The onsen bath, step by step

Before you go

Two kinds of public bath, the same gestures everywhere.

• A 温泉 (onsen) is a hot spring bath. A 銭湯 (sentō) is the neighbourhood public bath, plain and cheap. You wash and bathe the same way in both. 温泉 / 銭湯onsen / sentō Open the source 13
• In Tōkyō, entry to a sentō costs ¥600 per adult, from age 12, since 1 August 2026. Children aged 6 to 11: ¥200. Under 6: ¥100. That is the official rate for Tōkyō sentō. Elsewhere, and for onsen, check the price posted at the entrance. Open the source 12
• Do Take a small towel. Most sentō sell towel, soap and shampoo, and some provide them free. Open the source 10
• Do Small neighbourhood baths often have no shower, soap or towel: bring your own. Open the source 17
• Do Leave valuables at the hotel. Your passport belongs in a locked locker, or with the front desk. Open the source 10
• Careful No bath after drinking alcohol. Avoid bathing just before or just after a meal as well. Open the source 1
• Careful After a walk or sport, rest about 30 min before bathing. If you are very tired, rest first. Open the source 1
• Do Drink a glass of water before the bath, especially in the morning after waking up. Open the source 1
• Careful Do you have a tattoo? Check the rule of the place before going, see the “Tattoos” section. Open the source 6

Finding the right entrance

Read the kanji, not the colours.

• A curtain (暖簾, noren) or a sign marks the entrance: 男湯 (otoko-yu) for men, 女湯 (onna-yu) for women. 男湯 / 女湯otoko-yu / onna-yu Open the source 24
• Careful The curtain is often blue for men and red for women. That is a habit, not a rule: always trust the kanji 男 and 女. Open the source 7
• Careful In some ryokan the men's and women's baths are swapped between evening and morning. Read the curtain again each time. A real example: one bath is for women from 3 p.m. to midnight, then for men from 5:30 to 10 a.m. the next day. The other bath does the opposite. Open the source 25
• A mixed bath is called 混浴 (kon'yoku). If the entrance shows neither 男 nor 女, ask before going in. 混浴kon'yoku Open the source 6

The bath, step by step

You wash first, you bathe afterwards. The pool is for relaxing, not for washing.

1. Take your shoes off at the entrance and put them in a shoe locker. Keep its key, often a small wooden tag. Open the source 9
2. Pay at the 番台 (bandai) or at the front desk, then go into the changing room for your sex. 番台bandai Open the source 8
3. In the changing room (脱衣所, datsuijo), undress completely. Put your clothes in a locker or a basket. Lock the locker and keep the key on your wrist during the bath. 脱衣所datsuijo Open the source 8
4. Go into the bathing room with the small towel only. Leave everything else in the locker. Open the source 7
5. Do Pour hot water over your hands and feet, then over your body. This is かけ湯 (kakeyu): it gets the body used to the heat. かけ湯kakeyu Open the source 1
6. Do Sit on a stool at a shower station. Wash with soap, then rinse off every trace of lather. You never shower standing up. After use, rinse the stool and the basin and put them back. Washing before entering the pool is never a mistake. Open the source 13
7. Do Tie long hair up with a band: it must not touch the water of the bath. Open the source 15
8. Do Put the folded small towel on your head or on the edge of the pool. Open the source 27
9. Do Get into the pool slowly. Stay calm and move as little as possible. Open the source 1
10. Stay in only briefly: 3 to 10 min the first times, then up to 15 to 20 min once you are used to it. Open the source 1
11. Careful Get out of the pool slowly, so as not to feel dizzy. Open the source 1
12. Do Before returning to the changing room, dry yourself with the small towel, so as not to make the floor slippery. Open the source 27
13. Do Get dressed, drink a glass of water and rest a while. The Ministry of the Environment advises not to rinse the spring water off: dry yourself, stay warm and rest about 30 min. Exception: with sensitive skin and acidic, sulphur or chlorinated water, rinse with hot water. Open the source 1

