HOT SPRING (ONSEN)

Rotenburo (Outside bath)

An unroofed bath located outside is called a rotenburo. People enjoy an open view and nature while soaking themselves from head to toe in hot water. Naturally-shaped open-air hot spring baths are full of rustic scenery. Today, rotenburo are more likely to be a bathtub within a ryokan or hotel where walls or partitions are provided for private enclosure, albeit not covered with a roof , so that people can take a bath in a more relaxed manner. However, rotenburo in the great outdoors do still exist throughout the country. 

Uchiyu

Uchiyu refers to a hot spring bath inside a ryokan or hotel. In recent years, as different to traditional-style onsen towns and therapeutic spas that only offer lodging, more accommodation facilities have their own hot spring baths so that guests need not to go out to communal bathhouses (sotoyu). The word uchiyu may also mean a bathtub installed inside a building, as opposed to rotenburo.

Onsen with a guest room

Private onsen baths and rotenburo situated in guests’ rooms, which differ from large public hot spring baths used by many other guests, are more prevalent than ever before. The potential value of onsen spa tourism has been noticed leading to the growth of broader architectural and scenic attractions that include onsen. Where onsen were once predominately enjoyed communally, private onsen to be enjoyed in a more luxurious manner are now easy to find across Japan. The growth in private onsen is partly oriented towards international visitors, some of whom are unaccustomed to communal bathing.

Onsen-gai

A renowned hot spring district is referred to as an onsen-gai (which literally means “hot spring town”), where a cluster of lodgings, restaurants, souvenir shops, and amusement arcades host crowds of teeming visitors. In an onsen-gai, a sotoyu is often available for whoever wishes to use it, regardless of where he or she is lodging. Here you can enjoy the bathing practice of walking the onsen-gai streets wearing yukata (light, cotton kimono) and stopping at different sotoyu bathhouses. Another enjoyment is the relishing of various foods, such as onsen tamago (egg) boiled with thermal heat, and onsen manju, a sweet steamed bun fill with red bean paste.

Hitou

Hot springs secluded in tranquil mountains are known as hitou, literally meaning “secret hot spring”. In contrast to a bustling onsen-gai or hotel, hot springs that are quietly spouting in out-of-the-way locations, with virtually no visible man-made structures, continue to be popular. Although less easily accessible, bathing in such hot springs after an arduous arrival offers exceptional satisfaction.

Super Sento

Sento are public bathhouses, where users pay a small fee to enjoy a communal bath. By contrast, super sento offer extensive bathing facilities, such as sauna, jet bath spa, rotenburo, pelting hot water and more. Larger hot spring resorts are called kenko land, like spa theme parks they often even offer water slides and karaoke. 

How to bathe in a Onsen

First, wash off your body and then get into the bathtub. While fresh hot spring water continues to pour in, it is good manners to keep it clean as much as possible, because other people also soak themselves in the same bathtub. Before getting into the tub, rinse your body off with bathwater; this is called kakeyu. Your towel should not enter the bathwater. You might often see people put their towel or tenugui (Japanese towel) on their heads; this is associated with the etiquette of not soaking your towel it in the bathtub.

Public baths

Public baths, commonly known as sento, are one of the cheapest and most accessible options for an onsen. You simply need to pay to enter at the bandai, a platform for an attendant located at the entrance, and if needed buy bathing accessories like soap. The grand décor and temple-like architecture sometimes found is a reminder that public bathing was once the people of Japan’s greatest entertainment. Public baths are usually situated in residential areas and thus continue to be a communal oasis for locals today.