Foreign Language 2:

Understanding
Onsen (Hotspring) Culture
Online Activity
March 17, 2020
Prepared by:
Ms. Esperanza C. Santos, MAEd
 Water Culture
 Finding A Hot Bath
 Sand Baths
 Hot Spring Cuisine
 Hot Spring Healing
 Understanding Onsen
 Tokyo Onsens
 Japan Onsens
What’s an onsen?

 An onsen (hot water spring”) is a natural hot spring bath

 and thanks to its plentiful volcanic activity Japan has lots of them.
 Onsen water is geothermally heated beneath the ground and rises to the surface bubbling hot.
 The prerequisites of an official onsen are that the water must contain at least one of the 19
designated chemical elements that naturally occur in hot spring water
 and it must be at least 25C when it comes out of the ground. 
 Rotenburo is another word you may hear in Japan and refers to an outdoors onsen (the best
kind!).
 Sento, on the other hand, are indoor public bathhouses supplied by ordinary heated water.
 Whilst onsen are generally looked on as something as a treat
 sento are the everyday bathhouses of ordinary Japanese people – and as such
make a very interesting experience in themselves
 although sometimes it can be a bit daunting to enter on your own as very few
foreigners take the time to seek them out.
 Nevertheless, the rules of etiquette are the same for both onsen and sento
 so with your newfound skills you’ll be able to tackle any bathhouse with
aplomb.
 Onsen and sento en
trances are marked
by half-length
curtains.
 Red means women
 blue means men
What’s so great about them?
 Communal bathing doesn’t exactly sound appealing to
most gaijin (foreigners)
 but in Japan it is a beloved part of traditional culture.
 Onsen water has been believed to have a multitude of healing
properties basically since time began
 and is packed full of minerals that are thought to be good for
your skin
 circulation and general health. 
 Onsen baths can be beautiful objects in themselves – made from
materials such as cypress wood, marble and granite
 and are often situated in areas of outstanding natural beauty or
attached to lovely traditional inns, which enhances their appeal.
 There really is nothing more relaxing or therapeutic than lying
back in a hot bath after a long day –
 especially when you’re surrounded by falling snow, on
a beach, overlooking a beautiful mountain view, or listening to a
river rushing past.
 Once you’ve done it, you’ll never look back!
7 Things you need to know before going
to a Japanese Onsen Bath
 Remove your shoes. ...
 Use the correct change room. ...
 Remove your clothing. ...
 Shower first. ...
 Put the towel on your head. ...
 The details. ...
 The importance of impressing. ...
Shower before you bathe.

 To the Japanese, the Western practice of washing yourself in the bath is,
well… pretty gross actually!
 Even when bathing in the privacy of their own home
 the Japanese always clean themselves under the shower before having a soak
in the bath
 and this is even more important when you’re visiting a
communal sento or onsen
 to keep the water as clean as possible.
 To this end, every onsen has a row of showers around the outside of the bath.
 Soap, shampoo and conditioner are usually provided (though you can bring your
own if you prefer)
 and you are expected to sit down on one of the stools provided while you wash
 It’s considered bad manners to stand up while you wash, as you might splash one of
the people next to you
 and you must remember to rinse thoroughly so as not to get soap in the bath water.
 Though it’s less important than showering before you bathe
 most Japanese will have a quick rinse under the shower after a soak in the onsen
 and if they are returning to the bath after using a sauna or steam room.
 Towels

 At any onsen, you will either be provided with a small and a large towel
 or there will be some available to rent.
 This is not always the case at local sento baths, so you are advised to bring
your own.
 The large towel is for drying yourself and should be left in the changing room
(along with your clothes)
 while the small towel is for washing and can be taken into the bathing area.
 You can take your small towel into the bath with you (in fact, many people
put them on their heads!)
 but you mustn’t let it go in the water.
Hair & head

