You Should Not Enter Hot Springs If You Are...

Prohibited States of Entry

The other day as I was walking towards the entrance of a new hot spring, I was confronted by a sign that stopped me in my tracks. The meaning is fairly obvious, but I am going to explain it anyway. 

In order to maintain the serenity and the cleanliness of hot springs, you should not enter if you are a person who...

1. is an obnoxious drunk
2. has a contagious disease
3. is likely to contaminate the spring with body wastes, etc.
4. brings pets or dangerous items into the baths

I realized how lucky I was that the sign was there to keep me safe. If the sign was absent, who knows what unpleasant experiences I might encounter? It was with a great sense of relief and security that I was able to enjoy the bathing experience. Why aren't there signs like this in front of more Japanese hot springs?

What is a Goemonburo, 五右衛門風呂 (Cauldron Bath)?

Ishikawa, Goemon Was Boiled to Death in a Hot Cauldron.

Try Not to Have a Similar Bathing Experience!

One way to understand Japanese culture is through studying hot springs and the nomenclature of hot springs and baths. Moreover, surprising Japanese friends or bathing acquaintances by knowledgeably speaking about the histories of various baths is great fun.

Ishikawa, Goemon was, depending upon the legend, a Robin Hoodlike thief or a ruthless common criminal. Kabuki plays, Japanese animated cartoons, books, movies have been based on his life and legends. Apparently, he was a real person who was caught and executed by being boiled alive in a cauldron. One legend goes that his son was killed along with him. Another story of his demise is that he managed to hold his condemned son above his head and that the boy was pardoned just before Goemon died.

Luckily for us, we can enjoy goemonburus, baths shaped like  cauldrons, in many locations without being boiled alive. These small baths are usually made of ceramic ware or metal. To see how ceramic goemonburus are made by hand in Japan, click this link.

My Japanese relatives purchased a large stainless steel barrel and made their own goemonburu. We roasted chestnuts around a fire from branches we had collected around their hut in the mountains of Nagano. Then we used the fire to heat the bath water. The goemonburu was under crystal stars and straight cedar trees. Since goemonburus are usually only large enough for one person, so we took turns heating up before retiring into the cold hut. It was a very simple but memorable bathing experience. 

Don't Turn Up the Heat. I am Not a Thief

The Goemonburu is in the Right Corner.

Hot Spring on an Island (Ioujima, Nagasaki)

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The Foot Bath (足湯)

What Feet Need to be Happy

The next time your feet scream at you for a break, take them to a foot bath, called ashiyu in Japanese and written with kanji as 足湯.  Your revitalized feet will thank you, and their contentment will diffuse throughout your whole body. As soreness and weariness disappear, your arches will be full of spring again, and your entire day will be renewed.

Many Japanese hot spring resort areas have walking courses, and it is quite natural for tourists to get tired walking hither and thither while taking in the sights, so city planners often  incorporate foot baths into walking routes.

The town of Obama, Nagasaki, has taken the foot bath and made it into a walking path. This foot bath is 105 meters long. By the way, yes, Obama is the famous Japanese town which proudly supported Barrack Obama during his first presidential election campaign. And no, Barrack Obama's ancestors were not born in the town of Obama and President Obama is not Japanese. Obama, Nagasaki, is a wonderful place to visit.  Look forward to more posts related to Obama in the future. For now, you might enjoy reading an article, published by Huff Press, about the Obama/Obama connection. The article is illustrated with amusing photographs, and it includes letters from the mayor of Obama to President Obama, and vice versa.

Let's walk back to the topic of foot baths. Like all springs, the mineral content, temperature, and surroundings will affect your experience. Ideally, a foot bath should be situated with views of natural scenery or surrounded by greenery. Another unique foot bath, pictured below, is a steam bath for feet. Perhaps, the only one in the world is in Beppu, Oita, where people are crazy about using hot springs for steaming food, as well as their own feet.

Steamed Feet Feel Great!

Hot Spring on an Island (Ioujima, Nagasaki)

Notice the Water Pouring Out of a Hole in the Stone

Most people only know about Nagasaki because the U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb on that city near the conclusion of WWII. Nagasaki is an amazing place culturally and geographically. The Shimabara/Unzen area of Nagasaki has been designated as a Global Geopark by UNESCO. Of course, there is a volcano, Fugendake, and lots of hot springs in the geopark, which I promise to write about. For today, though, I will introduce やすらぎ伊王島

Yasuragi Ioujima is the name of a hotel on the small island of Ioujima, not the infamous island of WWII  history, Iwo jima. By the way, jima or shima, means island in Japanese  Ioujima is actually two tiny islands joined by small bridges. The distance between the islands is no more than twenty meters. Circling the islands by bicycle can be done within a few hours, including taking time to look at the ocean views or stop and swim in the sea. Rental bicycles are available for two or three hundred yen.

A small ferry takes half an hour from Nagasaki to the island. There is also a bridge, but I recommend taking the ferry because you can get a panoramic view of Ioujima, other islands, and Nagasaki Bay.  Also, riding a ferry promotes the feeling of relaxation and escaping from the routines of everyday life.

The spaciously arranged hot spring facilities at Yasuragi Ioujima are beautifully designed: seasoned wood, clean stones, water running out of holes in stones. Each  indoor bath is different, and the sea is visible from all of the outdoor baths, as well as the steam sauna. Olive oil extract mixed with  hot water distinguishes one indoor bath from probably all others in Japan. I have bathed in Japanese hot springs mixed with milk, green tea, sake, and various fruits, but never olive oil. Next time, I'll try and remember to bring some pasta.

