August 5, 2008: Japanese Thermal Baths (Onsens)

We woke up at 6am to take the train to the Hyaku-no-waraiyu onsen (the Japanese thermal bath). I was very excited for the onsen because I have been to thermal baths in Budapest and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I was eager to spend some time relaxing in the hot water! I continued to be excited until Ken mentioned that bathing suits were not allowed, and everyone must be nude to enter the baths. He assured me that the men and women were separated, but the idea of relaxing naked in public was a terrifying idea to me!! Being raised in Canada where nudity is not publicly embraced, I was not comfortable with the idea of being naked in public. I almost decided right then and there that this Japanese experience was not one I was interested in having.

By the time 6am came around I had somewhat gotten used to the idea of being naked in the baths and I thought I’d give this traditional Japanese experience a shot. If the Japanese have been this for centuries then there must be something good about the experience!! I was right.

The baths were separated into two areas, the female area and the male area. We each undressed and were given a small towel, a little larger than a face cloth, to cover ourselves with. We then proceeded to the bathing area (with the tiny town strategically placed over our important areas, of course). Each person is required to wash their body and hair before entering the baths. There were about 7 or 8 different baths, all different temperatures, and with different features. One was a salt bath, another a sulfur bath; some were boiling hot, and others were very cold. We alternated between hot and cold baths.

The baths ended up being one of the best experiences we had all had since arriving in Japan. It was a very liberating and relaxing experience! By the end we had all come to terms with our bodies and realized that this was a cultural experience that was well worth the embarrassment of being naked. After the experience, we all decided that a daily thermal bath would be the ideal way to spend the rest of the trip in Japan!