Outdoor onsen guide

Hi there
I saw in some places there are outdoor onsen without any well... reception or staff, just a changing booth (maybe there are those without one as well?).

Some seemed free of charge other a fee in a box or so.

But thinking of another thing, what is the possibility of using some kind of shower like usual before emterimg the bath? Or is that considered luxury?

I suppose towels are hard to find as well.

When I was in Hokkaido last December we visited Kotan Onsen and Wakoto Onsen around Lake Kussharo. They are free rotenburo and there was no possibility to take a shower and you had to bring your towels yourself. It was an awesome experience though, to bathe while the lake was freezing over. You could go in naked or in a bathing suit.

http://monochrome.me.uk/news/kotan-onsen/
http://monochrome.me.uk/news/wakoto-onsen/

We also stopped at Koshikawa Onsen which was a tiny shed with an onsen. It was unmanned but there was a box to deposit 200 yen. In this case you could wash before going into the bath. Again you had to bring your own towels.

http://monochrome.me.uk/news/koshikawa-onsen/

I blogged about it and shot some video to give you an impression of what it would look like. Needles to say, we love onsen!

In many places in Japan, there are onsens out of nowhere, and probably belong to no one, you can use them, but don't expect any showers, as said above, just have a towel ready. If there is a box for money, they are usually owned by someone, or some locals who come by for cleaning or taking care of the place.

You can use without paying, but it's polite to give something.

Something I just randomly thought of, what about safety in these rural baths? I mean, once I passed by the Iwa no Yu bath in Shiobara onsen. The water was really murky, couldn't see the bottom of it.

What are the risks of dangerous items or animals hiding in the water? :)

As some of these rotenburo can be rather hot, there is always the risk of getting dizzy especially if the difference between the water and the outside temperature is enormous; I would be careful if I had to venture there alone.

Of course I would not jump straight in, since being prone to dizziness myself (I am quite tall). I was mostly thinking of items that are not visible in case the water is not clear.

I swam at a local beach in a lake where I live and I noticed some metal things on the bottom. Not sure what it was but since it is not guarded or anything people could throw dangerous items in there that could be very dangerous if you cannot see them.

Once while in a more secluded area of a Spanish beach I noticed a sea urchin on the sandy bottom. Hadn't the water been clear I would certainly have stepped on it.

Not sure if there are creatures that can live in the bottom of onsen baths like that but just being precautious.

I would have tried the Iya no Yu if it were not for the murky water. I didn't know how deep it was, how clean it was, if anything were in the bottom, etc. Sorry if I am being a bit pessimistic, but again, just being precautious.

We was wondering about the same. We till stay at Gero onsen for one night and as I understand there are some free onsen in town. Like this: https://goo.gl/images/eUHKm8

Here is a picture I took of the Iya no Yu in Shiobara a few years ago, taken in earlyJuly. It was quite warm weather so I could have expected summerly critters roaming there, haha... not sure if mukade like hot spring though...

http://oi65.tinypic.com/2zqvbc9.jpg