 Japanese Onsens: Hot Springs in Kyushu
Types of Onsen | Public Baths | Beppu | Kurokawa Onsen | Mud Baths
The Hot Springs of Kyushu 九州の温泉
Joe Sinclair
 A
trip to one of Japan's onsen (hot spring baths) can be a
daunting experience for a first time foreigner.
Finding the right entrance,
washing before you bathe, and what to do with your (surprisingly small)
towel - it might feel as if you have landed in a more metaphorical
kind of hot water.
But before you leave with your towel between your legs, remember that
the baths are meant for relaxing.
As the saying (almost) goes, "When
in Roman baths.." So do as the Japanese do and you can't
go far wrong.
Just remember the baths are not for washing - you
must have a thorough scrub down at the showers before getting in the various pools.
For those of us who have developed a real taste for onsens (not
literally of course - the sulphurous water isn't so healthy
internally), Kyushu - the southern most of Japan's four main
islands - offers whole new depths of bathing. Sand baths, mud baths,
baths in caves or secluded pools up mountain streams, Kyushu has whole
towns dedicated to bathing pleasure.
Last spring my two brothers and sister-in-law came to visit me in Japan.
Different onsens offer very different experiences, so before reaching
Kyushu we decided to try a few out.
Types of Onsen
Onsens may have originated as natural mountain rock pools, thermally-heated
and pungent with the smell of sulphur. But modern Japan also offers up-market
purpose-built spas.
Spas will usually include both indoor and outdoor
baths (rotemburo), often with an electronic temperature gauge (reading between 40
and 44 degrees Celsius). The place we went to had a Jacuzzi and you could
even watch Japanese baseball on a television in the sauna.
If you want to splash out it's a good idea to try a good ryokan
(Japanese-style hotel). After a traditional meal and a glass of beer -
prepared, served and poured by your own maid - you can relax in
your private hot tub. Unlike western-style lie-down baths, the tubs are
designed to sit in. You will be fully immersed and totally relaxed.
Public Baths
Most towns will have a sento (public
bath), a cheap and basic place to wash, bathe and relax. Originally, people
who didn't have their own bath at home would go to the sento, which
became a place to meet and socialize with your community. It's still
a great place to meet local Japanese people, but the number of sentos is on the decline.
The sento we went to was a bit of a shock. As soon as I dipped my foot
into the bath my toes started to tingle. As my leg went in further my
foot clenched up and my calf went into a violent spasm. I pulled my leg
out quickly but the Japanese man in the next door bath was laughing. He
pointed to the sign on the wall and I realised this was the electric pool,
a kind of painful pain reliever for bad backs.
Other than the shock pool everything had gone swimmingly. We were feeling
confident about our mastery of bathing etiquette and we were looking forward
to Kyushu.
Kurokawa Onsen is one of Kyushu's most picturesque spots
Kurokawa Onsen has a variety of hot spring bathing possibilities
Kurokawa Onsen
Kurokawa onsen is a quaint village built along a steep valley river
in central Kyushu. Kurokawa, which means "black river", is
famous for its rotenburo (outdoor baths) and - like Zen gardens
or bonsai trees - the baths here are a beautiful example of the
Japanese both incorporating nature and shaping it to their tastes.
The village consists almost exclusively of ryokan and onsen,
and people come here with the sole purpose of bathing. Tourists wander
from bathhouse to bathhouse along the narrow cobbled streets in their
yukata (informal cotton kimono). Kurokawa's secluded locale
emphasizes the idea of otherworldliness inherent in Japanese onsen
- a world cut off from workaday stress, where your worries can drift
away with the steam.
We decided to explore the cave pools. So we three brothers waved goodbye
to my sister-in-law, found the male entrance and stripped off. The caves
were carved out of the rock by hand. The low ceilings were dripping, as
if they were sweating in the steamy heat.
We couldn't find the washing area but after a heated discussion
about what to do we checked no-one was looking and slipped into the water
behind a veil of steam. We soon noticed that the Japanese were getting
in without washing as well. It seems even the must-wash-first rule could
be flouted in some circumstances.
Meanwhile, my sister-in-law had settled into a large bath, surprised
to have it all to herself. After a relaxing few minutes she looked up
to see someone else getting in. Hang on, those legs are a bit hairy for
a lady! The old man looked at her with an expression somewhere between
confusion and delight. It turned out she had walked into the family bathing
area. She got up, covered up with her tiny towel and made as dignified
an exit as she could muster.
Beppu
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Beppu sand baths |
Our next port of call was the holiday resort town of Beppu
on Kyushu's east coast. With its beachfront, hotels, izakayas
(Japanese pub-restaurants), seedy hostess bars, tourist groups and
kitsch, this is very much a holiday town. But the main attraction is the
baths, which offer more than a conventional soak.
Once when I fell asleep on a beach in Spain I awoke to find that my
mates had buried me in sand. At Beppu's sand baths you can pay for
a very similar experience. But instead of your friends, a troop of old
ladies are on hand to heap the hot black sand onto your naked body.
Ten minutes in your sandy cocoon is very relaxing, a bit like a skin-tight
sauna. And once you wriggle free of the heavy sand you're left feeling
refreshed (and ready for another wash to get the sand off).
Mud Baths
But of all the baths in Japan, the real highlight for me was the self-proclaimed
"Mud-filled Paradise" of the mud baths, "An unforgettable
sensation, as if you are entering right into hell." A Japanese author
was quoted: "The way the mud clings to me reeks of primordial bestiality".
I couldn't wait.
I lay back in one of the baths and was surprised to find that I could
float. The mud was rising up through the water, holding me in suspension
like some great slimy hand.
There were several different kinds of mud bath, indoor and out, each
with its own consistency. With thoughts of the film "Predator"
running through my mind, I lathered myself in mud so that only the whites
of my eyes were showing through a full-body camouflage, and sat up on
one of the bath-side rocks.
A group of Japanese tourists slithered into the muddy waters, unaware
that they had company. They looked up startled as I slipped from my rock
into the water and made a worried and hurried exit. Obviously my primordial
bestiality was too much for them.
In fact, onsens can be a great place to meet Japanese at their
most relaxed and free. Going for a communal bath is not just about undressing
your clothes. You also undress your worries and remove social boundaries.
There are no white collars or blue collars, so it's an easy environment
to start up a conversation.
On our return to Tokyo we told one
of my Japanese friends about all the baths we had been to. "Ah yes!"
he announced, "You are now experts in bathing."
The river walk at Kurokawa Onsen, Kyushu
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