Matsuyama Public Bath, Shikoku

Public bath 銭湯 せんとう

Onsen 温泉 おんせん Hotpools

 the onsen sign

 

means ‘hot water’ (kanji); pronounced ‘yu’

 means ‘hot water’ (hiragana); pronounced ‘yu’

One famous onsen spa high up in the mountains.

The topic of ‘onsen’ is one of some confusion, a lot of interest and quite a lot of misunderstanding. We will try to explain the situation and then you can make up your own mind.

Japan is a volcanic country with a lot of geothermal activity.  “In the olden” days villages would have access to an outdoor hot pool and the villagers would make the most of the bathing potential. Hygiene makes you live longer, so to say. As villagers had lived in the same place for many generations and grown up together, the idea of communal bathing was no surprise and certainly wouldn’t have been something unusual. 

Many villages in the mountains were surrounded by the most awesome scenery either in summer, or when the mountains were covered with snow in winter. The community looked after the hot pools and it was readily available for everyone. Much, much later in history, when villages became towns and cities, did the local community begin to impose new rules in order to accommodate outsiders, who might be intruding, but who also might bring cash to the place – a useful commodity. 

Some towns opted for segregation, others opted for strict supervision, others would opt for separate baths, if there was enough water available to make such decisions. High up in the mountains, where water was at a premium, it wasn’t always possible to segregate as many visitors wouldn’t really come, or they came as house guests of locals and then separating might be a cultural offence. Whatever the situation or the location, or the reason, baths evolved.

But then the “tourist yen” arrived. Lots of yen! An awful lot of yen! Hotels were built, town councils got involved. Hotels organised tourist trips to their own wonderful onsen baths. Locals could afford to have their own private baths at home, so the need for the outdoor public bath was no longer there.

With hotels more strangers arrived. New customs were developed. Modesty rules were imposed. Segregated times were enforced etc.

This town has a lot of geothermal activity, which it advertises, so that tourists come and stay in the hotels that have their own geothermal swimming pools.

Something to be recommended to any visitor to Japan: enjoy an onsen!

Either he loves nature, or he is communicating with nature. Never mind.

Entrance to an onsen pool complex, probably attached to a hotel.

These two so-called ‘noren’, on the left display ‘female’ and on the right ‘male’.

When westerners come to a Japanese onsen they need to adjust to the country, the culture and the situation. It also depends on the age of the visitor. Older, more mature people, or little children, easily fit into the expectations. The strategically placed modesty towel covers a lot. 

Usually teenagers give the most trouble, as their own fantasies and insecurities are sprawled all over the entrance. This is a good opportunity to point out that beach wear these days in the western world is often less than flimsy. Somehow the modesty towel is suddenly too little. Utter nonsense. If you have such a teenager to deal with, leave them in the hotel, or send them shopping, or give them a DVD, or iPod or something. Don’t bother with an onsen.

By the way: NEVER wash yourself in the onsen! You only soak in the water. Washing is done earlier and later in the hotel bathroom. Think of it as an outdoor hot swimming pool.

As you can see, this onsen is completely man-made and probably an outdoor architect charged for the display to make the stones look as naturally set as possible.

This onsen even has a modest Roman character. Never mind.

Actually the winter is the best time of the year. As this photo shows, the combination of snow, cold, hot water, outside is amazing!

猿　さる　saru   monkey      (macaque monkey)

And than the monkeys came. There are no millions of monkeys all over Japan ready to hop into a spa pool. Nonsense. One monkey (possibly Mrs Monk – joke) copied human behaviour and took her own baby monkey into the water and discovered the hot water. This was in the province Nagano. Where there is one monkey, there are more.  

In that part of Nagano the monkeys have learnt to enter the onsen when humans are not there. The relationship between humans and monkeys is one of respect from a distance. The photo below was taken in a very particular onsen, mid-winter, so the monkey was freezing cold and would have liked to enter the water, but obviously wouldn’t.

When humans come, monkeys retreat. It’s the pecking order. By the way, don’t worry: monkeys are extremely clean.