Onsen Hopping In Kurokawa – Kyushu Road Trip Part III

For foreigners onsens may be just about the most terrifying thing to exist in Japan. At least they were for me. Bathing naked with other people?…I was expected to bath naked surrounded by strangers!?!

As I had never been exposed to this veritable nightmarish situation in Canada, had it been socially acceptable to not shower for 3 sweaty hot days during that English summer camp, I probably would not have entered that first onsen. I was so shy that even changing rooms at gyms back home made me blush fire engine red and make steam come out of my ears. For years my friends had often ridiculed my prudish tendencies in the gym changing rooms as I struggled to get dressed underneath my other clothes. I was that perfectly awkward duckling about being naked around other people. To this day I can still remember trying not to have a panic attack the first time I was forced to use an onsen in Japan, with a group of foreigners whom I had met for the first time that day.

Looking back, I realize I was a total prude and I’m glad I’ve changed. Once I learned the complex etiquette of onsen bathing and realized that no one really gave a damn what I looked like naked I began to grow more relaxed and enjoy this strange but wonderful ritual. Ironically for a person who thought “I am never, ever, ever going to be comfortable bathing naked with a hundred other women around me!” onsens will be the thing I miss the most about Japan. My friends and I have often joked about constructing an onsen in our backyards when we return to North America and traumatizing our neighbours with our naked bathing ways. As much as I say we’re joking, there’s a small part of us that is totally serious. We don’t refer to our onsen dates jokingly as “happy naked time” for nothing, I genuinely look forward to hanging out with my friends at onsens nowadays!

Before Japan, I used to be incredibly insecure about my body.  However, after 3 years of seeing naked women bodies in every way, shape and form, onsens have given me a priceless gift: I finally feel comfortable in my own skin.  Thank you Japanese onsens, you’ve forevermore made me a stronger, more confident woman.

An onsen (温泉) is a term for hot springs in Japanese, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsens and they are very popular tourist destinations. The majority of onsens are gender separated, with women bathing only with other women, and men bathing with only other men.  

For me, an onsen is a sanctuary of peace and serenity. A place I can escape the chaos and stress of life and rediscover myself. After several days on the road I was really looking forward to visiting the famous Kurokawa Onsen Town. This town is one of Japan’s most attractive traditional hot spring towns and is located in the middle of Kyushu near Mt. Aso. The atmosphere is lovely, and very peaceful with traditional buildings lining the streets, a beautiful river flowing through the middle and people walking around in yukata. 

It was like stepping into a story from long ago. We went to the tourist information centre for a little information. There are about 20 onsen houses in this area and we were overwhelmed by all of our choices.  We were a little short on time, as we needed to check into our hostel in Takachiho in only a few hours, so we decided to only visit 2 onsens. The entrance price for each was about 500 yen.

After this point no cameras allowed, sorry! The onsens were great, but we definitely were in for a bit of a surprise. We had gotten more than a little cocky, I won’t deny that I totally thought I had the art of onsening down, until we walked through the doors and looked for the showering area (you’re supposed to shower and clean yourself before putting so much as a toe into the baths) only there wasn’t one! We were so confused! We looked around, tried opening doors that were just “fake” doors pretending to be real, and shrugged our shoulders. It looked like that was all these onsen were, a bath.  Yet I was a filthy, greasy little disaster desperately in need of a shower so I really felt bad entering the baths. Just goes to prove that no matter how long you live in a foreign country you will always run into funny situations where you honestly don’t have a clue what to do. Just smile, learn to laugh about it, and follow the locals! If you do, everything will be ok.  Rather short post I know, but it was a rather short adventure.