About Onsen

Hi,

I will be going to japan alone, and had some question regarding onsen to ask. Pls advice.

1) I know most onsen are located inside ryokan. Can i just pay to use the onsen wihtout staying in the ryokan (Eg kinugawa onsen) and how much will it cost?

2) Any recommendation around kyoto, tokyo, nikko, kamakura, himeji & nara?

3) Is it weird to go onsen alone?

4) To avoid crowd, when is the best time to go onsen?

Sorry to ask so much question at a time. Pls advice.

Regards,
jk

It's not weird to go to onsen alone. Since most onsen I've been to are segregated by sex, even when I go with my husband I end up 'alone', though there are usually other women around.
Many ryokan have onsen that are open to the public, usually with more limited hours, say between mid-morning and late afternoon, while guests can use then twenty-four hours or into the night. You'd have to check where you are staying.
I've found onsen to be least crowded in the mornings. But it kind of depends on the place.
there are a bunch of websites about onsen, where you can review - start with www.onsen.secret-japan.com, and look at the links section for even more onsen databases (some are in English).

Hi Spendthrift,

Thank you for your feedback.
I think the website you mention should be http://onsen.secret-japan.com/
The website is very good. It provide a lot of information on onsen in japan.

Arigatou gozaimasu.

That website (secret-onsen) is brilliant !!


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