I have always wanted to go to one of the traditional Japanese Onsens (equivalent of America's hot springs), but the idea of being naked in front of people I don't know seemed strange to me to say the least. But an Onsen opportunity arose when one of the Yalies' family invited us to their Ryokan (a Japanese-style hotel) for a weekend, and naturally I couldn't resist.
It took us about an hour and half to get from Shibuya to Atami by Japan Railways and then we headed to New Atami Ryokan, unpacked and soon headed to the beach. There were already tons of people there, but yet the water was still beautiful and clear. I think the best part of the beach was making a human sand mummy though.
Later towards the night, after we had buffet dinner at the Ryokan, we all changed into clothes that were prepared for us and headed to the Onsen. The Onsens were seperated into women's and men's (if you were expecting something otherwise, sorry) and were located on the very top floor of the Ryokan overlooking the night view of Atami.
There are few rules that you need to follow in Japanese Onsens. You need to wash yourself thoroughly before entering hot water, you cannot enter the water with towels or swimsuits on, and many Onsens ban users with tattoos since tattoos are often associated with crimes or Yakuza (Organized Japanese gangs). Strangely, I didn't feel too awkward about being naked in front of everyone than I had expected to be. It probably helped that everyone else was naked too.
The warm Onsen water was quite rejuvenating especially under the night breeze, and while I
was enclosed in this bath, I felt as if I were fetus enveloped in my mother's womb again.
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