Onsen etiquette & tattoos
The basic rules are much the same at hot springs all over Japan. Three minutes of reading before your first bath saves any awkward moments.
How to bathe
- Check the curtain: usually blue 男 is the men's bath and red 女 the women's. Some ryokan swap the men's and women's baths between evening and morning (bathe once each time and you get to try both), so check again each time.
- Undress completely in the changing room, leave your clothes in a basket or locker, and take only a small towel into the bath area.
- Rinse off with water before getting in (kakeyu), then sit at a shower station and wash your body and hair, rinsing off all the soap.
- Ease into the bath slowly. Keep your towel out of the water — on your head or the edge — and tie up long hair.
- Before returning to the changing room, wipe yourself roughly dry with the small towel so you don't drip on the floor.
Don'ts
- Swimsuits or underwear in the bath (except where swimsuits or bathing gowns, yuami-gi, are explicitly allowed)
- Towels or hair in the water; washing or scrubbing yourself in the bath
- Photos or video in the bath area (phones included)
- Swimming, diving or being loud in the bath
- Bathing while drunk
If you have tattoos
Some large shared baths (daiyokujo) and day-use spas don't let people with tattoos bathe. This is because many Japanese associate tattoos with organised crime; there are also places that accept tattoos or let you cover them with stickers. Each facility sets its own rule and policies vary widely, so always check its website or ask before you go.
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| Room with a private open-air bath | The safest choice: only your group uses it, so tattoo rules don't apply. |
| Private bookable bath (kashikiri) | A private bath on the premises; usually you book a time slot at the front desk when you check in, and have it to yourselves for that time. |
| Tattoo-friendly facilities | Some places accept tattoos; confirm on the facility's website or by asking. |
| Cover stickers | Many places let you in if a small tattoo is covered with a sticker (タトゥーカバーシール); large tattoos usually can't be covered this way. |
On each onsen-town page, "Choose a ryokan" can filter for rooms with private open-air baths or private bookable baths. Sources: Japan Tourism Agency, "入れ墨（タトゥー）がある外国人旅行者の入浴に関する対応について" (16 March 2016), and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notice of 18 March 2016; Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), "Bathing Manners and Tips" and "Onsen Hot Springs - On Tattoos and Etiquette"; Japan Tourism Agency, "Questions for Ryokan? Look here!".
Safety & health
- Don't bathe right before or after a meal or after drinking; after exercise, rest for about 30 minutes first. Start with 3–10 minutes at a time (once you're used to it, up to 15–20), and get out slowly to avoid dizziness.
- Drink water before and after. You normally don't need to rinse the spring water off afterwards, but if you have sensitive skin, rinse with fresh water after acidic or sulphur springs.
- If you feel unwell or have a fever, or have serious heart, lung or kidney disease, read the posted list of contraindications (禁忌症) first and ask a doctor if needed. Older people and anyone with high blood pressure or heart disease should avoid baths of 42°C or hotter.
Source: Japan Ministry of the Environment, standards for posting contraindications and bathing precautions under Article 18 of the Hot Springs Act (1 July 2014)
Staying at a ryokan
- Check-in usually starts at 15:00 or 16:00, and check-out is mostly between 10:00 and 12:00; you usually choose your dinner and breakfast times at check-in, from set time slots.
- You can wear the yukata to the ryokan's own baths; whether you can wear it to the restaurant, the lobby or outside depends on the ryokan, so ask the front desk if unsure. Wrap it left side over right (right over left is for the deceased).
- Take off your shoes in Japanese-style rooms, and don't wear slippers on the tatami.
- Tipping isn't customary in Japan, and you don't need to tip at a ryokan; at a few high-end ryokan some guests give a small gift of money (kokorozuke), but it's not required.
Useful words
| Japanese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 大浴場 (daiyokujō) | The ryokan's large shared bath, separated by gender |
| 露天風呂 (rotenburo) | Open-air bath |
| 客室露天風呂 | Private open-air bath attached to the room |
| 貸切風呂 (kashikiri-buro) | Private bath, usually booked by time slot and yours alone for that time |
| 日帰り入浴 (higaeri nyūyoku) | Day-use bathing without staying |
| 源泉かけ流し | Spring water flows into the bath continuously and the overflow is not recirculated; no water added, though it may be heated (Japan Hot Spring Association definition) |
| 混浴 (kon'yoku) | Mixed-gender bath |
| 1泊2食 | One night with dinner and breakfast |