Onsen
An onsen (温泉) is a bathing place near a hot spring. Onsen are in Japan.[1][2][3][4] Going to an onsen costs about ¥1000 (US$9), which is about twice as much as going to a sentō bathhouse.[2]
Water
To count as a real onsen, the water must be at least 25° and have the right amounts of minerals, or dissolved rocks, in it. For example, the water must have iron, calcium and sulfur. Some onsen smell like rotten eggs because of hydrogen sulfide.[5]
Hotels
Many onsen have a hotel nearby. This kind of hotel is called a ryokan.[1] Not all ryokan have onsen. Some ryokan are 1200 years old.[5]
History
There have been onsen in Japan for all of history.[1] People have been using the Dogo Onsen on Shikoku for as long as 3000 years.[6]
Manners
Bathers at an onsen are there to relax, not to get clean. To keep the water from getting dirty, people at an onsen must shower before getting into the water.[1] In very cold weather, it is sometimes all right to get into the onsen just for a short while to warm up, then go shower, then come back. Some onsen allow bathing suits, but most of the time, visitors must wear no clothes at all. This is to keep any clothes that might be dirty out of the water, and keep the water clean. When walking to the onsen, people cover their private parts with a small towel and then put the towel on their heads after they get into the water. People are not supposed to put their heads or hair in the water, and they are not supposed to have tattoos. This is because, in Japan, people think of the Yakuza criminals when they see tattoos.[1]
Onsen Media
Roten-buro outdoor onsen at Nakanoshima in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
A video showcasing the stool and shower used for cleaning off, an inside pool and an outside pool.
Indoor onsen at Asamushi Onsen
Baskets with clothes in dressing room
Old Tsuru-no-yu Bathhouse in Nyūtō Onsen area, Akita
Winter bathing at Tsuru-no-yu rotten-buro in Nyūtō, Akita.
Kurokawa Onsen roten-buro in Kyushu.
Japanese macaques enjoying a roten-buro open-air onsen at Jigokudani Monkey Park
Yumura-onsen's hot-spring resort and forests in Shin'onsen, Hyōgo.
Related pages
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Onsen Etiquette: 7 Basic Rules for Hot Springs in Japan". The Manual. March 16, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Takahiro Takiguchu (November 13, 2019). "Japanese public baths: The difference between a sento and an onsen". Stripes. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ↑ Scott Clark (1992). "The Japanese Bath: Extraordinarily Ordinary". In Joseph Jay Tobin (ed.). Re-made in Japan: Everyday Life and Consumer Taste in a Changing Society. Yale University Press. pp. 89–104. ISBN 0300060823. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ↑ Mihaela Serbulea; Unnikrishnan Payyappalliman (July 16, 2012). "Onsen (hot springs) in Japan—Transforming terrain into healing landscapes (Abstract)". Health & Place. 18 (6): 1366–1373. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.06.020. PMID 22878276. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "All You Need to Know about Japanese Public Baths". Cool JP. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ↑ Suemedha Sood (November 29, 2012). The origins of bathhouse culture around the world. BBC Travel. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20121129-the-origins-of-bathhouse-culture-around-the-world. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
