oscar1980

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Joined: 17/04/2009

Posts: 3

I will be travelling to Japan this year on Empire of the Sun and am curious about the Kyushu Hot Springs. It is my understanding that when using hot springs in Japan, generally, clothing is not allowed. I have done a little research and learned that sometimes, the hot springs are separated so men and women use different hot springs, or some allow bathing suits. Could I please have some clarification on these details for the hot springs that Empire of the Sun will visit so I know what to prepare myself for. Thanks. :P

Kelly Meekings ...

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Joined: 01/05/2008

Posts: 327

Hi Oscar

Our tour leader Bob has kindly sent me some information to answer your question. On our tour we stay in Pension Yufuin. It has an outdoor onsen (hot spring bath) and the owners dedicate time during the day to mixed, male only and female only.

The times are clearly designated as we may not be the only residents of the Pension. The Pension also has two inside onsens both of which can be locked for a private experience. The hot water for these comes from the same natural spring as the outdoor onsen.

The correct procedure for a japanese bath is no clothes in the onsen, shower yourself clean and then enter the actual onsen (bath) tub/unit. No towels are allowed in the tub itself either. The onsen is for soaking (not cleaning) and it is considered a great offence to not observe the rules. The Tour Leader gives clear advice and instruction at each of the ryokans/minshukus we stay at.

Regarding other public springs, they range from totally mixed to special times for each sex and prices vary considerably. We normally recommend our Pension as it costs the customers nothing.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Kelly

bjoern

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Joined: 11/03/2005

Posts: 23

Onsen-ing on the "Empire of the Sun" Trip

Hi Oscar,

I have been on this tour last year ... it's a pretty packed, yet great trip - you will surely enjoy it.

The traditional onsen in Japan is usually separate for male and female, clothing usually is not allowed (I guess, because it is seen as unhygienic .. given the whole cleaning procedure you go through before getting into the onsen). On the trip the only real option for a public onsen is in Yufuin. By staying in the pension, you can make this a private experience (as described perfectly by Kelly), but you could also go crazy and visit a 'real' traditional onsen around (Yufuin is an onsen hotspot ... and there is plenty of places to choose from ... the tourist office in Yufuin is very helpful in pointing you to good places).

Many of the ryokans, we stayed in, did not have private bath rooms - often with 'onsen'-like common bath rooms - which you may end up using with fellow travelers of the same sex at the same time. If I remember correctly the ryokan we stayed in Takayama had 7 or 8 shower stands in the men's, the one in Nagasaki 4 or 5... - plus of course the onsen itself.

There is no need to worry about the onsen 'rules'; when we arrived at Takayama (the first stop after Tokyo), our tour leader (Luke in my case) gave us a clear explanations of everything, including onsen procedures.

Overall - I liked the whole 'onsen' experience ... it is just nice to get into the steaming hot water after a busy day sightseeing or hiking and soak those aching muscles :-)

I am sure you will enjoy Japan and a relaxing bath in an onsen.

Cheers,

Björn