Heaven Bubbles Up from the Ground

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As an American living in Japan, I often have to respond to my Japanese colleagues concerns about personal safety in America. After all, didn’t you know that EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD OWNS (AND USES) A GUN? Teachers feel it is their duty to relay the story of the Japanese teenager who went trick-or-treating in the States. He did not knock on the door before entering, and since he didn’t understand the word ‘freeze’, was shot to death. The message from the teacher: either learn the meaning of ‘freeze’, or you will die if you go to America. With each concerned question comes a nice opportunity to dispel certain myths about the United States. Yet, there has always been one follow up question in my mind that I have never had the courage to ask. And it is this: America may be dangerous, but isn’t your entire country at the mercy of unpredictable, indiscriminating, and very very fatal natural disasters?

Japan is, after all, at the edge of the “Pacific Ring of Fire”. In the past century alone, there have been two earthquakes that have completely leveled entire cities. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 devastated Tokyo and second-largest city in Japan--Yokohama, killing an estimated 105,000 people. In 1995, the great port city (and famed beef locale) of Kobe was hit with an earthquake that claimed an additional 6500 lives.

The purpose of this blog is not to make the point that Japan is a dangerous place—because it’s not. In fact, there is one major benefit of being on the Pacific Rim of Fire, and that is the natural hot spring baths that are bubbly up out of the ground from one end of the country to the other.

The word for this is onsen, and it is possibly the one thing about Japan that I will miss the most. There are various types of onsen, but they fall into a couple categories. There are the onsen that occur completely naturally, where the water flows into a natural pool and usually require a rigorous hike to get to. The other is when the water is piped into a high-end hotel or into a public bathhouse.

For the bathhouse experience, a few rules and points of understanding have to be clarified. First of all, the purpose of the bath itself is NOT to clean ones body. It is strictly for relaxation purposes. Japanese people are rather appalled that Americans clean themselves in the bathtub. In the onsen, you must clean your entire body before entering the tub. Second, the onsen is a communal experience. Depending on the popularity of the bathhouse, you may be sharing the tub (which totally differs in size) with more than a handful of other people. There are a few reasons why I enjoy the onsen so very much. One, you will never feel cleaner than you will after an onsen. There is a row of low showers and sitting-stools with body soap and shampoo next to the tub, and you are supposed to take your time cleaning yourself. Then you get into the bath and relax while your body soaks in the (occasionally piping) hot water. When you are ready to get out, you head back to the showers and do Cleaning Round 2. Afterwards, you are not only immaculately clean, but entirely refreshed.

The second thing I like most about onsens is that they are pretty much all over Japan. However, you will sometimes be surprised to find onsens in the least likely of places. One time this past summer, I stepped off the overnight bus from Takamatsu to Tokyo, and with a few hours to kill, I inquired about a nearby onsen. Even in the middle of a huge city like Tokyo, there was an old, beautiful wooden building housing an onsen. I had my morning soak and then went about my day. There are entire towns in Japan that market themselves as ‘onsen towns’. I went to such a town in Kyushu called Beppu. With plumes of steam cascading up the mountains on a cold fall day, there is a no more perfect setting for a soak in an outdoor bath.

There are famous bathhouses, such as the one two hours from my house, that is considered the oldest in all of Japan—dating back more than a thousand years. This onsen, called Dogo Onsen, was the preferred bath for visiting imperial families, and is the basis for the fictional settings for Japan’s most famous 20th century novel (Botchan) and animated movie (Spirited Away). To say the least, the onsen serves as a major pillar of Japanese daily life, and thus is revered by its people (and foreign residents) as an important cultural staple.

Of the many things that I will inevitably long for once my time in Japan is up, there is no doubt that the onsen will be tops on the list.

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Comments

[Eric]

Hey David, I really enjoyed your Japan Post. I have always wanted to go there. My blog is looking for some good travel photos to post. If you have any to share email us at [e-mail] or check us out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com. Continued fun on your travels, Eric

[uncle johhny]

thanks for your update!
Dear Dave, Once again, thanks for your update and for your description of the "onsen". That word was new to me. Hope all continues well. Johnny