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Healing Comes Naturally at these Japanese Onsen

by Jen Rose Smith

japanese onsen

Pink-tinged maples and slender bamboo dappled the small Japanese garden in early-autumn light: Walking barefoot over smooth stones, I stepped toward a black-granite soaking tub filled to the brim with hot water. 

Pink-tinged maples and slender bamboo dappled the small Japanese garden in early-autumn light: Walking barefoot over smooth stones, I stepped toward a black-granite soaking tub filled to the brim with hot water. The private garden and tub were attached to my spa treatment suite at The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko, a 94-room lakeside resort in Nikko National Park that’s two hours from Tokyo via Tobu Limited Express train. I’d come to soak away my travel aches before beginning the spa’s signature Restorative Rock Ritual body treatment, using sacred spring water and salt from nearby Futarasan Shrine.

For my bath at The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko wasn’t in ordinary tap water: I was soaking one of the mineral-rich hot springs, called onsen, that are prized in Japanese culture. My private pool piped geothermally heated water from the nearby mountains, where a hydrogen sulfide sulfur spring burbles up beside an 8th-century Buddhist temple. It’s the only Ritz-Carlton–branded hot spring in the world. But it’s just one of more than 27,000 hot springs in Japan, natural sources which have for centuries drawn Japanese wellness-lovers seeking relaxation and healing. 

Visiting onsen at traditional spas around the country is something of a national pastime, explained Moeka Akiyama, the marketing communications manager for The Ritz-Carlton Nikko, as we shared a dinner of jewel-box small plates at the resort’s restaurant. “I think the idea of wellness travel comes naturally to Japanese, even when we don’t call it that,” Akiyama said. “We see these trips as a time to enjoy onsen, spend time with family, and be in nature.” For foreign travelers, they also offer the chance at a true cultural immersion.

It's key to remember, though, that onsen are not one-size-fits-all. “Legally the water in an onsen must contain at least one of 19 different minerals,” said Tsutomu Sato, a hot springs expert I’d met the week before on an tour of Hokkaido onsen offered by Meitetsu World Travel. Different minerals correspond to different benefits, and connoisseurs, like Sato, seek out springs for their chemical signature.

Visitors can get a taste of Japanese-style wellness by following locals’ lead to some of the country’s finest onsen-spas. Along with The Ritz-Carlton Nikko, here are some of the country’s most luxurious onsen experiences.

The new Hokkaido resort honoring Indigenous culture

A forest-wrapped property inspired by the architecture, arts, and culture of the island’s Indigenous Ainu people, 42-room onsen resort KAI Poroto opened in January, 2022, just 45 minutes from Hokkaido’s biggest airport. Ainu culture infuses the resort’s approach to wellness; guests can craft sachet amulets using the plant ikema, which has long been used by the Ainu as a talisman against evil. 

Ainu influences are also on display in its two spectacular onsen: Airy wood-and-glass lines in its lakeside Sankaka-no-yu bathhouse echo traditionally conical Ainu homes, while cave-like Maru-no-yu admits just a single shaft of sunlight through a round opening on its domed ceiling. The naturally hot, alkaline water flowing into the resort from a nearby moor is known as the “springs of beauty,” for its ability to buff and condition skin, explained Keiko Watanabe, Spa & Wellness Manager of Hoshino Resorts. “Since the spring quality is alkaline, the metabolism of the skin is enhanced by the removal of dead skin cells,” she said. 

Traditional wellness in a renowned hot springs town

When springs bubble in greatest abundance, Japanese travelers follow: Legend has it the onsen town of Kinosaki was founded 1,300 years ago, by a Buddhist monk who discovered its waters’ curative powers and settled down. The springs are still considered sacred, and they’re rich in sodium, calcium, and chloride said to soothe muscle pain and tired joints.

Many visitors take the waters in the town’s seven traditional public bathhouses, padding between the onsenclad in wooden sandals and yukata robes. Or, you can choose the privacy and mountain views offered by the private onsen at Nishimuraya Hotel Shogetsutei, Kinosaki’s most luxurious ryokan, or traditional inn. Therapeutic experiences from hot-stone massage to reflexology take place in a spa employing the simple lines and natural materials of traditional Japanese architecture. 

An urban retreat offering ancient healing

You don’t always have to leave cities behind to experience Japan’s onsen culture: Elegant HOSHINOYA Tokyois under 20 minutes from Haneda Airport and steps from the royal residence at the city’s Imperial Palace. Unlike many Tokyo hotels, this property is a ryokan, with a quiet that belies the nearby urban clamor. A Zen garden flanks cypress-wood doors to the 17-story ryokan, and kimono-clad guides welcome guests with seasonal sake and Japanese sweets. 

The ryokan’s saline hot springs water comes from nearly a mile below the Earth’s surface, and flows through both indoor baths and an open-air soaking pool with views of the Tokyo sky. “It is a one-of-a-kind experience to see the square-cut urban sky while floating in the hot spring above the city,” said Watanabe. Each of the ryokan’s signature spa experiences — which include Shiki body treatments employing seasonal Japanese plants — begin with a soak in the onsen, leveraging the mineral-rich water’s rep for boosting blood flow and reducing inflammation. 

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