Onsens! We absolutely love them here, and we try to stay in a ryokan with onsen every time we travel. There are many types of unique hot springs in Japan, so of course, we always want to find some interesting ones. At some point, we ended up seeking out mixed onsen because… well, why not?
We thought this would be a good idea since we could finally enjoy onsen together, since a majority of hot springs are separated by gender. My boyfriend always complained that he’s bored in the baths, so having some company with paying extra would be nice. We also were curious about the ones where you would be completely naked (as opposed to wearing a swimsuit), sort of like the old days when they weren’t segregated.
And you know, they are NOT easy to find.
I believe most women in Japan aren’t comfortable with mixed gender onsen due to fear of harassment, therefore it’s probably not so profitable to operate mixed gender onsens when half of your population clearly don’t care for them.
They do exist though. And I’ve been to a few - as I’ve written in a post awhile back about my experience. So today, I want to take you to some mixed onsen I’ve been to in case you’re interested in going to some as well!
Kirishima Onsen town is located in the mountains in Kagoshima Prefecture, just northeast of the city with the same name. Within it, there’s a older showa-esque Hotel that has a mixed gender bath. And it is quite big!
There is a separate area for women only, so there is an option for women to change and stay in the women’s area only. But the men’s bath is essentially the mixed gender area.
I thought this onsen was okay. The bone-colored water makes for an interesting bath (also easy to “cover up” for modesty if you’re shy), but the water was a bit too hot for me to be in there for a long time. I think the water seems hot because most of the onsen is indoors (inside this greenhouse structure tent), but I feel it would be more comfortable if it was all outdoors.
If you want to try this onsen, I think a doing it a day guest is enough. The hotel itself is nothing to write home about, so I'm sure you can find other places to stay in the area!
(this onsen is strictly for staying guests only, please keep that in mind!)
This hot spring is located in Shimane Prefecture, about a 10 minute drive from Matsue city. As I’ve already mentioned - this mixed onsen is off limits to anyone not staying on property. If you would like to try this mixed onsen after reading this, I recommend making a booking with them! :)
I think this is probably the best mixed onsen for women who are shy and have fears of harassment. All onsen users MUST wear a wrapping (provided by the ryokan at the change rooms) before going into the onsen. For the ladies, it's a pullover that tightens above your chest and basically like a dress. For the men, there are paper boxers/underwear available.
Ladies need to go though a women-only section of the onsen to enter the mixed onsen. So there is added security of the ladies.
Unfortunately for the men, your security of the shower area is a bamboo partition just next to the large mixed onsen bath. Sorry. (Yes, you can accidentally catch a naked butt here and there if you looked...) At least the change room is still quite secure?
I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
The water was not too hot at all. It was warm and comfortable for relaxing for long periods at a time. Since it's only available to staying guests, you will probably see the same people in and around the baths. There are also lots of couples and small groups, so most people are simply enjoying the company of their companion(s) and minding their own business.
I only wished I had more time here since the onsen was also only available during the duration of your checked-in time, unfortunately.
This onsen is available for day guests, and they have some reasonable private outdoor onsens for rental (by the hour). This place was my very first mixed onsen experience, and I have to say it's probably the most... raw, but also not the most exposed experience you will get.
I just want to get two things out of the way first though.
The road into this ryokan onsen is fairly narrow. When I went, the road was unpaved and quite clear that only one car can traverse it at a time. The road lies next to the river with no obstacles, so you can see oncoming traffic easily with ease, but still something you should be careful of!
Second, the ryokan itself is gorgeous! It has that rustic, old Japanese home feel. I honestly would have loved to stay there overnight if I could... but piss poor me wasn't able to afford it (we had to stay in a business hotel in Takayama is a true peasant).
Now, why do I say it's... raw? Well, one - most of the baths are outdoors. And, there are no gendered change rooms.
You change in the area just next to each bath, separated only by some bamboo walls. If you partake in the mixed gender onsen - yes, you undress whether you're man or woman in the same area and then you just hop in. It's super minimalistic. I think it matches the atmosphere though, since their onsens are outdoors and sitting next to a river. All very nature-esque! It's honestly quite beautiful and relaxing if you can get over the fact that you're bathing in a mixed gender area.
At the time I was there, it was only us and one other person (a local, he didn't stay too long). Not very crowded at all. As such, I didn't feel awkward at all. It was overall a good experience.
If you didn't want the mixed bath experience, there is a women-only bath just down the walkway. It's quite small and not very scenic, but still enjoyable!
Nyuto Onsen is up in Akita Prefecture, and probably the most well-known out of this list. This onsen town is extremely popular amongst Japanese tourists when traveling in the Tohoku region, and possibly one of the first onsens to appear in any travel guide Tohoku and non-Tohoku related. Tsuru no Yu itself is an onsen with a ton of history and perhaps famed for its bone-white waters (just like in Kirishima).
Much like Yarimikan above, it's rustic and charming. And the onsens are very minimal and raw but since it's a more well-known onsen... there wasn't A LOT of people, but it's probably impossible to get the public baths without at least one or two other people. The baths themselves aren't all that big, so it can feel quite crowded even with just one or two other people.
I also felt like it was more of a tourist attraction more than anything.
A lot of people didn't really seem interested to get into the baths, despite paying for it. It's almost like they just wanted to check it off a list of things to see due to its historic value & fame. Not really because people were genuinely interested to try a mixed gender onsen, if you know what I mean. Many people just peeked into the baths, saw that there were people and walked off. Either they were uncomfortable with the mixed gender aspect, or the lack of a proper enclosed areas for disrobing. I'm not sure. But for that reason, it made the atmosphere feel less comfortable.
This is one of my later mixed gender onsen experiences, so while I do feel the ryokan and the onsen was very nice and atmospheric, the amount of people at the onsen made it feel less enjoyable for me. I think if this was my first experiences, I might find it more charming and interesting. Unfortunately, I didn't feel that was the case.
Perhaps the experience may be different altogether if I went for an overnight stay. Who knows.
A few older women I shared the women's only bath with at Tsurunoyu told me that they were staying at Ganiba Onsen (also a mixed gender onsen), and were doing nothing but onsen hopping in the area for a few days. I suppose that's one way to enjoy the onsens too!
My last one is for the truly brave souls out there.
In Tottori Prefecture, there is another local favourite onsen called Misasa Onsen. It's quite close to Kurayoshi City, so accessibility (to a station) is probably why it's more popular. Here, you can bath right next to a road (the bridge above) in the view of locals & tourists alike.
And you know what? It's completely free! You can jump in as many times as you like (unless it's before 12PM on an odd number day, they drain the water out like the picture I have above)!!
Many locals do use this bath. We saw quite a lot of people (mostly men) partake in the bathing here.
In terms of mixed gender onsens go, this is probably where I drew the line. Being naked next to a rather busy road just didn't seem relaxing to me. So I didn't go in. We also saw quite a lot of bugs at night. I being a fan favourite of the mosquitoes, I feel like they are probably more excited than I am of this bath.
Anyway, that's it for today. See you next blog!!