Your first onsen, from the locker to the bath

An onsen is a hot spring bath, and the first one is usually more awkward in your head than in the room. Everyone else is there to soak. They are not there to review your technique. Still, a few habits keep the water clean and the room calm, and they are the same habits the Japan National Tourism Organization prints for visitors.

Most baths are split by gender, and you go in with nothing on. Swimsuits stay in the locker. A small towel is for washing and for a bit of cover while you walk. It does not go in the water. A few places are mixed and will tell you to wear a swimsuit. If the sign is not obvious, ask at the desk before you are half undressed. That question is normal.

The shower is the bath’s front door

You wash before you soak. That is the whole culture of the bath, at home and in public. Sit on the stool, because standing splashes the person beside you. Soap, rinse, hair tied up or wrapped. Makeup comes off. There is often a basin by the tub so you can pour hot water over yourself first, which steadies you and is kinder to your blood pressure than a sudden sit-down in very hot water. Then fold the small towel on your head or on the rim, and get in slowly.

• Shoes and outdoor slippers stop at the entrance. Indoor slippers stop before the bathing room.
• Phones stay in the locker. The bath is not a place for a mirror shot.
• Do not put your hair or your towel in the water.
• Talk softly. This is closer to a quiet room than to a pool.
• Do not swim, splash, or do laps. You are cooking gently, not exercising.
• A quick rinse of the seat and floor when you finish is good manners.

Tattoos are the practical snag. Some public baths still refuse them, a rule with a long history that has not vanished just because visitors hope it has. Check the place before you travel an hour for it. Many private baths you can book for your group, and plenty of newer ryokan, are explicit that tattoos are welcome. A private bath is also the right answer if the shared room is the part you do not want on a first night.

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How long, and what to do after

Ten minutes is a respectable soak. Get out, sit, drink water, and go back if you want. The goal is warm, not heroic. People who stay until they are dizzy have missed the point. If you feel odd, you are done. There is no prize for the longest bath.

Ryokan dinners and onsen nights go together because you are not going anywhere after. Book the stay, send the big bag ahead if you are hopping cities, and let the bath be the activity. A day-pass bath in a city sento is the smaller version: the same wash, the same quiet, and you are back on the street in an hour. Either one counts. You do not have to climb a mountain first to have earned it.