enter the bath. You should only bring your face towel with you into the bath.

Note: Avoid using your phone in the changing room area, this is to prevent people from taking photos of others. Of course, do not take any photos in the changing room area or in the bathing area.

Start by heading to the shower area to wash yourself off to keep the bathing water hygienic. You will typically find rows of showers, mirrors and stools, just use any available stools. Before sitting down, most people typically rinse the stool with the shower. Use the provided shampoo and body soap to wash yourself off, and when you’re done you can head to the bathing area.

You can pick any bath you would like to go into, just slowly descend the steps and sit in an empty area. If you’re a female with long hair, please tie up your hair in a bun to prevent it from soaking in the water.

People typically spend around 15 minutes in a bath, make sure you don’t sit for too long as you can get light-headed when you get up from it. If you feel light-headed, sit at one of the benches are the side to cool off. If you are extremely dizzy on the verge of passing out, then make sure to immediately sit down to prevent yourself from falling over if you pass out.

For your face towel, you can take the pail to pour water on it to soak it. You should never dip the towel into the water, or wring the water from the towel back into the bath for hygiene purposes. While in the bath, people typically fold the towel and place it over their forehead.

The typical process goes: Shower -> Soak -> Cool Off -> Soak -> Repeat -> Shower -> Exit. Of course how often you cool off depends on your own tolerance levels for heat. If you want to cool off faster, you can try the mizu-buro (水風呂 cold water bath), just dunk yourself straight in to cool off.

Before leaving, take another shower at the shower area. After the shower, and before you enter the changing room area, be sure to wipe yourself down with the bath towel to make sure you are not dripping wet and don’t dirty the changing room floor.

There are usually weighing machines in the changing room if you want to check your weight, and also hair dryers to dry off your hair.

An onsen tradition is to drink a bottle of milk after a bath, and you can usually find milk vending machines either within the changing room or in the waiting areas outside. These typically come in glass bottles, and there’s a return point next to the vending machine for the bottles.

And you’re done! If you’re waiting for others, there are usually tatami-floored waiting areas, or reclinable chairs for people to sit down on.

Most super sentos usually come with a sauna facility within the bathing area, if that is your cup of tea. People generally just head in to sit down and sweat it out, and some saunas might even come with a television inside.

Another common facility at super sentos is the ganbanyoku (岩盤浴), which are areas where you can lie down on a hot flat stone bed. These typically come as an add-on to the onsen fee, and usually also coming with loungewear that you can use in the facility. Since ganbanyoku facilities are clothed and separated from the bathing area, you can also enjoy them with the opposite gender. Many facilities also offer a manga library with the ganbanyoku, so you can read from an extensive collection of manga (if you can read Japanese). You can think of the ganbanyoku as sort of like a lounge add-on to your onsen experience.

The first visit to any onsen for a foreigner will always be a daunting one. After all, the idea of sharing a communal bath with strangers while naked is a rather terrifying concept. That being said, many of these facilities are typically quite crowded, and once you realize that no one is actually looking at you or that anyone cares, you will probably get over your initial nerves. After all, this is normal for the Japanese people, and in general it is also polite manners not to stare at others.

Onsens might be the most daunting concept in Japan for most foreigners, but once you’re over the initial hurdle, it’s a really great experience to cap off the day and who knows, you might get really hooked on it! So be sure to give onsens a try while you’re in Japan.