The rebirth of the hot spring

The word onsen conjures up images in Japanese books and movies and trendy TV dramas of lovely old hot spring resorts 'neath snow-covered pines, and oneness with nature as you soak away your cares in a scalding, steamy, outdoor tub in the middle of winter. It also suggests cultural continuity, as some of these springs have been visited by pilgrims since ancient times.

Until recently, it was expected that a guest would stay a night or two, enjoy a dinner and breakfast (included in the cost) featuring specialities of the area, and leisurely take the waters at the inn's communal indoor tubs (ofuro) or outdoor baths (rotenburo). Many springs were famous for the healing proper-ties of their waters (see sidebar). If you believe all those JR travel posters and beer ads on TV, there is no better life than sitting in a piping hot rotenburo, beer in hand (saké if you're a purist), gazing out on the snow-covered hills.

Sadly, the thought of going to a hot spring leaves many foreigners in Japan cold. Not many of us can boast of a hot-spring tradition (not since the Romans left), and considering the historical difficulty of ob-taining hot water in the winter, not much of a bathing tradition either.

Westerners are probably cleaner now than at any time since Nero, but our thinking is still too often utilitarian: get in the shower, get out, don't waste the water, think of the heating bills. True, the invention of the showerhead has probably saved more lives than penicillin, but where's the poetry?

For however long you might be staying in Japan, it would be a shame not to take advantage of the hot water culture of these islands: it warms you in the winter, cools you in the summer, and keeps you clean and shiny all those times in between.

Concrete Facts

In the post-war boom years, with their disposable income and improved transportation, Japanese families began traveling more within their own country. With all the new business, innkeepers had to constantly upgrade and expand their facilities and compete with the hotel chains who had deep pockets and marketing savvy. In the 1970s, many picturesque old inns were replaced — some tastefully, others not with concrete mini-hotels.

The boom, however, was ultimately the death of many of those same resorts: with the Bubble Economy of the late 80s, travelers, especially those lucrative honey-mooners (believe it or not, Wakayama was once the Waikiki of Kansai), began preferring package tours abroad to weekends in the sticks. Quantity began to equal quality — those six-day, eight-city tours of Europe were not urban myths. In an atmosphere like that, souvenir towels from Gifu could not compete with Rémy Martin from the Duty Free. Many large, concrete onsen began to be thought of as kitschy, dated places for retirement trips, not old enough to be quaint, not novel enough to compete with a week on the Gold Coast.

Then came the recession of the 90s, and the industry began to stagnate. Many onsen which lacked historical significance or super views closed their doors, but the recession was for some younger members of the industry a blessing in disguise. It forced them to rethink the whole concept of the bath while tapping into the cultural love of a good long soak.

Yukai resorts: make it new!

Ishikawa Prefecture, just northeast of the Kinki region, was one such place, rife with onsen resorts which had seen better days. A local company, Yukai Resorts, saw an opportunity where every- one else saw piles of moldy cement, and began buying up the resorts, which despite being run-down, were still on prime land.

They renovated both the properties and the idea of running a hot spring: while the older generations found comfort in the predictability of onsen schedules (check in time at 3, dinner from 5:30 to 7, take it or leave it), a younger generation finds them oppressive and inflexible. So check-in time is now anytime. Also, guests pay a flat rate of ¥7,800, which is incredibly cheap by onsen standards (you're lucky to get a puny business hotel for that price in Osaka), and for a ¥2,000 round trip, a shuttle bus (from Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya) will take you to the chain's various resorts in Ishikawa.

As for dinner and breakfast, meals are now buffet-style, and feature Japanese, Chinese and Western food. The Yukai onsens have really caught on with younger Japanese customers who prefer their hot water served without a heavy side-order of tradition.

Naturally, the main attractions are still the baths, the saunas, and the rotenburo, all restored to their past standards. If you're new to Japan, and that first pay cheque is burning a hole in your mattress, this might be a great way to ease your-self into the Japanese bathing culture without the accompanying culture shock. Due to their popularity, though, the places are booked solid (especially on weekends at this time of year) but if you've got time on a weekday, persistence pays off.
http://yukai-r.jp/index.htm (Japanese only)

Spa World: If you build it, they will come

The other innovation of the past few years has been to build spas which feature international style saunas and baths in
an urban setting. These onsen rely more on day-trippers than overnight guests to make a living. The biggest, and arguably the best of these is Osaka's Spa World.

Don't take your first impression of Spa World (near Dobutsuen-mae Station, exit 5) from the dismal Festival Gate, a failed, cavernous amusement space which clings to the spa like an evil twin. Walk past the boarded-up merry-go-round and the three still-functioning food outlets and you'll come to Spa World's entrance. The place is huge. Periodically, admission to SpaWorld is only ¥1,000 (luckily, March is one of those times, but in April, the price will go back up to ¥2,700). The main lobby is always swarming with patrons then, but such is the size of the place that it never really seems crowded in the bathing areas.

The "Europa" spa zone is on the 4th floor, and the "Asia" zone is on the 6th (in March, women will use the "Europa", men the "Asia", alternating in April). In the Asia zone, you'll be able to lounge in a fragrant Japanese hinoki (cypress) bath, visit a salt sauna (popular in Korea), and go outside to three amazingly authentic rotenburo and smaller wooden hot tubs. (you really do forget that you're on the 6th floor of a downtown building).

The European sauna is a cross between Helsinki (Finnish sauna and cold bath), ancient Rome (a large bath with huge fountain-like statues from an old gladiator movie), and a good YMCA (mini jacuzzis).

There are also aromatherapeutic herbal baths (huge herbal teabags are moored in the brown water! They're great!). You don't have to bring any-thing: the price of admission includes towels, toothbrushes, disposable razors, as well as jimbei (pajamas with short pants) for men and muumuus for women — to lounge in when you're using the gym, restaurants, game centers or other facilities in the building. For mixed bathing, go to the swimming pool on the top floor (put a bathing suit on, by the way).

So while the traditional Japanese onsen is still alive and well, the industry as a whole has moved into the 21st century. You've got plenty of choices now: the most boring one is your own little bathtub.
http://www.spaworld.co.jp

Communal Bathing Etiquette

Every country has its own bathing customs, and while most of us knew before coming here that you don't use soap in a Japanese bathtub, that's the first thing fellow bathers will check you for. Some rules of thumb for the neophyte bather:

1. Follow the signs — many onsens alternate their facilities for use by male or female bathers. Learning to recognize the kanji for men's bath (otoko-yu) and women's bath (onna-yu) will save a lot of embarrassment. Note that some of the more traditional onsens still use the characters for gentlemen (tonogata) and ladies (go-fujin).

2. Pour some water over your body before getting into the bath — for obvious reasons: to rinse any dirt from your body, and to adjust your body to the water temperature. Some places are so hot you'll get dizzy if you just jump in.

3. After the initial soak, get out of the bath, soap yourself down, then rinse thoroughly before getting back into the bath.

4. Keep your towel out of the tub (this is more strictly enforced at traditional onsen) — place it nearby or do like they do in Sazae-san and put it on your head.

5. Try to dry off as much as possible before going into the changing area. Nothing worse than slopping around in someone else's cold puddles after a nice hot bath.

Text: Colin Doyle • Photos: Chris Fawcett, Masao Kouda