Busy is one of the very first words that come to mind when thinking about Japan. Some of you have probably already heard about the fact that in most Japanese companies working overtime is considered the norm and that there have unfortunately been multiple instances of people literally working themselves to death. Even nowadays it's still age over skill in Japanese company culture and this takes a toll on most citizens daily lives.
Contrary to the introductionary section however, this article is not going to be about the busy lives of the Japanese people, but rather about how most of them deal with the stress that accumulates over a long day of hard work. Not just taking a shower or "washing up" before bed; it's customary in Japan to take a bath every evening - yes, every evening. In fact, bathing everyday is so ingrained in Japanese culture that you'll barely find people who only live on taking showers. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but for most people, taking a hot bath is the one and only way to put an end to a long day. And I can tell you from experience that this daily ritual has been really helpful to deal with the stressful Ups and Downs of each day, inducing relaxation and helping with "leaving the day behind".
Note: I want to clarify something going forward. Whenever I talk "Japanese people" or even use generalizing language like talking about "all", I just want you to know that I obviously don't believe literally every single Japanese person does these things. This is a nitpick of mine whenever people say to me "in Germany you do things like this!" instead of asking me whether their assumptions are true or not. So, if you have a Japanese friend or make some in the future and you remember tidbits from my articles, just try and be considerate when asking questions. For the sake of simplicity, I'll sometimes use generalizing terms, but please be aware of the fact that I always keep in mind there are people whose experiences might differ.
To begin this journey into Japanese bathing culture for you, I'll start by painting you a picture of how everything looks since it does differ from what I was used to in Germany (let me know how it may differ or even be similar to what you're used to!). Most shower rooms in Japan normally include a bathtub inside the shower room, but it's separate from the shower itself. Before you go into said room however, you take off your clothes in close proximity, usually in a conjoined area with a sink and maybe a washing machine. In most households, the toilet will also be in the same space, but in a separate toilet chamber. This description is obviously impossible to be a standard in most Tokyoter apartments (or other metropolian areas) since they are often extremely tiny. After you've taken off your clothes, you get into the washing room and rinse off your body with water and soap in the showering area - many households will include a small plastic seat to sit on in front of a mirror while you clean yourself. The accomodating tub next to it will generally be filled to the brim with hot water, in which you can let your now cleansed body sink in to soak for a while. It's recommended to at least stay in the tub for 5-15 minutes, but obviously this depends on the preferences and stamina of the individuum (I often overhear moms counting down slowly from 1 to 10 with their kids in public baths to encourage them to soak in the hot water before they get out again, it's very cute).
The reason as to why you clean your body before you get into the tub is because in Japanese households all members of the family will bathe in the same hot water. So as to not soil the bath, you aren't supposed to get in without rinsing yourself off. For people with long hair this also means not to let your hair lose, but instead put it up in a bun. Obviously, if you live alone or are the last person to get into the bathtub on that day you can do as your hearts desire - there is no bathing police that will come in and fine you if you don't follow the rules.
In public baths, however, there might be a Japanese granny or two policing your behaviour. I can't say if Japanese grampies would do the same, but I have definitely been scolded by the grannies more than once. So, at least there, it is important to follow the rules, even if the locals sometimes don't adhere to them themselves. There is acceptible and unacceptible behaviour, so please make sure to check the etiquette before you enjoy your first public bathing experience.
"Manners in the Onsen" Nowadays, most Onsen and Sentô have some variant of these rules hung up on the wall somewhere in the changing area. It's translated into different languages.
Nowadays, almost every Japanese household has a bathtub, but that wasn't always the case. Cleansing body and soul by taking a hot bath used to be an imperative social gathering experience - where men, women and children would usually all wash up together. The separation of baths into men and women is one that only happened fairly recently, in the 19th century with the Meiji restauration. The governing bodies didn't want their citizens to seem uncultured in the eyes of the west (mainly America and Europe), so they enforced a separation of the sexes. This has been incredibly daunting for especially the rural areas, where public bathing in natural volcanic deriven hot springs has often been limited to having only one large basin filled to the brim with said hot spring water. These days the separation of the sexes has become the norm and there are only a few hot springs left that offer a shared bathing experience - usually high up in the mountains where not a lot of people are able to go to.
Aoni-Onsen in Aomori (2018), one of the few mixed baths I've visited. As you can see, there was nobody there, which is why I took photos. Please never photograph these areas while people are bathing in them, in most places it's even forbidden to take out your phone at all!
I can see how this separation by sex could affect a lot of people who don't identify with their assigned gender at birth, however as progression looks different for every country and culture, these gender discussions are not as much of a focus of discourse as they are in Western countries (yet). That's why you probably won't find facilities that will accomodate your particular needs, but there are places where you can rent a private bath even though they tend to be a little bit pricey.
Entrance of the female-only bathing area. For males this entrance usually is coloured a navy blue. The sign in the middle is the Hiragana syllable which reads "yu" meaning "hot water" or in this case "bath".
