Visiting a Japanese Hot Spring: A Unique Experience
As I stepped into the onsen locker room in northern Japan, I had to get completely naked, a daunting task for someone who grew up in the UK where bathing nude with strangers is not a common practice.
I traveled to Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, by bullet train from Tokyo, taking in the snowy mountains and small farming towns along the way.
As a solo traveler on a budget, I booked a room above a café run by a warm woman in her 60s named Michiko, where I would experience the traditional Japanese hot spring, or onsen.
This was no private dip: I was surrounded by other naked people — none of whom seemed to care.
In Japan, bathing nude in public hot springs is a part of everyday life, a fact that I had to get used to during my visit.
Author's summary: Visiting a Japanese hot spring is a unique experience.
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