Onsen Rules: A Guide for the Nervous First-Timer

The single biggest barrier to enjoying a Japanese onsen is the ten minutes before you get in. Once you are in the water, it is one of the great pleasures of travelling in Japan. Here is how to get through those ten minutes.

Yes, everyone is naked

Swimsuits are not worn in a traditional onsen. Baths are separated by gender — red curtain 「女」 for women, blue 「男」 for men — and you go in with nothing but a small towel.

The important thing nobody tells you: no one is looking at you. Onsen culture treats nudity as entirely unremarkable, and staring is the actual taboo.

The washing comes first

This is the rule that matters most. You wash thoroughly before entering the bath. There is a row of low stools and handheld showers along the wall; sit down, soap up, rinse completely, and only then get in.

The bath is for soaking in clean water, not for washing. Getting this wrong is the one mistake that will genuinely bother other bathers.

What to do with the small towel

You are given a small towel roughly the size of a hand towel. It is for washing and for modesty while walking between the shower and the bath. It must not go into the water. Most people fold it and rest it on their head, which looks eccentric for about four seconds and then looks obvious.

Tattoos

Traditionally, tattoos were associated with organised crime and many onsen still ban them outright. The situation is easing, but slowly. Your options:

1. Look for tattoo-friendly onsen. There are now searchable lists in most tourist regions.
2. Use a waterproof cover patch for anything small.
3. Book a private bath (kashikiri-buro). Many ryokan rent these by the hour, and it removes the question entirely.

The rest of the rules, briefly

• No swimming, splashing, or diving. It is a bath, not a pool.
• Long hair goes up, off the water.
• Keep your voice low. The room is echoey and the mood is quiet.
• Rinse off lightly at the end — or do not; the minerals are supposedly good for you.
• Hydrate afterwards. Milk from a glass bottle in the changing room is traditional, and better than it sounds.

Go once and the nerves disappear permanently. Most people who were dreading it end up planning their next trip around which onsen town to visit.