Roten-buro (Outside bath)

An unroofed communal bath located outside is called a rotenburo. People enjoy an open view and nature while soaking themselves from neck to toe in hot water, and this is one of many superb experiences unique to Japanese culture. Naturally-shaped open-air hot spring baths are full of rustic scenery. Today, rotenburo are more likely to be a bathtub within a ryokan or hotel where walls or partitions are provided for private enclosure, albeit not covered with a roof , so that people can take a bath in a more relaxed manner.

Uchiyu

Uchiyu refers to a hot spring bath inside the building of a ryokan or hotel. In recent years, as different to traditional-style onsen towns and therapeutic spas that only offer lodging, more accommodation facilities have their own hot spring baths so that guests need not to go out to communal bathhouses (sotoyu). Uchiyu is also simply an antonym of rotenburo, meaning a bathtub that is installed inside a building.

Onsen with a guest room

Private onsen baths and rotenburo situated in guests’ rooms, which differ from large public hot spring baths used by many other guests, are more sophisticated than ever before. The tourism industry which benefits from onsens is gradually being altered to focus on broader architectural and scenic attractions that include onsens. The way onsens are enjoyed is refined in a more private and luxurious manner, partly oriented towards visitors from all over the world.

Onsengai

A renowned local hot spring district is referred to as an onsengai (which literally means “hot spring town”), where a cluster of lodgings, restaurants, souvenir shops, and amusement arcades host crowds of teeming visitors. In an onsengai, a sotoyu is often available for whoever wishes to use it, regardless of where he or she is lodging. The Japanese enjoy the bathing practice of walking the onsengai streets with yukata (kimono robes) and stopping at different sotoyu bathhouses. Another enjoyment is the relishing of various foods, such as onsen tamago (egg) boiled with thermal heat, and onsen manju, a sweet steamed bun fill with red bean paste.

Hitou

There have been onsen fans for a long time who opt for hot springs secluded in tranquil mountains, known as hitou (which literally means “secret hot spring”). In contrast to a bustling onsengai or hotel, hot springs that are quietly spouting in out-of-the-way locations, with virtually no visible man-made structures, continue to be popular, aligning with these fans’ preferences to indulge themselves in nature. Although less easily accessible, bathing in such hot springs after an arduous arrival offers exceptional satisfaction.

Super Sento

In cities of Japan, sento, public bathhouses, are in service where users pay a given fee. By contrast, a super sento is an extensive bathing facility offering diverse ways of enjoying bathing, such as a sauna, a jet bath spa, a rotenburo, pelting hot water, and so on. A larger health spa is called kenko land, which also illuminates the popular culture of the Japanese soothing themselves in hot springs.

How to bathe in an Onsen

First, wash off your body and then get into a bathtub. While fresh hot spring water continues to pour in, it is good manners to keep it clean as much as possible, because other people also soak themselves in the same bathtub. Before getting into the bathtub, rinse your body off with bathwater, which is called kakeyu. Your towel should not enter the bathwater. As you might see often, people put their towel or tenugui (traditional Japanese towel) on their heads, which is associated with this etiquette of not soaking it in the bathtub.

Communal Hot-Spring Bathhouses

A communal hot-spring bathhouse is where people can take a bath for a few hundred yen. This is an easily enjoyed experience. A customer pays at the entrance called a bandai. If necessary, he/she buys soap and other necessary goods and proceeds to enter. Some bathhouses are typically in buildings that look like shrines or temples constructed by miyadaiku (Japanese carpenters specialized in traditional shrine and temple construction). This reminds us that hot-spring bathing has been a popular form of entertainment for Japanese people throughout history. Many bathhouses are in residential areas, and they are comfortable, relaxing spots for local people.