An onsen is a japanese hot spring bath. The Japanese have been relaxing in hot springs for centuries, after all the country is full of volcanoes and sulphurous hot springs. That is why thermal tourism never loses popularity, on the contrary, it gains more every year and from the hand of international tourism.
Any tourist arriving in Japan has seen photographs of these onsen: outdoor pools, surrounded by forests, overlooking the sea or a river or the frozen mountains of the Japanese Alps. They are true postcards so everyone wants to live that experience. If you go to Japan you can do it, although first you should know some things like the ones I detail below:
- First of all, the vast majority of onsen divide their guests by gender. That is to say, on the one hand the men, on the other the women. Yes there are some mixed onsen But you have to look for them carefully and that is my advice if you go on a trip with your wife / girlfriend / or family. You have to enter naked and after having sanitized, bathed. If you are staying in a ryokan this hotel will give you a towel and if not, it is advisable to bring one as the one provided in the onsen is super small.
- In the event that you visit a mixed onsen you must wear a bathing suit. In this case, do not bring your best bathing suit because if the water is sulfurous the smell will never leave the garment. On the other hand, there are many types of onsen depending on the minerals in their waters and depending on whether they are indoors or outdoors and there are many popular onsen in Japan. There are entire thermal towns dedicated to this activity.
- The onsen are all over Japan so you just have to look for which ones are in the area where you will move. There are them around Tokyo, there are them in Hokkaido, in Tohoku, Chubu, around Kyoto, in Shikoku and in Kyushu.