Do and do not

• Do In a small neighbourhood bath, greet the regulars when you arrive, with a simple “konnichiwa”, and again when you leave. Open the source 17
• Do Ask before adding cold water to the pool, see “Useful phrases”. Open the source 17
• Do not No swimsuit, and no towel wrapped around the body, in the pool. Open the source 13
• Do not The towel never touches the water of the pool. Open the source 1
• Do not No phone in the changing room or the bathing room. Photographs are forbidden there, even if the room is empty. In Tōkyō sentō, a photograph taken without the operator's consent counts as illicit filming, 盗撮 (tōsatsu). Open the source 11
• Do not Do not swim, jump or dive into the pool. Open the source 27
• Do not Do not run and do not make noise. Open the source 14
• Do not Do not save a shower station by leaving your things on it. Open the source 13
• Do not No food and no drink in the bathing room. Open the source 13

Health: the precautions

This advice comes from the display rules of the Ministry of the Environment (環境省), 2014 version, still the most recent.

• Any place offering a hot spring bath to the public must display its contraindications (禁忌症, kinkishō) and precautions. That is the Hot Spring Act. 禁忌症kinkishō Open the source 2
• Careful Avoid water at 42 °C or above if you are elderly, if you have high blood pressure or a heart condition, or if you have had a stroke. Open the source 1
• For reference: in Tōkyō sentō the water is often around 42 °C. Open the source 13
• Careful No bath if you have a fever, an illness in an acute phase, or visible bleeding. The official list also names: severe heart or lung disease, severe kidney disease with swelling, active tuberculosis, advanced cancer, severe anaemia, digestive bleeding, a flare-up of a chronic illness. Open the source 1
• Careful Sensitive skin or mucous membranes: avoid acidic waters (酸性泉, sanseisen) and sulphur waters (硫黄泉, iōsen). They are also discouraged for elderly people with dry skin. 酸性泉 / 硫黄泉sanseisen / iōsen Open the source 1
• Careful Elderly people, children and people with reduced mobility are advised not to bathe alone. Open the source 1
• Pregnancy: since 2014 it is no longer among the general contraindications. If in doubt, ask your doctor. Open the source 2
• Careful If you feel dizzy or unwell: call for help, get out slowly with your head low, then lie down. Open the source 1
• In the first days, one or two baths a day are enough. Once used to it, two or three at most. Open the source 1
• After a few days of bathing, malaise, sleeplessness, digestive trouble or skin irritation can appear: this is 湯あたり (yuatari). Bathe less often until you recover. These signs usually appear 3 days to a week after starting a spa cure. 湯あたりyuatari Open the source 1

Tattoos

• Careful The rule varies from place to place: many onsen refuse tattoos, others accept them. Open the source 6
• The public bath law contains no ban related to tattoos. Each establishment sets its own rule. Open the source 5
• Do Check the rule on the establishment's website, or write to it before going. Open the source 6
• In 2016 the tourism agency (観光庁) wrote to the hotel, ryokan and onsen associations: refusing a bath solely because of a tattoo is not appropriate. That is a recommendation, not an obligation: each establishment remains free to set its rule. Open the source 3
• Solutions used by some establishments: covering the tattoo, allowing small tattoos the size of a palm, setting aside certain hours, offering a private bath. The agency also points out that a tattoo poses no hygiene problem and may have a religious, cultural or fashion reason. Open the source 4
• Do Tattoo cover stickers are sold online and in the large discount stores. Ask the front desk whether they are accepted. Open the source 6
• Do The simplest answer: a private bath (貸切風呂, kashikiri-buro) or a room with its own bath. 貸切風呂kashikiri-buro Open the source 4
• Example: in Kinosaki Onsen the town's seven public baths accept tattoos of any size, uncovered. Ryokan baths may have other rules. Open the source 19

