Onsen, or hot springs, are wildly popular in Japan. There’s a strict ritual for what you do. Upon entering, you place your shoes in a locker near the entrance. You’ll be given a wrist band, which holds the key to your clothing locker and serves as your “credit card” while you’re in the facility (you pay when you leave).
After receiving your wrist band, you pad in your stocking (or bare) feet to a room which has a variety of yukatas (light cotton bathrobes). You choose a yukata pattern and obi color, then head for the main locker room. Here, you’re expected to divest yourself of your street clothing and other possessions. A sign helpfully provides instructions on how to put on the yukata and tie the obi.
Clad only in your yukata and underpants, you proceed to yet another locker room. You’re given two towels: a small one (about the size of an America hand towel) and a larger bath towel. You now place the yukata that you just put on in the new locker, along with the bath towel that you tried to wrap yourself in. Carrying only the small towel, you walk nude into the bathing area. The first area you come to is a small cart with wooden basins. You’re expected to pour the warm water over yourself. You then go to one of several bathing cubbies, sit on a stool, and wash yourself. The onsen provides soap, a spray head, and a pumice stone. Make sure to rinse yourself off, as no lotions or grime should enter the bathing area. Once you’re clean, you have your choice of several bathing pools.
Entrance to the Oedo Onsen Monogatari Hot Springs.
Choose your yukata and obi
Bathing pools. This one was 42 degrees Celsius. They ranged in temperature from 38-42C (for my American friends, remember that human body temperature is 37C). There are large thermometers provided by each pool so you know what you’re getting into. Outside, there are more pools and big wooden tubs. You can soak in any of these pools/tubs for as long as you like. There are also both steam and dry saunas to choose from, and one Nordic pool where the water is 18 degrees C. Women of all ages bathe in the onsen, from babies to elderly women.
These tubs are located outdoors
Another outdoor area where you can soak and relax
After you’ve finished soaking, you’re expected to clean yourself again in one of the cubbie stalls. You can then go back to the locker room, dry off with your big towel, and wrap yourself in your yukata. The onsen provides hair dryers, hair brushes, and a variety of lotions for the ladies.
But you’re not done yet! Once you’ve groomed yourself, you walk into the main arcade of the onsen. Both men and women will be walking around in their yukatas. The main arcade offers shops, small entertainments, and a variety of food stalls. I tried some green tea ice cream. Anything you purchase is charged to the number on your wrist band. Upstairs, there are “relaxation rooms” with easy chairs and individual TV sets where people read, watch TV, or simply sleep. One room is co-ed, another is ladies only. Some young people choose to spend the night in the onsen rather than pay for a hotel room.
You can (and many people do) spend an entire day at the onsen, alternating between the bathing pools, eating, relaxing, and/or chatting with friends.
Folks wander around the arcade area in their yukatas and bare feet.
Unfortunately, the Oedo Onsen closed in 2021 (likely a COVID casualty). However, Uncle Google tells me that its “spiritual successor is the Tokyo Toyosu Manyo Club, located near the Shijo-mae subway station.
The address for the Tokyo Toyosu Manyo Club is 6-Chome-5-1 Toyosu, Koto City, Tokyo. Day passes start at approximately $30 USD. Note:as is common in Japan’s onsens, tattoos are frowned upon. If you have any tattoos, they must be capable of being completely covered using the club’s waterproof stickers.