 If you have long hair, always remember to bring a hairband or to wrap your
hair in a small towel
 as even if you’ve just washed your hair under the shower
 you should take care to make sure that it doesn’t go in the bath water.
 You wouldn’t want to be sitting around amongst other people’s hairballs,
would you? Well that’s why.
 In fact, even if you don’t have any hair you should refrain from putting your
head underwater
 as there is always a small chance that shared water may carry infection
 and putting your head underwater increases your risk of catching something.
Tattoos

 As I explained in a recent post, tattoos are something of a 

taboo in Japan
 thanks for the most part to their association with
Japanese organised crime (the yakuza).
 Unfortunately, this means that most onsen and sento ban
tattoos completely – even if it is blatantly clear that you
are not part of the mafia.
 It doesn’t make much sense, but rules is rules!
 If you have a small tattoo, you may well get away without anybody noticing
 or you can cover it up with a sticking plaster or bandage.
 If you have a larger tattoo that’s difficult to cover you may have more problems.
 Some solutions are to stay at ryokan inns
 where there are private rotenburo baths or onsen 
 that can be rented for private use
 or to head to the hotel onsen late at night
 after the other guests have dispersed.
 If you’re very brave, you could even find out where the real yakuza bathhouses are
 but we’re not going to recommend it!
 Noise
 Bathhouses are social places, and
most onsen-goers like to have a bit
of a chat
 while they relax – so as long as
you’re not being rowdy you certainly
don’t need to worry about making
too much noise.
Alcohol
 Onsen and sento will generally
display signs indicating that you
should not drink and bathe
 for pretty obvious reasons I think
 That said, a cup of sake or a cold
beer while you soak can be divine,
 so if you’ve got your own
private rotenburo then I say go right
ahead!
 Japan Onsen Guides:
Introducing Hot Spring Culture
By: Greg Goodmacher

 Noboribetsu Onsen
 Many Westerners are uncomfortable with anyone seeing their naked
bodies, but being naked with friends and strangers is a traditional
practice in Japan.
 Ithappens every day in hot springs across Japan as it has for
thousands of years.
 Bathing together is a healthy, relaxing, and bonding experience.
A special kind of platonic friendship develops when people do not hide
behind their clothes.
 InJapanese, these relationship is
called hadaka no tsukiai.
 People tend to shed their pretensions when
they remove their clothes. The only cloth
that bathers may bring into most hot
springs is a small towel that barely covers
the private parts.
 Japanese Culture & Water
 Japanese culture, like many other cultures, has developed ties between
water and religion.
 Washing one's hands and mouth with water is customary behavior for
most Japanese when they enter the grounds of a shrine.
 An important Japanese legend relates how Izanagi,
 the male god who created the world with his wife, Izananami
 took a bath to purify himself after descending into the land of the dead
when his wife died.
 Other gods and goddesses were created from his tears, wet body, and
clothes.
 Nowadays, you can still find hot springs with religious connections.
 One of the best examples is on the island of Sakurajima in Kagoshima
Prefecture.
 This hot spring is right next to the sea on the grounds of the Furusato Kanko
Hotel.
 Unlike most hot springs, men and women share the bath.
 Another difference is that all visitors must don white robes in the water.
 White is a symbol of pureness in Japan.
 A typical rustic onsen hot spring setting
 Enjoying hot spring onsen culture in Japan
Finding A Hot Bath in Japan
 Hot springs, or onsen, as they are called in Japan, are in
every prefecture.
 In Japan, one is rarely more than an hour's drive from a
spring.
 What exactly is an onsen?
 That is a hard question to answer precisely.
  Onsen often refers to individual hot springs.
 Sometimes Japanese say onsen when speaking about
Japanese inns,
 or ryokan, with hot springs, as well as areas with many hot
spring baths.
 Japan has over 3,000 hot spring areas
 but each area has numerous different springs and baths.
 For example, a website of Oita Prefecture lists 4,749 springs in 
Oita alone,
 and these springs are very different.
 To be legally designated by the government as an onsen,
 the spring water must contain at least one of nineteen specific
minerals and naturally be over 25 ºC, or 77 ºF.
 Actually, temperatures of more than 40 ºC are quite common.
 Springs emitting boiling water are not unusual.
 The water must be cooled before usage.
 Hot springs are enjoyed in remote mountains, on beaches
 in major cities, on the edges of cliffs, on the tops of hotels, on river banks, just
about anywhere.
 Some wild, or undeveloped, hot springs require long arduous hikes over difficult
terrain to reach.
 Others in the middle of crowded cities have masseuses, numerous types of tubs
with Jacuzzis, saunas, tubs will almost boiling-hot water and tubs with near-
freezing water.
  The bathing areas may be carved from huge rocks, constructed of many stones
 built with fragrant woods, decorated with Japanese ceramics, or be holes in
the ground.
 Rotemburo or outdoor bath at a hot spring in Japan
 Onsen bathing in Japan is a quasi-spiritual activity
 Neighborhood baths play an important social role.
 These facilities are where neighbors exchange news, express kinship, and
bond.
 Empathy and friendship is developed in the baths.
 Since neighbors frequently bathe at a certain time
 the other regulars notice the absence of a friend and check up on him or her.
 Young children also learn manners in the baths.
Hot Sand Baths

