Hot spring and public bath culture in Japan is highly developed and has thousands of years of history. Some of its aspects can be quite sophisticated and not as easy to understand, especially first few times you go to onsen. At the end of the day though and in the true spirit of onsenpunk, if you have ever taken a bath, you can do onsen pretty easily.

The algorithm is always similar: you enter the dressing room which is gender-separate for men and women, take off the clothes and put them with all your other belongings in the locker. Sometimes you have just rental buckets to put your stuff there. Take a small towel with you and go into the bathing area.

Because people use the same baths, you should use the shower before entering them and wash yourself. If there is no shower, like in old traditional hotels or wild onsens in nature, just use a bucket instead. The towel can be used a sponge, or as an improvised cap if it is too cold or hot outside, and you can also dry yourself with it before going out to the changing room.

And that’s pretty much it. There is a lot to say about purification as a ritual and the different types of water and how you should not stay too long if the water is too hot. But all that is really very natural and self-explanatory. Look around you and exercise common decency. Don’t talk too loud and don’t stare at other bathers. Relax and try not to think, well, about anything. Consider this hour a digital detox or an opportunity for a mindfulness meditation. Look at the water and how it reflects the light.