So I did something that should have been on my Japan Dream List but wasn't...


I went to my first onsen hot spring!! Well.. the water is transported from a real onsen everyday but technically it's still considered an onsen since the water is tap water. Okay so on Facebook I explained the difference between an onsen and a sento. For those that don't have my Facebook or that missed the post, I'll paste it below...



In summary an Onsen has water that comes from a natural hot spring...a Sento just uses heated tap water.

Sento's (and onsen's) are mainly gender separated and sento's are used only to clean and soak but this is considered an super sento because there is an artificial hot springs located outside and the common areas, such as the cafeteria, the lounging area (with heated floors), rest area, etc, are unisex. So it makes it not only a relaxing and cleaning activity but also social. Popular with couples and families. Very similar to a Korean bathhouse (the jjimjilbang)

The difference between a sento and an onsen (hot springs) ...Both sento and onsen are public baths. A sento is just a public bath house, while an onsen can be an outdoor hot spring. The "hot spring" being the difference between the two.

An onsen is a natural hot spring. Most onsen's advertise their hot springs to have many physical health benefits such as; beautifying the skin, helping with blood pressure, gynecological issues, brightening the skin, collagen, etc. Even some allow you to actually drink from the hot springs.Some of the best known onsen resort areas are located in little towns all throughout Japan. ( Side note: In spa resorts, hotels normally provide their guests with a yukata (cotton kimono) and geta (traditional clogs) that they can stroll around town in.

A sentō runs on heated tap water.
In pre-war Japan very few houses had built-in baths. From as early as the beginning of the Edo period entire neighborhoods shared baths in public bath houses. In modern-day Japan however, most houses have their own baths or showers. I actually stayed in a dormitory across the street from Tokyo University back in 2013 that had no shower or bath so I had to visit the sento quite frequently or shower at a friends house. lol

The popularity and usefulness of the sento has gone done considerably.
The onsen, has however seen it's popularity increase steadily.

Fortunately though, sento's are still around. At last count there were about 6,000 left in the whole of Japan, and a visit to a sentō gives a rare insight into Japanese culture.
With all that said, those are the difference between onsen and sento, which sounds fairly straight forward. But the two are a little more intertwined... Some small neighborhood bath houses run on hot water that springs from the earth, thus being worthy of the term onsen. On the other hand, some resort-style day spa’s with the common areas and outdoor baths that run on plain old tap water, these are called super sento. Which is exactly what the one next to my new apartment is.

Okay so now onto the onsen I visited yesterday!
Minato Mirai is an area that was built on the sea using sand! It's located in Yokohama and has it's fair share of entertainment facilities! I'll be posting pictures here! I stayed at a nice onsen in the area called Manyo Club and decided to upgrade to a private onsen room. I got to eat a delicious traditional Japanese meal and also soak in my private onsen with a beautiful view of the ocean!! It's my dream to share this experience with my parents and to others close to me.

Labels: japan, Japanese, jvlogger, kanagawa, Kawasaki, Minato mirai, odaiba, onsen, sento, tokyo, yokohama