Another unique bathing experience is lying down on a reclining wooden platform  which has hot water flowing down from the top. Only the part of your body touching the wood is heated. As I lay  daydreaming and finding shapes in clouds, into my field of vision came a large dark-colored bird of prey, circling for food in the sea below. It suddenly cried loudly, a sound which thrilled me as I am a nature lover.  Then -  small black droplets flew out of its anus, like a group of parachutists jumping out of a plane. I was amazed at first, then disconcerted as the cloud of droplets fell toward my naked body. Luckily, for me, but unluckily for anyone in the nearby female bathing area, the droplets moved in the wind a few meters to my side. Yes, bathing in hot springs is a dangerous sport, not for the faint of heart.

Click here for a short commercial produced by the hotel above. I receive no commissions, and I include this link only because the short video does a good job of showing the activities on the island and the gorgeous baths.

Indoor Bath

Outdoor Reclining Bath - Watch Out for Birds!

Choose Your Bath or Try Them All One by One

Explanation about the Oil Olive Extract Bath

Hot Mud in a Spring (Nabeyama Hot Spring 鍋山湯)

Many years ago, my wife, a friend, and I were chatting with a Japanese man we had met in a hot spring in Yufuin, Kyushu, and he explained that his hobby was traveling around Japan by motorcycle to hot springs. We listened to his tales of unusual springs and impulsively decided to follow him on a thirty minute drive and then a ten minute walk to Nabeyama Hot Spring, 鍋山湯, one which sounded like a place that we had no choice but to visit. Located in a remote mountain of Beppu, it has an panaramic view of Beppu City, the ocean, and surrounding woods. The unpaved road was bumpy enough for me to worry about the suspension of our car, but since I am addicted to hot springs, I would not stop. From the parking area, we walked up a hill. I enjoyed the fresh air and sound of hawks and crows. No one else was in the baths when we arrived. Two depressions lined with rocks were filled with clear water pouring out of a bubbling hole meters away.  This water mixed with cold spring water to fill the baths. We embraced the natural atmosphere, as the hot water relaxed our bodies. Two men later appeared from a small trail that led through thick vegetation to our bathing area. They carried eggs which they put into the boiling water and shared with us. That day had become a penultimate hot spring experience.

Many years later, I moved to Oita and "found" that spring again. This time, as I was walking to the hot spring, I saw someone in another bath about fifty meters away from the two I had enjoyed earlier. Afterwards, I walked over and to investigate and discovered that this one had a layer of dense mud in the bottom.  The water was turbid grey. The hot thick mud felt refreshing when spread on the body.  I realized that I was enjoying a facial pack for free! The entire hot springs is free. There are no buildings nearby at all.

The isolation is wonderful. It would be a great place to camp with friends. Unfortunately, in 2010, a young woman, who was enjoying the same peace and serenity that I had enjoyed, was brutally murdered in that location. The police apparently found and caught the murderer approximately one year later. Although, Japan is definitely the safest country that I have ever visited, there are still a small number of sick individuals, so I do not recommend traveling to remote areas alone. If I travel to an isolated hot spring in the mountains, I like to bring my dogs.

Here is a link to a short Yahoo video that shows this spring.

 Clean, Hot, and Muddy Fun in the Mountains of Beppu

The Lower Baths

The Sight of This Bather Led to My Discovery of the Mud Bath

 Cooking With The Steam From Hell.

Cooking with steam goes back many thousands of years ago. So called"primitive" peoples who lived near hot springs were lucky to have had steamers provided by nature in their neighborhood. Nowadays, we steam with rice cookers, automatic steamers, pots made from metal placed over electronic or gas burners, and the idea of steaming food naturally seems quaint or adventurous.

The most commonly enjoyed hot spring dish worldwide is probably the boiled egg. Just leave it in the water, wait, scoop it up, and eat. However, in some places of the world, in particular the Kannawa Onsen area in Beppu, Oita, steam cooking is relished and is much more complicated. Jigoku-mushi Cuisine, (Hell-steamed Cuisine) is what they call it, and the people of Beppu are proud of hell-steamed cuisine, which should be enjoyed on Earth while you are still living. Many Beppu hotels serve it to guests. The city of Beppu rents public steaming pits for a  low rate, and some hot spring resorts with steaming pits allow visitors to cook and eat on the premises.

Check out this amusing BBC video about steaming eggs in hot springs and bathing with swans. Yes, swans!

Three Small Steam Ovens at a Local Beppu Hot Spring

Ready to Eat

Steaming Smiles

A Finished Plate of Seafood and Eggs

Choices of Seafood

Thick gloves are a necessity.

Thermae Romae is the title of an amusing Japanese manga series about hot springs. A Roman hot spring designer has all sorts of enlightening experiences and culture shock as he travels back and forth between ancient Roman hot springs and modern Japanese hot springs.  He has no control of when he  slips through time, and he always arrives and departs to the surprise of other bathers while bathing. This best-selling manga has been made into a movie, which has been reviewed by Mark Schilling in the Japan Times.

The manga is not yet available in English, but luckily for us, we can watch dubbed animation based on the manga series on Yahoo.

"Thermae Romae." © 2012 FUJI TELEVISION NETWORK/TOHO/DENTSU/ENTERBRAIN. All rights reserved.

Cover of ‘Thermae Romae’ vol.1. (C) Mari Yamazaki