Among the many different experiences we had in Japan, (which included cat cafes, crab and squid sushi, renting kimonos, strolling around Akihabara, crossing the ocean by an underground train, sleeping at a hotel without any kind of eletricity, visiting castles, cycling around kyoto, hiking and even feeding deers) the most exquisite of them all was discovering the japanese bath. The onsen.

How does it work?

First, remember to bring 2 towels. Your normal towel and a small one. Baths are separated by gender and it’s easy to know which is which. Red for ladies, blue for men. As you enter, the first room is full of shelves with baskets. That’s when you take off your clothes and deposit them there. With the big towel. Then, stark naked (with your small towel with you) you enter the bath area.

The bath area is divided in two sections: The showers and the onsen. First, you go to one of the shower booths. Most of them already have shampoo, hair conditioner and body soap avaiable. You either use the shower or the small bucket as you shower sitting on the stool. It’s common for japanese to shower themselves sitting. Take your time and rinse off all soap thoroughly.

Now comes the onsen. With your trustworthy companion – the small towel – you walk to the big pool of hot water. And when I said hot, I mean it. It’s prudent to go in slowly because of that. It’s japanese etiquette not to let your small towel get wet in the onsen water but recently people are more relaxed so yes, if you want, you can use your small towel to cover your -ahem- you-know-what. The elderly old-school japanese folds the towel and they place it on their heads.

Next step, relax. But not for too long! If you stay for 20+ min you’ll start to get drowsy, because blood pressure gets really low. As you get out, use the small towel to dry yourself (hah, these elderly japanese know the drill, we should imitate them) and go to the first room, where you finish drying yourself and get dressed. After that, it’s like you had just woke up from a really nice sleep and your ready for everything. It’s amazing how good you feel after going to the onsen.

But a very funny experience inside this onsen-experience is that, while you’re soaking in super hot water, thinking about life, the universe and number 42, japanese people WILL approach you and start talking to you. They say that the easiest way to start a friendship with asians is either by drinking with them or going to a onsen together. Well, that’s true.

As a side-note:

These pictures are from one of the private onsen in one of the ryokans we visited. That’s why it’s small. The real onsen is much bigger (with at least 10 shower booths) but we’re not allowed to take pictures in there, obviously.

Japanese Bethel has a big onsen for the brothers working there!!