The two forms of public bathing in Japan are called Onsen and Sentô. If one doesn't know the difference, one tends to throw them into the same pot, however there is a very siginifanct distincation when talking about the two of them. Both facilities are forms of public bathing, but where one is offering baths brimming with natural volcanic deriven spring water that's rich in minerals - called "Onsen" (meaning: warm spring/fountain) - the other is just a large basin filled with regular hot water - "Sentô" (meaning: money & hot water). Due to Japan being an island nestled with inactive volcanos, there are natural hot springs all over the country in almost every region. A facility can call itself an Onsen as long as it provides water derived from a volcanic source, even if they for example heat it up artificially.
The most important Onsen are found in spa towns scattered all over the country. I have been to some, but only one really famous one: Kusatsu-Onsen. These spa towns are usually a very important tourist destination, especially for older folks, but also young people who really like natural hot springs. You can differentiate those spa towns as they usually have "Onsen" as an added suffix at the end of the original towns name, for example the aforementioned Kusatsu-Onsen, but also Asamushi-Onsen, Hijiori-Onsen, Yuzawa-Onsen, Aoni-Onsen, Ginzan-Onsen or Naruko-Onsen. And yes, I just listed all of the Onsen towns that I've visited, or at least the ones I could remember on the spot. I'm just a really big Onsen-fan.
Pictures were taken in Ginzan-Onsen in Yamagata prefecture (2023), which is said to be one of Miyazaki Hayaos inspirations for creating the world of Spirited Away.
These natural hot spring spa towns are focused on health and relaxation above all else. If you go to larger cities that are also equipped with Onsen facilities, those usually offer a variety of services so you can get a whole spa days worth your money (which is pretty cheap comparing it to what I know from German spa facilities). Features of such spas normally include a hair salon, massage and beauty treatments as well as some kind of restaurant. Some of them add Korean hot stone baths called Ganbanyoku into the mix.
Changing area in one of the Onsen spa towns (2023). Again; noone was there except for me which is why I took these pictures.
If you however go to some of these Onsen towns and expect the same kind of services I just mentioned, prepare to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you are an Onsen connoisseur like me, you won't miss the spa-like atmosphere one bit and immediately realize the difference of the water and how it makes you feel. Those Onsen town facilities normally only offer one, maximum two hot baths to relax in. No hair dressers or restaurants, and no fancy bubblejet baths or saunas. It's just the natural Onsen paired with a few showers - and some don't even have those. Bathing in the various different kind of Onsens will supposedly aid with numerous health benefits. These claims are widely known to Japanese people, however, there is no actual research that suggests these claims to be true nor false (at least none that I know of). I can confirm that is extremely relaxing though.
This bath in Hijiori-Onsen in Yamagata prefecture (2023) didn't even have showers. You just go in, take a bucket from the area behind and rinse your body off before you get in to soak for a while. It was the first time I ever saw a buddhist monk statue in an Onsen, which is what made this one special to me.
Onsen come in various colours and temperatures, and no Onsen town is like the other. This means, it's kind of hard to generally paint a picture of how they look - all the ones I've been to were pretty different from each other. And to be completely honest with you, while I am writing, preparing and uploading this weeks Alphabet Superset blogpost, I am currently residing in one of these Onsen towns. Even when posting a little bit here and there on my Instagram, I made sure not to spoil where I was so I would be able to tell you all about it in my letter "B".
Womens bath of Matsuya Inn, Hijiori-Onsen in Yamagata prefecture (2023). Here you can see how the minerals in the water not only change its colour, but also how over time, they ate away at the stones covering the ground.
A few months ago, I registered for a service that specializes in establishing bonds between (usually younger) people who live in bigger cities but are willing to help out at hotels or on farms (or other places as well) for a short period of time to aid in the labour shortage that is a reoccuring theme in most rural towns all over Japan. Since many young people would rather go to Tokyo or another metropolis instead of staying in their hometown all their lives, most people working these pretty labour-intensive jobs are 70 years and older. I signed up for one of these programs and have been chosen to work at a traditional Japanese hotel, called Ryokan, for a little less than two weeks. The name of the Ryokan is Matsuya Inn and it is located in Hijiori-Onsen (Yamagata prefecture). The speciality of this Ryokan is called "Anayu" which literally translates to "hole bath". I'll just let the following clip speak for itself (and yes, this was kinda scary at night):
If you ever get the chance to visit Japan and are in the Yamagata area, please make sure to check Matsuya Inn in Hijiori-Onsen out! They are very lovely people.
Even though they used to be the norm - Onsen in rural areas and Sentô in more urban areas - with the rise of bathtubs in almost every household it's now really only for people who enjoy public bathing, those wo are used to it from childhood or of course those who don't own a bathtub. I don't want to generalize, as I do have people in my closer friends circle that don't like going to Onsen or Sentô - either they don't like being naked around other people or they feel those public bathing facilities are somewhat dirty. I have also heard more than one person say that simply the water is too hot and they don't enjoy bathing if the water's 40° Celsius (~104°F) and up. I personally really love it, the hotter the better, but I can understand anyone who doesn't.
