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Onsen Etiquette: How to Bathe Without Embarrassment

An onsen isn’t where you go to get clean. You get clean first, on a stool by the showers, and only then go into the water — slowly, quietly, without a swimsuit.

The entrance of Tsubaki-no-yu, a public bath at Dogo Onsen, with blue noren curtains across the door
Tsubaki-no-yu, Dogo Onsen: the noren at the door. Photo: Yoshikazu TAKADA, CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In short

  • Find your curtain: 女 is women’s, 男 is men’s. Some places swap them during the day.
  • Wash all over at the showers, sitting down, before you get in.
  • The small towel stays out of the water; long hair goes up.
  • No swimsuits, no photos, no alcohol. Tattoos: check first, or book a private bath.

Before the water: curtains, lockers, showers

The baths are usually split by sex, marked on the curtain at the door. 女 is women, 男 is men. In ryokan the sides are often swapped at a set time, so look every time.

Two comic panels. The panda stands puzzled between the onsen’s blue 男 curtain and red 女 curtain. Then it has walked straight through the wall between them, leaving a panda-shaped hole, and wallpaper peeling off above the hole shows a panda sign.

  1. In the changing room, slippers off, then everything else: clothes in the basket or locker. You bathe naked; swimsuits aren’t allowed.

  2. Take only the small towel in. Leave the phone behind: no photos anywhere in the bath area.

  3. Sit on a stool at a shower and wash all over, hair too, rinsing off every bit of soap. Then rinse the stool and the bowl for the next person.

    At the washing station the panda sits on a low wooden stool and rinses under the shower

Common mistake: Rinsing quickly standing up and getting straight in. Everyone shares the water, so everyone washes properly, sitting down, first.

In the water

Get in slowly: the water is usually 37–42 °C. Then sit and do nothing, which is the point.

The panda soaks in a stone-edged outdoor bath, a folded towel on its head, steam rising

Do

  • Put the small towel on your head or beside the bath.
  • Tie long hair up so it stays out of the water.
  • Keep your voice down.
  • Dry off with the small towel before you go back to the changing room.

Don’t

  • Dip the towel in the water or wring it out over the bath.
  • Swim, jump in or splash.
  • Add cold water because it feels too hot.

What if you have tattoos?

Many baths still turn away visible tattoos, because of their old link with organised crime. Policies differ from place to place, so check before you go.

  • A small tattoo can often be covered with a skin-coloured patch.
  • Private baths (kashikiri) and baths in your room usually have no such rule.
  • Some baths welcome tattoos and say so; tourist offices know which.

Tip: Booking a ryokan? Ask for a room with its own bath, or a family bath you can book for an hour.

How long to stay in, and what to drink

Hot water and a long soak can make you dizzy. Get out and cool down now and then, and come back in.

Important: Leave alcohol for after the bath, never in it. Drink water before and after.

Many ryokan leave water or cold tea in the rest area by the baths: help yourself.

Questions

Can I wear a swimsuit?

Not in a traditional onsen. Some spa parks with mixed pools ask for swimsuits; they say so at the entrance.

Is it mixed?

Almost always separate. Mixed baths (konyoku) exist but are rare and clearly marked.

Sources

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