Mitama no Yu Onsen

It's been a while..

Today I am going to tell you about my first Onsen adventure.
For those who don't know what onsen is, Onsen is a japanese hot spring and Spa.

This time I went to a place called Mitama no yu.
It has indoor and open air bath. From the open air bath you can enjoy the hot bath with a great scenery of Yamanashi.
beside the pool, it also has a great services that will make sure you enjoy your time such as sauna, massage and souvenir shop.
The souvenir shop sells Yamanashi Wine and local confection. You can buy great souvenirs there. it has a lot of varieties and great quality goods.

This is what make onsen special. If you enter an Onsen you have to be completely naked.  You are not allowed to wear swim suit or trunks. You have to be naked. But don't worry, the men and women bath are separated and you are not allowed to peek to the other gender's bath. So you don't have to be embarrassed.

There are some special ways to enter an Onsen.
First, you have to take of your shoes or slippers or sandal at the front door and put the shoes in the locker. You will need a 100 yen to lock the locker, but don't worry you can get your money back when you take your shoes back.
Second, before you enter the bath, you have to take of your clothes and tie your hair at the locker room inside the bathroom. So there are 2 locker rooms, first is for shoes and the second is for clothes. so don't get confused. This locker also required 100 yen to lock the locker.

Third, after you are naked, take the little towel into the bath area. Remember you ONLY take the little towel in with you to the bath area. You can use it to partially cover yourself while walking around between baths, put it on your head when in the bath.
After you enter the bathroom, DO NOT ENTER the bathtub! You have to clean yourself first before entering the pool. There is a washing place for per person to clean themselves. Do not worry if you don't bring your own soap or shampoo, they have the soap, shampoo, and condisioner for you to use freely.
After that, you get in the bathtub and soak.


These are the rules of Onsen.
No swimming.
No Tattoo.
Do not drink or eat in the tub.
Do not wash inside the tub.
No towel allowed inside the pool, you can put the towel on top of your head or at the corner of the tub.
And wipe yourself before leaving the bath area to keep the locker room dry and clean.

Onsen is a public bath, so we have to keep the bath clean so that every one could enjoy the bath too. In Mitama no yu, they play some relaxing music inside the bath area that makes you more relax in the bath, which you rarely experience in other onsen.
After the bath make sure to drink something so that you won't get dehydrated. After you finished taking bath, don't forget to take your money from the locker. You may try the massage course or buy something at the souvenir shop before you leave.

My first bath is a blast! If you are planning to go to Japan this is the experience that you don't want to miss. Even though it is quiet embarrrassing to bath naked with other people, the scenery from the Rotenburo (open air bath) is priceless.

For more information visits http://www.mitamanoyu.jp/

See you next time