And now a few little tidbits of information for you at the end...
Generally, it is forbidden to wear any kind of clothing, including bathing suits, to Onsen as well as Sentô. However, in recent years there has been a clothing item for women who had to have one or both breasts removed due to breast cancer. It has the look of a nude bra and I have seen some women wearing them coming to the bath, but many of them don't.
Many Onsen and even some Sentô facilities offer one or more saunas. In recent years there has been a boom in sauna usage, but most saunas I've been to are pretty different from what I knew a sauna to be like in Germany. Most saunas in Japan have TVs installed, so it's not really the kind of relaxing quiet experience I personally like a sauna to be. I've gotten used to it - sauna time is now the only time when I even watch TV - but I'm still not a fan. Unfortunately, the sauna in the womens area is usually 10 degrees colder than the mens which I always find kind of offensive. So, all in all, I personally don't really go to Onsen facilities for the sauna, but rather the Onsen that they offer.
For anyone who didn't know yet it might also be important to mention that tattoos are banned. This is due to the Japanese mafia known as Yakuza in the past using a certain kind of tattoo called Irezumi to mark themselves (and sometimes their "territory", aka the women that accompanied them). To prevent those people from entering Onsen or Sentô, tattoo bans have been put in place with little regard to other cultures where tattoos are a form of expression. Some places enforce this more than others, so if you are a heavily tattooed person looking to get into an Onsen, prepare for the possibility to be turned away (and please don't take it personally - I've tried many times to talk to Japanese people 50 years and older about it, but many of them are just not open to the idea that tattoos could be something positive; to them it's the marking of a "bad person" since that is just what has been fed to them over and over again for most of their lives).
What you'll also likely be able to see in many of those rural Onsen towns are little basins just randomly placed somewhere. Those are called "Ashiyu", literally translating to foot bath. These Ashiyu are not a given for every Onsen town, but many have them and guess what? They are totally free to use for everyone! Just remember to always have a small towel ready and then you can sit on the accomodating bench, take off your shoes and warm your feet up a little. It's relaxing and sometimes you can even meet new people and have a little chat with other tourists or even locals!
From first to last: Ashiyu at Ginzan-Onsen (Yamagata) with a beautiful view of the river, Ashiyu in Asamushi-Onsen (Aomori) right in front of the train station and Ashiyu in front of a Ryokan in Hijiori-Onsen (Yamagata), all taken in 2023.
To wrap all of this up, I want to tell you what I personally really like about Onsen and Sentô - not the obvious external reasons I have mentioned in this whole article, but rather from a more emotional perspective. I have always been someone who wasn't able to live in a thin body no matter how much I tried to adjust my diet or did sports, but regularly going to Onsen helped me heal myself in that regard. Contrary to popular belief, there are a lot of chubby Japanese women. All of those lovely imperfections being visible - like absolutely adorable rolls on the belly, wobbly arms and legs that just normally come with age and a well-fed stomach rounding up the picture. The way we all are just there, as women in our naked bodies, doing nothing besides enjoying a good soak in a hot bath has helped me heal so much - thanks to be able to see them, I have more and more realized how we all look different, but also just so similar in peculiar ways when we're naked. At the end of the day, we are all humans after all and there is only a few percentage of people who have what society has deemed "the perfect body". I'm not one of them and so are most women I encounter at the Onsen and Sentô. These experiences combined with the fact that I inevitably look at my naked body everytime I wash myself due to the mirrors in the showering area, I've used these times to be gentle with myself and say thank you to my body for carrying me every day. It might not look "perfect", but I'm just glad to have it. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to write this and share my love for Japan with all of you. :)
I hope you can also try to be kind(er) to your body as well as yourself.
Thanks for being here again.
EFA
(total of who am I kidding I completely went over my limit of 11000 characters but are too tired to trim down the article so I'll just have to live with the fact that I broke my rules this time)
Thank you so much for reading this weeks article again. I really appreciate everyone who makes time in their day to read what I wrote and maybe even learn something new while doing so.
This time, I was really pushing myself hard. As I mentioned in the article, I worked at a Ryokan while writing this. I completely underestimated how tiring this kind of work would be - of course I somewhat had an idea, but as with many things in life I wasn't able to prepare myself physically and mentally for what I would have to do here. Somewhat laughable is the fact that I'll basically have to leave now that I have finally somewhat adjusted to these working conditions, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to going home. This is not to say that the people I was able to meet and work with weren't lovely AF! It was just the work itself that's really tiring. Being able to look behind the scenes made me appreciate the work Ryokans do even more now and I really, really love the people who work at Matsuya Inn. Big recommendation!
Also due to the work, I haven't been able to write this article to my full potential. I know there are some weird expressions and kinda long paragraphs, but my brain is just not functioning as well as it normally would due to the lack of sleep. I hope you were still able to enjoy this read.
Done is better than perfect.
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