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Yubara Corner Shop por Jimmy Thomas Por Flickr: Analog Effects Pro 2

Sunayu by Yuki Yaginuma

Silent Hill by Kurt Gledhill on Flickr.

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温泉 – Onsen

I've just returned from a trip to Yubara onsen. As it was the first time ever for me to go to an onsen, I was pretty excited. The part that made me worry the most was how I should behave. Sure, I had heard about the rules of an onsen before, but as usually theory and reality are two different things. But for all of you who are now wondering what an onsen even is, let me explain: onsen are places where the water that comes from the ground is hot, which is due to a nearby volcano. Whilst raising to the surface, the water passes near magma chambers and therefore heats up. When reaching the top, these springs are called 温泉 (onsen) in Japanese, which means "hot spring". Around hot springs there are normally many hotels which offer hot spring baths.

And now to some "rules". First thing a gaijin should know, even before thinking about entering the bath: how to put on the yukata (kind of kimono) correctly. NEVER put the right side of it over the left, because that's the way a corpse is being clothed and I think I do not have to explain to anyone why it would be quite strange walking around dressed like that. Now that we have clarified this, let's move on to the onsen itself. Before entering the bath, you get rid of everything except a little towel. And by everything I mean everything, no clothes, nothing. So if you're the shy person and you cannot get naked in front of a bunch of strangers (although they are all naked, too), you better be not going. Once in the bathing area, make sure you clean yourself thoroughly. There are plenty of spaces with little stools available for that purpose. After being clean, enter the bath (ofuro) and prepare for one of the most relaxing times you might ever encounter. And one thing at the end: according to the two Japanese that took me on this trip (and whom I thank for explaining everything to me), you do not put that little towel mentioned above on top of your head while bathing, even though one can see this on many pictures. Put it to the side of the bath and take it with you when leaving.

#onsen #yubara onsen #yubara