Onsen Town, Kinosaki

There is a quaint little town on the Northern Hyogo coastline in Japan, called Kinosaki. It is both strange and lovely at the same time. People go there for one reason and one reason only, they go there to soak in expensive public hot baths. In Japan, public hot baths are called 'onsens'.

During winter (and in other seasons as well), many Japanese people prefer to bathe in public bath houses instead of using their private bathrooms. In these public bath houses, there are usually a few Jacuzzi type baths where naked people of the same sex sit in very hot water (40 degrees celsius or more) in absolute silence. Before sitting in the tub though, each person has to stand in the open and take a shower in front of everyone in the room. At the Onsen, there is absolutely no privacy.

Upon first learning of this cultural practice, one might wonder 'who would forsake their private bath tub at home to go shower naked in front of others then share a bath with absolute strangers?' I still don't really know the answer to this question, but since children are brought to Onsens from a very young age and are taught to love it, they grow up and go to places like Kinosaki :).

So, back to Kinosaki.

The town is filled with onsens. That is the only form of entertainment in the town. It is possible to eat eggs boiled in onsen water and stand around this special rock that brings forth water and steam from the underground.