If there is one thing about Japan we all know and love then that is anime. Anime has become a staple form of media in and outside of Japan and we all know that every popular slice of life kind of anime follows a basic route. Let me explain that path to you: every slice of life anime has at least 1 beach episode, 1 vacation episode and 1 shopping episode.
The sharp ones reading this article instantly knew I let something out of the holy 4-chain anime episode of every slice of life: Onsen episodes. There is always some kind of way, at least one episode in an onsen. And let me tell you: onsens are exactly how they are portrayed in anime: a huge bathhouse with a lot of naked strangers you have never seen in your life.
What is an onsen exactly?
An onsen is kind of like a bathhouse that is filled with all kinds of different baths, ranging from: bubble baths to electric baths and wine baths. There is a very clear route that you follow when you visit an onsen: you enter and pay, you get into the changing room with different men, you get completely naked and then you enter the bathhouse.
This may sound a bit weird and down-to-earth but this is what it comes down to. Onsens truly do live up to their reputation: it is weird and uncomfortable but at the same time relaxing and nice. The onsen we went to was (obviously) divided in a bathhouse for men and women separated.
What kind of baths do onsens have?
Onsen have all kinds of baths ranging from the standard cold to hot, bubbles to flat and from the weirder side like: tea baths, wine baths, electric baths, stone baths, and sulfur baths. The onsen does not only have baths, they usually also have saunas and open-air rooms to cool down or get hot. Onsen are the manifestation of relaxation (once you’re over the get-naked part).
What is there to do in an onsen?
An onsen hosts multiple activities, but the main one is (of course) relaxing in a bath while thinking of nothing. This is the main selling point of an onsen and this is what most people come to do. The onsen also provides massages via massage chairs for after you got out of the bathroom and changed. The basic route is: change, bath, get out and dry, drink cold Pocari sweat and then take a massage in the massage chair. This is also what I did minus the massage because I did not have a 100-yen coin.
My experience in an onsen.
I went to an onsen in Kyoto in a quiet area. I went with a colleague from work who I only knew for about a month. When we went to the classic / original kind of onsen which was very relaxing. When we entered the onsen we were greeted by the personnel and we bought a towel and shampoo. However, when we entered the changing room we were greeted by about a dozen naked men. This was a bit weird because I did not expect the changing room to be next to the entrance. After the shock of seeing 15 naked men we got naked and put our belongings in the locker. The walk from the changing room to the bath was pretty awkward because I saw a dude who I only knew for about a month naked in front of me, but it also was kind of funny.
After we showered and washed ourselves we went into the different kinds of baths and we basically tried them all out. My favorite was the wine bath because it was warm, no bubbles and smelled nice. After we tried all of the baths on floor 1 we went up to floor 2 where there was a sauna, an open-air bath and an ice bath. We firstly got into the open-air bath which was very weird because there were about 10 guys just chatting with each other instead of going into the bath, this led us to waiting 20 minutes for a bath we presumed had a long line, when in fact it had no waiting time. After that we went into the sauna for about 5 minutes and then we cooled ourselves down by going into the ice bath immediately after the sauna.
My thoughts on an onsen.
I think that an onsen is very relaxing and that it is something that you should definitely do at least once when you are in Japan, but pick the right person to do it with. I found the onsen more fun than relaxing since we basically went in, tried every bath and then chilled for a moment and left. I do think it is a cultural thing in Japan and that I probably won’t be going to another onsen during my stay in Japan because I already experienced it. An onsen trip is definitely a ‘the first time is the most fun time’ type of thing. This is because of the (for foreigners) crazy concept, however the novelty wears off and it becomes surprisingly normal.