 Does being buried in hot sand seem like good clean fun to you?
 People from all over Japan visit beaches in Ibusuki, Kagoshima,
 to be buried while wearing a yukata in "sand baths" with just the head
sticking out.
 A parasol protects the face from sun burns. 
 Geothermal steam rises through the sand
 gradually heating the body like a steam sauna
 but one with a view of blue sea
 For couples, families, or friends who would just rather be together
 private rooms with hot springs are becoming popular.
 Hot spring baths reserved for families are called kazokuburu. 
 Kazoku conveys the concept of family and buru means bath.
 These baths are more expensive ,but they guarantee privacy.
 Bathing together in a hot spring with a beautiful view has become a romantic
option for dating couples.
 It is not unheard of for proposals of marriage to be made in these springs.
 As the body perspires and eliminate toxins, breezes from the sea caress the
face.
 Another bath in clean spring water removes the sticky sand.
 Sand baths can be also found in a few other locations
 but they are not so common.
 If hot sand is not appealing, about a hot mud bath?
  Some baths in very natural surroundings contain volcanic ash and clay
 and people rub the mud on their bodies.
 This natural mud often contains minerals that can reduce the severity of
various skin ailments, such as psoriasis
 and speed the healing process of skin injuries.
 Many people pay for expensive mud treatments at beauty salons
 but you can receive the same benefits for much less money
 and smearing the mud on yourself or a friend can be fun.
 If a mud bath is not your cup of tea, how about an actual green-tea bath?
 The 1,300 year-old town of Ureshino in Saga Prefecture is famous for its green tea and silky-
smooth waters.
 From some hot springs in this small town, bathers can see fields of green tea plants in
terraced fields.
 Warakuen, a Japanese style hotel has a green-tea bath.
 Tea made with the hot spring water is mixed in the bath.
 Bathers enjoy wiping their skin with bags of wet green-tea leaves.
 The body feels amazingly soft afterwards.
 For the same effect, citrus fruits are sometimes placed in hot baths.
 As the fruit gently bob in the ripples, sweet scents emanate from the citrus oils,
 which have anti-bacteriological properties.
Hot Spring Cooking 
 

 The boiling waters and steam of hot springs can be used for cooking. 
 Onsen tamago, eggs boiled in a hot spring, are common snacks at hot spring resorts
across the country
 but the famous hot spring resort area of Kannawa, Beppu, takes cooking with hot springs
to gourmet levels.
 This cooking style is called jigoku-mushi. 
 Mushi means steaming and jigoku means hell,
 but minerals in the steam provide a heavenly flavor.
 Crab, lobster, fish, sweet potatoes, corn, and other foods are steamed for guests at local
restaurants and hot spring resorts.
 Steam pits are also available for visitors and locals to use for a very low price.
 After bathing with friends, sharing a hot-spring-prepared meal is another pleasure.
Hot Spring Healing

 Healing with hot springs has a long history in Japan.

