Oh how the Japanese love to soak!

温泉

This is the Kanji for "onsen" (pronounced "own-sen") , a Japanese hot spring. It is important to distinguish between an onsen and a regular public bath. Many people use the words interchangeably, but I have it on authority from onsen afficionados that only a natural hot spring can be called an onsen. I have no pictures to show, as I really don't relish the thought of having my ass turned into a convenient place for naked Japanese feet because I snapped a photo inside an onsen. Suffice it to say that you can easily imagine this without living color. Anyway, as hinted at above, onsen are naked public soaking baths. Lisa and I have been to the onsen a total of 5 times since we arrived in Japan. Now, before your dirty little minds get working, remember that it is highly illegal for members of the opposite sex to enter an Onsen together(unless you pay 1000 Yen per hour for a "family" room, or it's a REALLY remote place, I've heard). So there are two sides for boys and girls, respectively.

People make a big deal about how ritualized it is to get ready for onsen, but I haven't had a problem with it. I think there is something very relaxing about scrubbing every inch of my body and getting squeaky clean. Lots of men bring their whole grooming kit in and shave, brush teeth, etc. in the onsen's shower area. When I say shower area, it's important to remember that I don't mean stalls with standing room. There is a shower nozzle on the wall, but in onsen, you sit (or squat) to shower. They provide little stools, and so you bring all your stuff in and sit there and scrub up. In order to avoid offending anyone's sensibilities, follow three rules:
1. Do not swing your stuff around when you walk in--cover with a small towel.
2. Scrub completely, but don't be freakish. A good ten minute shower with soap all over you will do
3. Do not get soap or your wash cloth in the onsen.

So, basically, you just wash thoroughly, rinse thoroughly, and then walk modestly into the VERY HOT water of the onsen. It's a LOT hotter than any jacuzzi back home, so if you visit, be ready. It took me a few tries to get used to it, and I still feel a bit like I am boiling in the water. But what's fun is to get out and shower off with cold water until I feel normal again, then hop back in. I guess the longest I have soaked is 10 minutes, but I repeat the process of soak-cold shower-soak a few times in an hour. After an hour of this, I come out of the onsen cleaner than I have ever been before, and every muscle in my body is relaxed. The level of relaxation I get from an onsen soak is unparalleled by anything else I have seen that costs less than 5 Dollars. A massage is better, but costlier. The onsen Lisa and I go to is 200 Yen for an unlimited amount of soak time, and there's a massage chair (Like the ones at Brookstone) in the locker room! The hot water also has minerals in it so many skin blemishes tend to fade after a good soak. Anyway, it's really great to go to the onsen at about 8 or 9 at night, soak till about 10 and then go home for a really great sleep. So that's the blurb about the onsen. When are you folks coming to visit?!