Travel tips

When Going To A Hot Spring In Japan You Need To Know Some Special Rules

Not knowing them will be embarrassing

The first time I went to a hot spring in Banff, Canada, I put on a swimsuit and jumped straight into the water just like in a swimming pool. Are you like me too?

In Japan, you can’t do that in a hot spring.

Japan has the reputation of being “the country of hot springs”. According to statistics, there are more than 26,000 hot springs and 155,000 hot spring hotels in Japan. 130 million people use the hot springs every year.

From 2004 to 2007, my family and I lived in Japan. Of course, we didn’t give up such a great opportunity to experience the hot springs.

One weekend afternoon, we went to a hot spring hotel. We brought the same gear as when we went to the pool, swimsuits, bath towels, shampoo, and slippers.

After paying and changing clothes, we found that the hot springs are separate for men and women. Slippers and swimwear are prohibited! We can only enter the spa area barefoot and wrapped in a towel.

My husband took our son to the men’s area, and I went to the women’s area alone.

As soon as I entered the women’s area, I saw a fountain. According to the sign, I needed to sanitize my feet through the fountain.

After leaving the fountain, what appeared in front of you was not a pool, but a shower.

Women of all ages were taking a shower, some wiped their backs with bath towels, and some washed their hair.

I seemed to be the only woman wrapped in a towel, so I quickly joined them. But without shampoo, I couldn’t wash my hair. I was going to wash my hair after the spa, so I kept the shampoo in the closet.

After washing myself, I could finally enter the hot spring.

The hot spring pool is like a small river, half indoor and half outdoor. Everyone went into the water naked and put their towels on the shore.

It turns out that in Japan, you must wash yourself very well before going to the hot springs “naked”.

The first reason for this is hygiene, which is easy to understand. The second reason is a bit like rocket science.

It is said that clothes made of chemical fibers are prone to chemical reactions when encountering mineral-containing hot spring water, causing the spring water to deteriorate.

Closing Thoughts:

Hot springs can eliminate physical and mental fatigue, activate various parts of the body, and promote blood circulation and metabolism. This is a wholesome activity.

The strict rules for entering the hot springs mentioned above make the event more ceremonial as if we are doing a very important thing.

Who said it wasn’t? Taking care of our body and mind is absolutely very important!

If you go to a hot spring in Japan, be sure to follow the rules like a Japanese, or you may be embarrassed or even kicked out. 😀😀😀

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading my story.

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