Public Onsen Bath Etiquette in Japan

Different from a home bath, we have some rules to take a public bath in Japan.
I'll explain about them as much as I remember.

《General rules》

1. Don't eat and drink in a bathtub and there are shampoo, rinse and soap there, so all you can bring into a bathroom is a towel to wash your body. But don't soak it into the bathtub, just putting it in a basin when you enter the bathtub.

2. No tattoos are allowed.

3. Most of comparatively big spas ad onsen have towels and lockers with a key, so you can go and enjoy there with ease. You should check what kinds of things they have before going there.

4. As you see the photo, we have curtains at the entrance called "noren" in Japanese.
You can guess which door you should come into, in this photo, the black noren is for men, the red is for women. Don't enter by mistake.


《Before entering a bathtub》

1. Wash your body  before getting a bathtub

We have 2 reasons. One of them is to remove dust from a body, and the other is to make a body used to hot water. After clean your body, you can get a bathtub.

2. The bathtub is for only soaking in

Don't wash and swim in the bathtub, it's for only soaking.

3.  Tie up if you have a long hair

A long hair should be tied up so as not to soak in the water.

4. Don't put a towel in the bathtub
You can bring a towel to wash your body into a bathroom but don't soak it into the water, as I said before.
Because both towel and hair have a lot of virus, though we can't see it.

5. Please wash your body and take a shower with sitting down not to splash everybody around
We should pay attention not to splash water to the others.

6. Be quiet, don't give the other people a trouble

We should keep an eye on our children, too. Don't swim and make a noise in the bathroom and bathtub.
7. Dry your body before going out the bathroom
We should wipe our bodies before getting back to our lockers so that everybody can use there comfortably.

8. Welcome, please say hello


I could find a guide for foreign tourists.
Please check it.
Bath Etiquette 


次は公共のお風呂場でのルールについて聞かれました。
前もって頭に入れておいた方が、変な緊張はしなくても済みますもんね。
でも、不意に聞かれても、とっさには出てこなかったので、落ち着いて考えた後、ここで説明することにしました。
でもだいぶ知っていたみたいです。

風呂場では飲食禁止、タトウーの禁止、暖簾を確認して間違えずに入ること、入浴前にはかけ湯をすること、風呂の中では体を洗わないこと、髪は束ねること、タオルは湯船には入れないこと、体を洗う時に人に水がかからないように注意すること、静かにすること、泳がないこと、出る前には体を拭いてから自分のロッカーに戻ること・・・。
それ以外にあったかな？
もしあったら、教えて下さい～～

さあ、家の掃除をします。雨の中、各家庭を回る先生って大変だなあ。