Small but important tips to enjoy Japanese onsen like a pro

Feel free to benefit from all my awkward Onsen fails

Are you getting ready to take a trip to an Onsen hot spring in Japan?

As an onsen-loving senior, let me give you some advice on how to be absolutely prepared before you brave the initial nudity and awkwardness of your first onsen adventure. Trust me, all of this knowledge has been gained by an awkwardness of multiple “learning experiences.” If you can benefit from my faux pas and misses, it will make all the red-faced moments worthwhile.

Your Ryokan (Japanese Inn) concierge will check you in and show you to your room with warm smiles and gracious attention to detail. However, since most Japanese people have enjoyed onsen since birth, your host won’t know what you don’t know when faced with the challenge of “Yu” (the word for bathing in the Ryokan (you can see Hiragana character for Yuã So here are my tips on what to ask and how to prepare to conquer the discomfort of being naked and move on to delight in the healing power of Onsen.

1. Your Yukata, belt and jacket are in the closet in the room.

Open the closet door and you will see a neatly folded Yukata kimono, belt and jacket. You can change now and wear the outfit in the Onsen area or you can take it with you and change in the Onsen changing room. Either way is fine.

Tip: Be sure to wear the provided slippers in the Onsen room. I once had to walk back to my room through a crowded ryokan in my Yukata and business heels…laughs galore.

2. Ask the concierge if the Onsen has shampoo and conditioner available inside. Your Yukata kit will come with a toothbrush and toothpaste, a small towel, and a larger bath towel. However, some places don’t have conditioner, just something called “Rinse-in-Shampoo.” If your hair is fine and tangles easily, be sure to buy a small shampoo/conditioner kit from a nearby store if your concierge says there is only “rinse” in the Onsen bath area.

Tip: Take your own brush with you. There are brushes you can use in the sink area in the locker room, but these are plastic and made for thicker hair. If you use “Rinse” and try to get by with the plastic brushes after your bath, plan to be in there working out those tangles and knots for at least 30 minutes. It’s not fun.

3. Don’t forget your 100 yen coin. Many onsen have lockers for you to leave your things while you take a bath. Some of these require a coin (returned when you unlock it). The coin needed is usually 10 yen or 100 yen. If you don’t have one of these when you walk in, it will mean leaving half dressed or putting all your clothes back on to find some change. Carry a 10 and 100 yen coin with you.

4. Remember that you only take the wipe to the bathroom area. You can use it to partially cover yourself while walking between baths, put it on your head when in the bath (or away to the side… NEVER in the bath), and use it as a cloth to sit in the sauna or steam room. room. Even when there are towels laid out in the sauna, use your towel to sit on just to be proper. Some other bosses sit right on the big yellow towels. This is exactly another excellent reason why I always put my washcloth down before I sit down.

5. Do not read in the Sauna. It usually goes against the rules and also makes you lose track of time. If you’re too engrossed in a book, you might end up passing out after you leave (I passed out and then threw up everywhere, something I definitely don’t want to repeat). Keep your sauna time under 10 minutes as you are in a new place, with new food, probably exhausted and therefore much more likely to pass out.

6. Don’t let any tattoo (no matter how small) show through. The other customers know that tattoos in Onsen and public baths are absolutely prohibited. Bad bosses will complain to management that they now want their tattooed friends allowed in and good bosses will complain to management that they fear other bosses now want their tattooed friends allowed in. Do you understand? Ink and onsen do not mix in Japan for reasons including the possibility of attracting the “wrong” crowd and thus going out of business. It’s a serious problem, so make sure everyone in your onsen entourage is free of ink.

Tip: It’s best to consider this as a dress code issue. It’s not discrimination, it’s simply a dress code that establishments must adhere to in order to keep their customer base happy and carefree.

7. There is always a bathroom inside the dressing room and usually not inside the onsen area. Be sure to visit the ladies’ room before entering the onsen area to avoid having to go back inside, soaking wet, to use the bathroom.

8. Make sure to wash before wearing anything. Take a full shower even before entering the sauna. After the sauna, it’s okay to just rinse off well before entering the bath. When taking a shower, be careful not to shoot the lady sitting on the shower station behind you. Sometimes the force of the water is enough to send the shower water over the small wall that separates the stations. Keep the shower head pointed down and you’ll be fine.

9. After your shower, use your small towel to remove excess water before returning to the locker. You will notice that the floor is quite dry and this is because everyone avoids walking to the soggy lockers.

10. Don’t scratch yourself in the bathroom. Oooh, that water feels so good. It’s so tempting to scratch your skin underwater. Everyone tries not to do this in order to keep the onsen water as clean and fresh as possible. After the bath, you can go to the shower station and scratch yourself at ease. Remember, sauna and onsen space (all the various baths) are shared, so you’ll want to leave as little DNA in there as possible. Everyone cooperates to make the onsen experience healthy, refreshing, and healing for everyone.