Living in one of the most volcanically active countries in the world can have its perks, not least the abundance of natural hot springs or onsen. Tokyo included, the Nippon Onsen Research Association ...

If someone had told me that I would one day find myself buck naked in a mountain hot spring at -12°C weather with snow falling on my head, I’d have said, “Maybe—when I turn into a Japanese macaque,” ...

In Japan, June 26 is Rotenburo Day (Open-air Bath Day), due to the double meanings in the syllables that make up the word rotenburo, with ro sounding like roku or “six”, ten being the word for a ...

The Japanese onsen — natural hot spring bath — is often described as similar to a spa, but the comparison substantially understates how different the experiences are. Japan has approximately 27,000 ...

Japan is home to more than 3,000 natural hot springs – but one is so legendary that bathers embark on a four-day round-trip journey to soak in it. Perched beside the Kurobe River deep in the Japanese ...