Naked in Japan

If you want a truly Japanese experience, there is no better place than an onsen or mineral hot springs. In Japan, bathing or cleaning is done before you enter the waters, because once you enter, it is for relaxation and rejuvenation. It is the same for taking a bath in Japan.

I don’t think the onsen has changed much over the years except for more automation and some English where there are tourists like at the large Tokyo one called Oedo Onsen.
www.ooedoonsen.jp/en/top/ I went to with Yuki and her sister’s family.

 Here were the basic steps and rules at this onsen, and this may differ at other places, but it is basically the same approach and may help if you go to one. I had no idea before I went how many rules there are, written and unwritten.  

The guide to a good onsen experience…

1.Take off your shoes. You must lock up your shoes and you take your key

2. Register. At the Tokyo onsen you get a wrist band so that you don’t have to take your wallet. You can buy what you need through the band, whether food, drink or massage, and it’s added to your bill.

3. No tattoos. There are signs everywhere that say you can’t go in with a tattoo and they will actually refuse you entry if you tell them you have one. This is a rule I believe that was created initially to not let in yakuza, organized crime members, who are usually covered in tattoos. Saying that no tattoos were allowed, would prevent them from coming in. If you have a minor tattoo or tattoos that are small then you might want to consider covering them up with a band aid or tensor band aid or other as some friends I know do. Otherwise it’s pretty black and white in Japan and you won’t get in.

4. Yukata. You get to select what coloured pattern you want for your cloth yukata (lightweight kimono) and obi (sash). The men have little or no choice for their yukata.
 

5. Second locker. This is where you leave your belongings and put on your yukata and obi. Remember, left over right fabric for putting on the yukata, the other way means death. Make a bow or knot with the obi and put it at the back or side.

6. Third locker.This is where you get a large and small towel and a key to another locker. Yes, there are a lot of lockers!

7. Get naked. This is where you must get naked. You are not allowed to wear your yukata to the baths or bring anything with you except for the small towel. You can use the small towel over your private parts if you’d like but I think that looks a bit ridiculous like one of those British comedy shows where someone gets caught naked and tries to cover up quickly. Many use the towel on their heads when they are in the onsen. It’s interesting that the Japanese people seem shy to us, however they are not shy about getting naked in public so to speak. I guess we all have things that we are shy and awkward about.

8. Get clean. There are small wooden stools, each with a shower area. You are supposed to clean before the baths or at least put some water over you with a small wooden container in a common place that is usually just before the onsen area. When we went to the Hakone onsen, about an hour outside of Tokyo, I asked Yuki why there was water covering the stones in the front entrance. Perhaps they were cleaning it? She said they pour water at the entrance as a sign of welcome to guests. Her mother used to do it when she was growing up. Before she had guests, she would pour water at the entrance way as a sign of welcome.

9. Onsen time! When you finally get to the onsen, it is lovely, peaceful and relaxing, though there were about 100 women scattered throughout the different sized pools of varying forms from metal to rock to wooden tub and of varying temperatures, warm to hot, inside and out. Sometimes there is a cold pool. I don’t know about the one in Tokyo because I didn’t search out the cold one. There was something so ancient and timeless about the scene. There were some pools with jets like a hot tub, others with special salts and minerals.  My friend Jacob went to an onsen in Kyoto, touched the wall and got an electric shock. He was surprised and thought he should alert someone to this dangerous situation, until he realized that this was on purpose and people were putting body parts in there as they believe this to be good for they system!

10.  Eat! At the Tokyo onsen, there is a big marketplace like an amusement park with games for the kids, restaurants and take out counters. When we started getting hungry, we changed back into our yukatas and went into the marketplace. It was strange to be in a space with hundreds of people wearing similar clothing and having nothing else. It was like a scene from an old samurai movie or ancient woodblock print. I got used to it quickly and loved it. It was freeing not to worry about what to wear and not carrying money or any possessions.

I noticed a few differences from this kind of experience in Japan vs. if it was held in North America. First of all, there is a lot of great home style cooking at reasonable prices, from tempura and curry, to ramen and sushi. Second, there is a mix of generations sitting together and close to one another in the same space. I noticed that there is still a lot of respect and care for elders here, and I love this, especially as I get older :). It is a culture that is not just focused on the young and staying youthful, which seems like the primary goal of our North American existence if you listen to the ads.

11.  Foot baths. After our meal, we went to the foot baths, which is a beautiful Japanese garden setting outside with warm ponds that you can dangle your feet in. There are also stones you can walk on.  I tried it, but it there were too painful for me, something I will have to build up to I guess. Yuki's niece wanted to try to soak her feet in the special pond called Doctor Fish where tiny fish come to your feet to clean them of dead skin cells and other nasty bits. This is in a special area that you have to pay for and her father took her.

It was a lovely warm evening, and we sat under the moonlight in our yukatas, this time both men and women are allowed in the same area, and time seemed to stand still. I could understand why this has been part of the Japanese culture for hundreds of years and I hope it stays that way. The bathing experience provides self-care and calm in an increasingly crazy busy world that we live in and it creates the opportunity to pause and reflect, unconnecting technically, but connecting to one another and more importantly to ourselves.