Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Japanese Onsens


I live in a remote region of Japan famous for its hotsprings or Onsens. I have never been to one. My friends keep trying to convince me to go. There are literally dozens of Onsens in my area. Some are naturally occurring hotsprings where one can sit outdoors in hot sulfur laden water. There being more than 40 inches of snow on the ground from this month alone, sitting outdoors in the snow in steaming hot water sounds exotic and fun. There are indoor Onsens too. The thing is that everyone is naked. My friend says that one takes a shower and then walks from the locker room to the Onsen completely naked. Then one climbs into a big tub of hot water along with several other naked people. Sometimes you get bunched in there pretty tightly. It isn't so much that I don't want other people to see me naked, I just get totally creeped out by the thought of mingling with a bunch of naked people especially in water. Everytime we go camping, our Japanese friends go to the onsen before bed. Camping in Japan means that you sleep outdoors but you do not go to sleep without first soaking in some hot water with your friends. So my dear Internet friends, I ask you, would you take advantage of this opportunity to experience another culture, would you take off all your clothes and soak in a onsen with a bunch of naked people.

3 comments:

laura capello said...

Oh crap, that's a hard one.

If you don't mind to have other people look at you when you're naked, I say go.

Dixie said...

My big problem with baths is that I get a little wiggy at the thought of sitting in my own dirty water, nevermind dirty water that's been dirtied by other people.

But I reckon if you can shower afterwards it may not be so bad.

Anonymous said...

Well try it at least once so you can say you did it. I would make sure that only my closest friends were there. I went topless once on a beach in Greece with my girlfriends. We giggled the whole time. We did not last long. Try it and if your to uncomfortable then get up and put your clothes back on. You will never know what it is like if you do not try it. Pleast, though no pictures for your web site! :-)