Onsen - truly a Japanese way of life

Little toddler I met yesterday at Kawarayu Onsen, soaking his feet in an outdoor hotspring :)

I think Japanese people deserve to have as many onsens and ofuros in their lives as possible. They work too hard for their own good. There is a term in Japan called ‘karoshi’, meaning ‘death from overwork’. That is the extreme of course, but a few Japanese colleagues of mine in the past had actually been clinically diagnosed with depression from work. The great thing about it is that an MC or resignation due to depression from work is actually accepted with much sympathy in Japan. Show such an MC to a boss in Singapore, and it would probably be thrown out of the window.

To release stress for better sleep, every family has an ofuro, or tub, at home in Japan. Unlike those we have in hotels or homes, these bathtubs are smaller (so that less water is used and it fills up faster), plasticky, and they are made in such a way that the water can be maintained at a desired temperature. I recalled my first experience of an ofuro the first time I was in Japan at 16. Because the water was 42deg and steaming, I remembered asking myself.... ‘do I REALLY have to do this???’. This was of course followed by a resignation to fate, and I thought an attempt to kill myself by hot water. I had inched in very (and I mean, very) slowly into the tub. It took me like 20 minutes to get one leg in. By then, the meaning of having a hot bath to keep myself warm in the 15 deg weather didn't make much sense. I never made it to get in totally that first time, because I figured the dinner (and maybe supper) would be over and lights off by the time I actually do. Subsequently I had gotten so used to ofuro and hotsprings, I can get in faster than any Japanese.

The Takadaya Ryokan at Kawarayu Onsen at Gunma* which I visited, a pioneer in hot sand bath

I have gone to quite a lot of ofuros (and hotsprings) mostly outdoors. I already cannot recall the first time I did it, but man, how I do recall the time I brought my 2 aunts & mum to an onsen at a beautiful ryokan called Yamatoya built in the Edo period at Hakone. Although they had spent 2 weeks in Japan then, this onsen thing was the highlight of their trip and they talk about it even until today. I shall use it as an illustration of what to do/not to do at an onsen. It's really fun once you get used to it.

What to expect (6 key points):

1. Someone at the reception or in your room explaining everything to you in Japanese. Yes, that is not very helpful...that's why this blog helps.

2. A tour to show you the ofuro for the guys and girls are. Still, the Japanese have created a system to confuse you by switching the ofuros at certain timings in the day..but unless you don't read Chinese or Kanjiu, it is still obvious which is which.

3. People changing in front of you and walking around with a towel enough to cover just the vital parts. Get over it. Some of them are 80 yrs old and all wrinkled and they don't look at you.

4. Hot spring (indoors or outdoors). I mean, really hot. But once you are inside, you will love it.

5. If you booked yourself in a ryokan, expect a full spread of Japanese kaiseki in your room by the time you reach it. Again, explanation of the delicacies are in Japanese, but heck they are all delicious!

6. A nice futon all set up after the dinner for you to fall asleep in after a hard day at the ofuro...nice :)

The kaiseki that Akane and I had at Takadaya Ryokan

What to do (6 key points):

1. Wear the ryokan's yukata (simple version of the kimono) to the ofuro. It's nicer to change into the yukata after your bath than to squeeze back into your jeans. Everything about you would have expanded.

2. The small stool at each open cubicle in the common bathing area is for you to sit on to shower before and after you jump into any hotspring. Don't stand. Don't spray your showerhead at your neighbour also. I'm serious, my mum always does that at 3 m radius.

3. Use only your small towel in the bathing area, not the king-size one. Really, nobody will look at your backside.

4. Keep your towel out of the hotspring. It's a hotspring, not a bathtub.

5. Keep a low profile in the ofuro, even if you have a great figure!

6. Dry yourself before stepping into the dry area after your bath, unless you intend to make the kind 80 yrs old grandmother slip and fall.

What not to do (6 key points):

1. Don't compete with each other who to take off the yukata first! hahah (sounds familiar, Ah Yi??) It ain't gonna make a difference in the end!

2. Don't laugh at each other...c'mon we all have tummies. Just use your small little towel cleverly and nobody is going to notice it.

3. Even if you don't mean to, don't attempt to make conversation with the 80 yr old grandmotherand then giggle at the realization that she ACTUALLY doesn't understand you(reference: my mum)

4. Don't make big actions in the bath. In particular, don't do your morning exercises in the bath with your splits and leg stretchings (reference: my mum again). It's already very hard to do that at normal temperature.

5. Don't talk to your companions loudly while in the bath. In Japan, there is a term called 'maa-naa mou-do' (that is, if you haven't figured it out, Manner Mode..) and you are not supposed to disturb others while in the bath.

6. Lastly, don't let the dos and don'ts stop you from visiting an onsen. Bathing in the ofuro and staying over at a ryokan is an experience by itself. If you visit Japan and not do this, you are missing out on a big part of the Japanese life!

(*Takadaya Ryokan is located at Kawahayu Onsen at Gunma Prefecture. It is more than 100 years old from the Daiwa era and is a pioneer in hot sand bath which Akane and I tried (almost burnt my butt in the first 10 min). Accessible by JR bus from Shinjuku, Tokyo, this onsen area will disappear soon due to construction of a dam.)