No visit to Japan without enjoying at least one hot soak in a Japanese onsen, as the Japanese call their famous hot springs. Enjoying a Japanese Onsen is the ultimate opportunity to experience Japanese culture and a great way to relax after a long day of hiking or sightseeing.
Japan is known for its onsen, which for centuries have been an integral part of Japanse culture and have been enjoyed for their therapeutic and relaxing properties due to the mineral rich spring water.
For the Dutch version of this article, read here.
Japanese Onsen
There are about 3000 facilities scattered throughout the country and various websites offer their views on the ‘best‘ onsen, so you have ample opportunity to schedule a visit in during your trip.
There are two options: you book an overnight trip in an onsen resort, where you can enjoy the onsen in the morning or the evening or you visit the onsen during the day at a time convenient for you. Quite some facilities offer ‘day tickets’ so you are free to go whenever suits you.
If you fully want to enjoy this great Japanese experience, i recommend you go for an onsen in a beautful, scenic area with a traditional Japanese architecture.
Hirayu no mori – Onsen in the Japanese Alps
We enjoyed a soothing bath in Okuhida in the Gifi Prefecture, in the middle of the Japanse Alps. With its stunning mountain ranges and natural spring water, Gifu Prefecture is one of the best places in all of Japan to experience onsen.
There are several onsen in this area, varyring from small private to bigger complexes, some with overnight options.
The onsen
We enjoyed the Hirayu no mori, an onsen resort in the Chubusangaku national park and the most historical part of Okuhida-Onsengo. Its distinguishing landmark is the Mori-no-Todai, a traditional Japanese lighthouse in the forest, where a shallow warm water pool is located for soaking one’s feet.
I liked this onsen very much. There is a great variety in baths – 8 for man and 8 for women – all located in open air, directly fed from the source and beautifully located in the forest.
There is a bath inside – steam rising – next to the various smaller baths outside, such as the one with the milky white water that is rare in Hirayu Onsen. I didn’t try the sauna – too hot already in summer.
The whole compled breathes a traditional Japanese atmosphere, which you feel from the moment you enter.
The complex reminded me of the Blue Lagoon in Iceland but cosier, given the smaller size of the various baths and the more intimate atmosphere of the complex.
Before entering the bath is a large washing room, with individual was basins, water buckets, stools to sit on and hand showers.
The bathing products are excellent – as in the whole of Japan by the way: pleasant scenting shower gel, shampoo and even moistering gel for afterwards, all included in the very reasonable entrance price.
The whole complex is also very convenient. Ther is a big changing room with lockers to store your personal belongings. There is a ‘rest’ room for after bathing where you can dry your hair. After bathing, you may relax in the first floor resting area of a centuries-old, gassho-zukuri traditional A-frame house.
When you enter, you can buy a small towel or washcloth which you can keep afterwards.
Location
This onsen is only located minutes from the Hirayu bus station. It takes about an hour bus trip from Takayama to get there. Ideally located to take a stop between Takayama and Matsuomto – which we did – or after a hike in Kamikochi.
Price
The fee for a day trip to the bath is 700 yen for adults, 500 yen for a child.
Tenryo no Yu in the Takayama Green Hotel
The onsen
I tried another onsen while staying in Takayama city: the natural onsen Tenryo no Yu in the Takayama Green Hotel.
This hotel has two onsen facilities, one on the ground floor and one on the first floor. I enjoyed the first one.
The onsen has a pleasant indoor bath tub and two open-air baths in the garden. The cypress bath turns into a jet bath with touch of a button, and the rock bath is illuminated at night
Although this onsen had all the facilities the one described above had, this felt as a different experience. I missed the great scenery and traditional architecture.
Location
These onsen are conveniently located near Takayama station. If you stay overnight in town and you are short of time, this onsen may be an option for you.
Price
The fee for a day trip to the bath is 1500 yen for adults and 500 yen for a child between 6 and 12 .
Onsen etiquette
Going to an onsen is a special experience. It’s not just going to a ‘sauna’ or to a ‘swimming pool’. The whole experience is aimed at tranquility, wellness and relaxation.
In the beginning, it seems a bit weird to enter an onsen. Enjoying this Japanese experience requires some etiquette. At the entrance of each onsen, you find some information on the ‘do’s and dont’s’, luckily but not always translated in English. Good they have some pictures to explain the whole thing.
I found some websites outlining bathing guidelines, but didn’t bother to much. From the moment you enter, it all becomes clear. If you keep the following in mind, your should be good to go to enjoy a hot spring in a serene, traditional Japanese atmosphere.
- you bathe naked. No exceptions allowed. For some of you maybe a bit weird, especially the washing part, but it’s common in Japanese and no one really bothers. You keep your stuff in the free lockers in the dressing rooms.
- you don’t bring towels to the bath. You can bring your own towel and store it in your locker. In most onsen, you can also buy a towel and/or a washcloth. You can take the washcloth inside.
- you wash before you bath. There is a ‘washing’ room before entering the baths, with washing basins for each person, but not separated by any wall or something. There is a stool to sit on, a mirror, bath products and a hand shower. So no big shower rooms as we are used in Belgium or in Iceland for example.
- you always take into account other guests. The whole experience is meant to be remaled and tranquil, so you keep your voice down, don’t splash or run.
Interested in more Japanese adventures? Then hike from Magome to Tsumago or stay in a traditional Japanese house.