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How to Use an Onsen — Etiquette for First-Time Visitors

Japanese hot spring baths (onsen) follow a simple logic: the shared water is for soaking only, and everyone keeps it clean. Once you know the steps, a first visit is easy.

The basic steps

• Wash before you enter. Sit at a washing station and wash and rinse your whole body thoroughly. This is the single most important rule.
• Bathe naked. Swimwear is not worn in traditional onsen. Clothes and belongings stay in the changing room.
• Keep the small towel out of the water. Rest it on your head or beside the bath — never in the shared water.
• Enter slowly. Onsen water is hot (often around 40°C). Pour water over yourself first (kakeyu) and ease in.
• Be quiet and still. No swimming, splashing or diving. Talking softly is fine.
• No photography. Phones and cameras stay in the locker.
• Tie up long hair so it stays out of the water.
• Dry off a little before going back to the changing room, and drink some water afterwards.

Onsen, sento, and private baths

An onsen uses natural hot spring water. A sento is a neighbourhood public bathhouse, usually with heated tap or well water; the etiquette is the same. Many inns and some bathhouses also offer private baths (kashikiri-buro) that a group can use alone — a comfortable first step if you are unsure about shared bathing.

Tattoos

Policies differ from facility to facility: some welcome tattooed guests, some allow them only in private baths or with cover stickers, and some do not allow them at all. There is no reliable open database of these policies, so this site does not label individual facilities. Always check the facility's official website — linked from each town page here — before you go. See also our notes on tattoos and onsen.

General guidance written for this guide. Individual facilities may have additional house rules; the facility's own notices always win.