 Samurai healed their wounds and relaxed in springs after battles.
 Some hot springs, such as Tsurunoyu in Akita Prefecture,
 were reportedly discovered after animals were seen soaking their injured
bodies in the water.
 Tsurunoyu was named for the wounded crane, tsuru, that was seen in the
spring.
 Numerous hospitals are constructed on the sites of natural springs and the
waters used for healing.
 The varying mineral content of hot springs is used to treat health problems:
 Constipation
 menstrual pain
 diabetes
 constipation
 aching muscles
 rheumatism
 and many other ailments.
 Stretching in a hot bath promotes the healing of sports injuries.
 "Onsen therapy" includes both soaking in the mineral water and drinking
mineral water.
  Hot springs with a high alkaline content are considered to be especially
effective in reducing atopi, atopic dermatitis.
 This water often has a greenish hue and a slippery feel.
 Tsukioka Onsen in Shibata, Niigata, has a hot spring named Bijinnoyu,
 which translates as hot water for the beautiful woman.
 When is the best season for enjoying hot springs? In spring,
 a pleasant bath with a view of budding flowers or greenery revitalizes the
senses.
 Bathing while surrounded by the autumn leaves of Japan brings about a
reflective mood.
 Scrubbing the body after a bath during the humid summer opens the skin
pores.
 And in winter, nothing beats being in a hot spring surrounded by snow and
watching snowflakes slowly fall.
 Many ski resorts in Nagano, Niigata, and Hokkaido have ski resorts at the
bottoms of the slopes.
Onsen Rules

 The most important rule for when visiting a Japanese hot spring is never ever use soap
or shampoo inside the shared bath.
 Wash and rinse thoroughly before entering the shared bath.
 Japanese people usually follow the following steps when bathing:
 First, wash the body. Second, enter the bath and feel your stress dissolve in the heat.
  If there is a view, enjoy it.
 Many people seem to quickly enter a semi-meditative state.
 After the body has heated up enough to promote sweating,
 wash the body again while scrubbing hard.
 Then soak again.
 These steps are often repeated.
 Some facilities have baths of extremely cold water or saunas
 and alternating between these is considered to be helpful
 to the entire body, especially the heart.
 If a spring is known to have health promoting minerals,
 Do not rinse after the final soaking because the beneficial minerals should be
allowed
 to soak into the skin instead of being rinsed away.
 Other rules include not splashing, not being loud, and not bringing items into the
water.
 But once, in a small community bath I saw four old men crazily splashing water
 and playing with toys with a grandchild.
 Occasionally hot springs have signs that forbid people with tattoos from
entering the springs. 
 This rule is to discourage members of the Yakuza,
 who often have tattoos, from using the premises,
 but this rule is rarely enforced since few onsen staff would dare to refuse
entry to someone with Yakuza-style tattoos.
 Actually, on several occasions, Yakuza bathed with people who were always
friendly and well behaved.
 Everyone relaxes in a hot spring.
Understanding Japanese hot springs

 The only way to really understand hot springs is to repeatedly immerse

oneself in the topic.
 Absorb the atmosphere, minerals, and waters of many baths with your
friends.
 The variety of springs is phenomenal.
  So are the insights into Japanese culture and friendships
 that you can make while your stress melts and vanishes in the dissipating
ripples.
 The author of this article is an unabashed hot spring addict,
 who had bathed his way from Hokkaido to Okinawa. 
 His favorites include Nabeyama-no-yu,
 an undeveloped hot spring that requires a long walk from Beppu City, Oita
Prefecture
 Hirauchi Kaichu Onsen, a hot spring on Yakushima
 that is only accessible at low tide because it is actually in the sea
  Kusatsu Onsen, a resort area with many rotenburu, outdoor baths
 with green water and forest views
 Echigo Yuzawa Hot Spring, which is the setting of Japan's first Nobel Prize
winning book, Snow Country
 because bathing naked while surrounded by several meters of snow is a mind-
blowing experience.