♨温泉♨

The Kanji reads onsen which means hot springs.

The onsen is one of the many practices of Buddhism as well as a good cleansing of the soul.
They were used quite frequently during WWII due to damaged houses and unclean water.

On a Saturday night, when I have jacksquat to do, my dormmates will usually go off and party but I usually just go and do my own thing, they go off and drink and go clubbing. That crap isn't for me, I am in Japan, I'd rather go and do stuff that we normally don't do in America to relieve stress.

At the front entrance, you'll usually see this hiragana: ゆ which means hot water.

There is a way to do this correctly but alot of times people mainly go to these places, dump a little water on their head and just go in the tub, but there's a short process to taking care of this, and I always do this process in the correct order because the water in the tub is all natural and feels really good.

You strip down until you have no clothes on* in the locker room, then you enter the bathing area. There will be showers that you sit in front of with a bowl and a shortly stooped seat and a mirror present, you clean yourself off until you feel that there is nothing unclean on your skin (you sometimes bring your own soap, shampoo, and towel). You use a towel that's thin but long and get it wet. To scrub your back and for a later usage.

When you're done showering, you go into the tub(s). A lot of places have their own special kinds of tubs, some will be cold, some will be hella hot, some will have a tiny electric current, some will be mainly for the feet. It varies, but I like to check out different places to see what unique types of tubs they have. While you're boiling in the tub, you take the towel that you have, fold it up and place it on your head to even out your body temperature. They say that you shouldn't put your towel in the tub, but I've seen people do that and not get yelled at. Since I'm a gaijin, I don't just because I hate those meiwaku moments.

After you're all done, you wipe yourself off and put your clothes back on. When your dressed, you go and hangout in the lounge (if there is one). There will be vending machines present, you'll definitely need to rehydrate. Milk coffee is the beverage I recommend the most, for you might be craving dairy after stewing in a hot tub. While you're relaxing after the bath, you'll feel all kinds of relaxed, you'll just want to chill out and not be in a hurry. You leave whenever you want.

In some places, they won't allow tattoos because they think that a person who is inked is in the yakuza.

Finding a good one is hard, but worth it. So far in my area, I've found one that is pretty decent in a neighborhood called Togoshi-Ginza (which is only like 10 minutes away from where I live), it's modern and there definitely is something unique that it has to offer... black water.

The black water is said to cure infection and is really healthy for the skin. At Togoshi Ginza Onsen, they switch locker rooms everyday, giving the regular customers a little variety. They even have an ice cream machine.

* Some may find the whole idea of this to be flat out homosexual. Yes there's people in their birthday suits, but the after affects of the onsen are totally worth it. The trick is, if you're concerned, is not to make eye contact or even look at another person all in all.