Onsen Etiquette in Japan: Rules Foreigners Should Know

Onsen etiquette in Japan comes down to one idea: the bathwater is shared, so you keep it clean and keep the space calm. This guide walks you through a first visit in the order you will actually do things, from taking off your shoes at the entrance to drinking water after your soak. It also covers the questions most visitors worry about: nudity, towels, tattoos, private baths, children and staying safe in hot water.

Quick Answer: Onsen Etiquette in Japan

If you have tattoos, check the facility’s policy before you go. A private bath is the simplest backup option.

Onsen vs Sento: What’s the Difference?

Visitors often use “onsen” for any Japanese bath, but you will meet several types. The etiquette is almost the same in all of them. The differences are the water, the price and what is included.

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Under Japan’s Hot Springs Act, water counts as a hot spring if it is at least 25°C at the source or contains certain minerals. Standard admission fees at ordinary neighborhood sento are regulated at the prefectural level. In Tokyo, the adult admission cap for regular sento has been ¥600 since August 1, 2026.

Before You Go: What to Check and What to Bring

Check these in advance

• Tattoo policy, if you or anyone in your group has a tattoo (see below).
• Opening hours and last entry. Many baths stop letting people in before closing time.
• Towels and toiletries. Some places include them, some rent or sell them, and some have nothing. Sento often sell towels and soap at the counter.
• Rules for children, if you are traveling with kids.
• Payment. Small bathhouses may only take cash.

What to bring

• A small towel for washing and a larger towel for drying (if the facility does not provide them)
• A hair tie or clip
• Coins or small bills for lockers and ticket machines
• A water bottle to drink before and after bathing
• Your own shampoo and soap, if the facility does not supply them

How to Use an Onsen in Japan, Step by Step

Step 1 — Take off your shoes

Many bathhouses ask you to remove your shoes at the entrance and put them in a shoe locker. At others, you keep your slippers on until the changing room. Either way, shoes and slippers never go into the changing room. If you see a raised floor or a row of shoe lockers, that is your cue.

Step 2 — Pay and get your locker key

Day-use facilities usually have a reception desk or a ticket machine. This is where you pay, rent towels if needed, and sometimes receive a locker key on a wristband. At a ryokan, the bath is normally included in your stay. Check the bath hours at check-in.

Step 3 — Enter the correct side

Changing rooms for shared baths are separated by gender, and almost all shared baths are too. Look for the curtains (noren) or signs: 男 is men and 女 is women. The curtain colors are often blue and red, but do not rely on color alone. At some facilities, the men’s and women’s baths switch by day or by time, so read the sign each time you go in.

Step 4 — Undress in the changing room

• Take off all your clothes and put them, with your large towel, in a locker or basket.
• Most onsen provide a locker or other secure place for valuables. At some sento, you leave valuables at the counter instead.
• Leave your phone in the locker.
• Take only your small towel into the bathing area.

Step 5 — Wash your body before you get in

This is the most important rule. The bath is for soaking, not for washing.

1. Go to a washing station. Most have a low stool, a bowl, a hand shower and soap or shampoo.
2. Sit down to wash. Washing while standing sprays the people next to you.
3. Wash your whole body and hair, and remove any makeup.
4. Rinse off all the soap.
5. Rinse the stool and bowl, and leave the station tidy for the next person.

Step 6 — Pour water over yourself and enter slowly

Before getting in, scoop hot water from the bath area with a bowl and pour it over your body. This is called kakeyu. It helps your body adjust to the heat and avoid a sudden rise in blood pressure. Start with your hands and feet. Then step in slowly. The water can be hotter than you expect.

Step 7 — Soak quietly

• Fold your small towel and put it on your head or on the edge of the bath. Do not put it in the water.
• Keep long hair tied up and out of the water.
• Do not swim, splash or dive.
• Keep your first soak short. Tochigi Prefecture’s guidance suggests 3–10 minutes, once or twice, until you are used to the heat.
• If you feel too hot or dizzy, get out slowly, sit down and drink some water.

Step 8 — Rinse or not, then dry off

There is no single correct way to finish. Some people leave the hot spring water on their skin. Others rinse off with fresh water. If the water is strongly acidic or sulfurous and your skin is sensitive, rinsing is a good idea.

Before you go back into the changing room, wipe your body with your small towel. This keeps the changing room floor from getting wet and slippery.

Step 9 — Rest and drink water

Get dressed, then drink water and rest for a while before you go out. Many facilities have a lounge area for this. Stand up slowly if you have been sitting in hot water for a long time.

Nudity and Swimsuits: What Are the Rules?

Standard shared onsen and sento are used without clothing, and that includes swimwear. In a shared bath, everyone around you is the same gender (mixed baths are the rare exception, below), and staring at other bathers is considered rude.