Mixed baths and bathing wear

• Mixed baths (混浴, kon'yoku) still exist, but you have to look for them. 混浴kon'yoku Open the source 6
• Some allow a 湯あみ着 (yuamigi), a covering bathing garment. Sometimes only the one rented or sold on site is accepted. Example: at Sukayu Onsen the yuamigi rents for ¥500, for men and women alike, and garments brought from outside are refused. 湯あみ着yuamigi Open the source 18
• Some mixed baths set aside an hour for women (女性専用, josei sen'yō). Read the notice at the entrance. 女性専用josei sen'yō Open the source 18
• Surgical scar: there is a special bathing undergarment, the 入浴着 (nyūyokugi). Clean, it poses no hygiene problem. Put it on just before the bath and rinse the soap off carefully before entering the pool. 入浴着nyūyokugi Open the source 20

At a ryokan

A ryokan is the traditional inn: tatami, futons, yukata and a shared bath.

• Do Take your shoes off at the entrance. Slippers are worn in the corridors, never on tatami. Open the source 21
• Careful In the toilet, put on the slippers kept at its door. Do not walk out in them: change back as you leave. Open the source 24
• Do not Do not drag suitcases across tatami: they damage easily. Open the source 22
• Do Yukata (浴衣): place the right panel against your body first, then fold the left panel over it. A useful check: seen from the front, the edges of the collar draw a lower-case “y”. Keep the collar and the hem closed, as a loosely worn yukata looks careless. 浴衣yukata Open the source 16
• Do not Never the right panel over the left: that is how the dead are dressed. Open the source 16
• Do Tie the belt (帯, obi) at the waist for women, on the hips for men. Keep underwear on under the yukata. 帯obi Open the source 16
• Inside the ryokan people move about in yukata and slippers, to go to the bath for instance. To go outside like that, follow the ryokan's rule. Some regions advise against it. In hot spring towns such as Kinosaki, people stroll in yukata instead, with 下駄 (geta, wooden sandals) lent by the front desk. Open the source 22
• Do Check the opening hours of the big bath (大浴場, daiyokujō): it may close for part of the night. A real example: open from 3 p.m. to midnight, then from 5:30 to 10 a.m. the next day. 大浴場daiyokujō Open the source 25
• Depending on the ryokan, dinner is served in the room or in a shared dining room. Open the source 23
• Careful If dinner is included, arrive before 6 p.m. if you can. Staff often lay out the futons during the meal. Open the source 21
• The private bath (貸切風呂) is taken alone, as a couple or as a family. It often costs extra and is booked ahead or at the front desk. Open the source 6
• In some ryokan the private bath is free and unbooked: you turn the 入浴中 sign (nyūyoku-chū, “occupied”) when you go in, and turn it back when you leave. Count on about 30 min per turn. 入浴中nyūyoku-chū Open the source 26
• Do not Do not hang a wet towel over the door frames: the wood can go mouldy. Open the source 22

Signs to recognise

Useful phrases

Show the Japanese sentence at the front desk.

• I have a tattoo: may I bathe? タトゥーがあるのですが、入浴できますか。Tatū ga aru no desu ga, nyūyoku dekimasu ka.Show full screen
• May I bathe if I cover the tattoo with a sticker? シールで隠せば入浴できますか。Shīru de kakuseba nyūyoku dekimasu ka.Show full screen
• Is there a private bath? 貸切風呂はありますか。Kashikiri-buro wa arimasu ka.Show full screen
• May I book the private bath at 8 p.m.? 20時に貸切風呂を予約できますか。Nijū-ji ni kashikiri-buro o yoyaku dekimasu ka.Show full screen
• Until what time is the bath open? お風呂は何時までですか。O-furo wa nan-ji made desu ka.Show full screen
• Which one is the women's bath right now? 今、女湯はどちらですか。Ima, onna-yu wa dochira desu ka.Show full screen
• May I borrow a towel? タオルを借りられますか。Taoru o kariraremasu ka.Show full screen
• May I add some cold water? 水を入れてもいいですか。Mizu o irete mo ii desu ka.Show full screen Open the source 17