Do males have to be naked in mixed onsens?

Me and my friend are going to Japan are we were thinking of going to an onsen. I heard you have to go naked in the mixed onsen if you're male, is this true?

Thank you,

Jack

onsen = naked
swimming pool = swimsuit

Everyone has to be naked in “onsen” – which is bath. The ones where you see women wrapped around in big bath towels as they soak in the water is just for decency on TV.
They do have water parks/bath theme parks where people go in swimsuits, on the other hand.

Yes, everyone (male/female) is naked in mixed onsen while in the water. While walking around people likely hold their small towel in front of them.

Actually a lot of mixed onsen end up nearly male only.

There is one famous mixed onsen in Gunma prefecture ( Takaragawa onsen) that has recently introduced some kind of onsen wear for both men and women because of the foreign guests. And while the onsen looks spectacular sitting around in a wet towel dress in the onsen, sounds like a total bummer to me.

As others have pointed out, one should always be naked when entering the bath at an onsen.

Your question seems specifically about konyokuburo (mixed bathing baths). Is that something you're keen to experience? By far, the vast majority of hot spring baths in Japan are single gender but there are certainly konyokuburo all over the country. I have visited quite a few of them myself but can tell you that every single time, either I was the only bather, or it was with other males and only twice have I bathed with women and on both occasions, they were local grannies who cared not a hoot. If you're imagining finding bevies of naked bathing beauties in mixed onsen, you're in for a disappointment!

No one cares about nudity at an onsen and for westerners unused to being naked in front of strangers it can be a challenge at first but I encourage you to leave your sense of taboo at the door and enjoy the liberating and refreshing experience for what it is.

LikeBike, I am shocked and saddened to hear that some onsen are introducing onsen wear because of embarrassed foreigners. I would avoid anywhere that did that like the plague!

I've probably been to over 100 onsens in Japan and I can count on one hand the number of places with a mixed onsen. It's also even rarer to have a mixed onsen where that is the only option.

You'll be fine - just choose the gender segregated one.

Yes, definitely.
Men can wear clothes but women all have to be naked....
...and unicorns can do either...

There are mixed gender onsens where you wear swimming suits, I`ve been to 3 mixed onsens that all required swimming suits, I have never came across a naked mixed onsen, they must be really uncommon.

There are mixed gender onsens where you wear swimming suits, I`ve been to 3 mixed onsens that all required swimming suits, I have never came across a naked mixed onsen, they must be really uncommon.

@Lisa , mixed naked bathing is getting (unfortunately) less and less common. It seems to be about 500 now:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2016/12/10/lifestyle/last-splash-imm...

However what really is uncommon are onsen with swimming suits. A few exist, but I would venture that very few Japanese would consider them onsen. Probably more like a water park?

Likebike- They are named onsens, one of the ones I go to has an onsen hotel attached to the facility with the yukata lounging wear and all the stuff that onsen style hotels have, very traditional Japanese atmosphere, its not named as a waterpark. West Japan has these type of swimming suit onsen.

As i am from a country where a lot of north-european style saunas and spas are common, being naked (even) among different sex is very normal to me and it makes me very angry to read that they force now Takaragawa Onsen also to have bath towel-(suits).

Also i see among young Japanese themselves that they get more and more disliking the idea of nakedness itself and while still many konyoku exists officially they are always only used by male in real life.

It is true and sad at the same time.

As others already said you can count real konyoku baths where you will really find mixed people on 10 fingers. One of the best experience for this is Shirahone onsen. The water is not clear, so basically as soon as you enter, noone can see anything due to the milky blue water and there are shielded entrances for woman and man separately directly from the dressing room, where you can enter this onsen without anyone seeing you. maybe due to that the bath was filled with people from both sexes, even young ones. what was surprising to me was that the whole atmosphere among the Japanese bathers was filled with very high flirting energy and erotic statics in the air... for me bathing all the time in Europe with naked women this is very surprising and must be seen as how far prudery and shyness of natural nakedness has already made progress in japan. soon it will be like in america and people will enter even the same sex onsen dressed. it is really a pitty.

九重の瀧, a rare beautiful mixed rotenburo with compulsory "onsen wear" provided by the hotel.
https://www.oirase-keiryuu.jp/hotspring/

Furusato onsen, Sakurajima was another beautiful Mixed rotenburo with compulsory yukata. Unfortunately the place has been closed for many years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfz-3RRVYi0

I live already 10 years in Japan and I love onsen, but I have never seen a mixed one. I heard about some, but never stumbled across one, although I seek out onsen everytime I am on a trip.

Like people mentioned already it is very uncommon and I would imagine that the mixed onsens are visited solely by men (mostly probably by some losers who hope to see some naked females) or older women, who don't really care.

In reality, always when I tell that we have mixed saunas in Europe where everyone is naked, its very surprising for the people especially to women. Japanese women are mostly quite shy and would never voluntarily go to a place where they have to be naked in front of men, at least younger ones.

mostly probably by some losers who hope to see some naked females
We travelled as a couple, and did not look for a mixed onsen, just happened the places we visited provided mixed bath:
Tsurunoyu Nyuto onsen, 
Furusato onsen, Sakurajima 
Kirishima hotel onsen, Kirishima
Takaragara onsen Onsenkaku, Minakami
Oirase keirkyu hotel, Towada
Hoshi onsen, Minakami
Namari onsen Fujisan, Hanamaki
Kokoro no Toki Jusangatsu, Hanamaki 

Sorry, meant to say: mixed bathing

Visited this outstanding 湯宿だいいち twice, only to find out today that they actually have 1 露天混浴 , konyoku rotenburo. What a surprise!