• Covering up while you walk: you can hold your small towel in front of you between the washing area and the bath. Just keep it out of the water.
• Swimsuit areas: some large spa complexes have separate areas where swimsuits are required. These are clearly marked. Do not wear a swimsuit in the nude bathing area.
• Bathing wear: some facilities allow special bathing wraps, for example in some mixed baths or for people with surgical scars. Use them only where the facility says they are allowed.

If bathing nude with strangers is not for you, a private bath or a room with its own open-air bath lets you enjoy hot spring water alone.

Towel Rules: Small Towel vs Large Towel

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Never wring your towel out into the bath. Wring it out over the drain in the washing area.

Hair, Phones, Photos and Noise

• Hair: tie up long hair or wrap it in your small towel so it stays out of the water.
• Phones: leave your phone in the locker. Even holding a phone in the changing room can make other bathers think you are taking photos.
• Photos: photography in changing rooms and bathing areas is strictly forbidden, to protect everyone’s privacy, especially children’s. If you want a photo of the bath, ask staff whether there is a time when it is empty and photos are allowed.
• Noise: speak softly. An onsen is a place for quiet relaxation, not a pool.
• Alcohol: do not drink before bathing, and do not bring alcohol into the bath.

If You Have Tattoos: What to Check Before You Go

Tattoos are legal in Japan, but some onsen do not accept bathers with visible tattoos. Others accept them under conditions, and a growing number have no restriction. There is no national rule. Each facility decides.

In 2016, Japan’s Tourism Agency told the hotel, ryokan and onsen industry that refusing a bath only because a person has a tattoo is not appropriate. It suggested ways to avoid friction, such as covering tattoos with stickers, recommending quieter times, and offering private baths. These are suggestions to facilities, not rules that bind them, so policies still differ.

Common policies you will see:

• Tattoos allowed with no conditions
• Small tattoos allowed if covered with a cover sticker (cover stickers usually only work for small tattoos)
• Tattoos allowed only in the private bath
• No tattoos in the shared baths

Check the official website or ask before you go. If the staff tell you a tattoo is not allowed, accept it politely and choose another option. For the background and how to find suitable places, read Onsen and Tattoos in Japan and How to Find Tattoo-Friendly Onsen.

Private Baths, Family Baths and Couples

A private bath, called kashikiri-buro (貸切風呂) or a family bath (kazoku-buro, 家族風呂), is reserved for one group at a time. You still wash first and keep the water clean, but you bathe only with the people you came with.

A private bath is a good choice if you:

• have tattoos
• want to bathe with your partner or family
• are traveling with young children
• feel uncomfortable bathing nude with strangers

Booking rules, time limits and fees differ by facility. Some ryokan offer private baths free to guests, some charge, and some rooms come with their own open-air bath (rotenburo). See Private Onsen in Japan for how booking works.

Can couples bathe together?

Not in standard shared baths, which are separated by gender. Couples usually book a private bath or a room with its own bath. A small number of traditional onsen have mixed baths (konyoku), often with their own rules on bathing wraps or set times. For details, see Can Couples Use Onsen Together in Japan?

Visiting an Onsen with Children

• Children follow the same rules: wash before getting in, no swimming or splashing, and keep the noise down.
• Which side they use: young children usually go with a parent into the men’s or women’s bath. The age limit for this is set locally. National guidelines were changed in 2020 to about age 7, and many areas now use that age. The rule differs by prefecture, so check the facility.
• Babies and toddlers: some facilities do not allow children who still wear diapers in shared baths. Check in advance.
• Never leave children alone in the bath. Hot water tires them quickly. Keep soaks short and give them water.

A private bath is often easier with small children. For more, see Family Onsen Rules in Japan.

Staying Safe: Heat, Water and Health

Hot springs are relaxing, but hot water puts strain on your body. Japanese government and prefectural guidance gives these basic precautions:

• Drink water before and after bathing to avoid dehydration.
• Do not bathe after drinking alcohol, after taking sleeping pills or sedatives, or right before or right after a meal.
• Wait about 30 minutes after hard exercise, and do not bathe when you are extremely tired.
• Start with short soaks. Get out before you feel dizzy.
• Stand up slowly when you leave the bath.
• Older people and children should not bathe alone.
• If you have high blood pressure or a heart condition, avoid very hot baths (42°C or more) and ask your doctor before your trip if you are unsure.

Each onsen also posts a notice about its water’s composition and who should take care when bathing in it, usually near the changing room. It is often only in Japanese. Ask staff if you have a health concern.

Common Onsen Mistakes First-Timers Make

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Made a mistake? Apologize briefly and follow the staff’s instructions. Read What to Do If You Break Onsen Rules for what usually happens next.

Japanese Signs to Recognize

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Useful phrase: “Tatū ga arimasu. Daijōbu desu ka?” — “I have a tattoo. Is that OK?”

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Checklist: Before Your First Onsen