If you don’t love taking a shower, you’re doing it all wrong. Located directly at the crossroads of hygiene and self-care, showers are, of course, a must — but they’re also a great way to sneak in a ...

Even if you don’t consider yourself a bath person, or are turned off by the idea of sitting in a tub of your own grime, you still might be charmed by the ritual of visiting a Japanese hot spring, or ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Joni Sweet is a journalist who covers travel, wellness, and adventure. A trip to an onsen is a quintessential part of a trip to ...

Japan is famous for sci-fi level innovation: It's the land of bullet trains, robots, and vending machines for everything. But the country's obsession with all things futuristic is paired with ...

There are a few rules to know before you go: Each onsen has separate male and female baths, and most ryokans offer a pass to enter the public onsens on a complimentary basis. Though some offer bath ...

Above: An onsen in the newly renovated Nishimuraya Honkan, a ryokan in the town of Kinosaki. The Gora Kadan ryokan in Hakone. Located inside the national park that is home to Mount Fuji, it is less ...

I wrapped my yukata, a cloth kimono, around my naked body, pulling the left side of the fabric over the right, as instructed, and tied the obi sash securely at my waist. The hotel provided these robes ...