Onsen of Japan: Japan's Best Hot Springs and Bathhouses

Description

Discard both your clothes and daily cares and enjoy a time-honoured bathing ritual with Onsen of Japan. For thousands of years, Japanese hot springs (or onsen) have been revered for their relaxing and healing qualities, and this guidebook highlights 140 of the very best places for tourists to visit around the country. Onsen experiences include super sento (large bathing and relaxation centres), local bathhouses, ultra-chic spas, forest retreats and whole towns dedicated to onsen. The how-to guide will help you navigate the complex etiquette and customs of communal bathing, and easy checklists let you know what each onsen offers and whether tattoos are accepted. One thing is for sure, taking a bath will never be the same again.

Steve Wide and Michelle Mackintosh passionate Japanaphiles and have travelled to Japan three or four times a year for the past 15 years. They have soaked themselves in over 100 onsen and sento. From cosy local hang-outs and ultra-chic inner-city spas to deep forest hot-spring retreats and onsen towns with timeless character and charm, they have taken it for the team and plumbed the depths of some of Japan's most amazing hot-spring experiences. Relaxing into the job as never been so easy.